Concerns About Gaming Bill Gets It Pulled From Calendar

Speaker Brian Bosma says concerns about the impact of gaming legislation on local communities led him to pull the bill off Monday’s House floor calendar.  The concerns arose after a change to the bill last week in the Ways and Means committee.

The Ways and Means committee amended the bill to make changes to gaming taxes, including elimination of the state’s admission tax. The tax alterations have the potential to significantly decrease dollars flowing to local communities where there are casinos. The bill was on the House calendar for floor amendments, but Speaker Brian Bosma says he took the measure off the list to work on it.

“I know no one’s a fan of the admissions tax," Bosma said. "It’s an unwieldy means of collecting revenues.  They do go to local government, so we have to find a sweet spot to try to move the bill forward, if possible.”

Bosma says removing the bill from Monday’s calendar ensured it would not move past the amendment stage before potential changes can be worked out. The deadline to advance the measure beyond amendments is Tuesday.