Lawmakers approve voting law proposal, hold a hearing on video gambling and continue to consider moving riverboats inland..
VOTING LAW CHANGES
— A legislative committee has endorsed a proposal that would eliminate straight party-line voting on Indiana election ballots.
The House Elections Committee voted 8-4 on Wednesday in favor of a bill that would allow only votes for candidates for each specific office on the ballot. They still would be identified by their party affiliations.
Republican supporters say no longer allowing straight party-line voting with one click or mark of an election ballot would make voters more responsible for their choices.
Committee Democrats said they believe the change could lead to longer lines at polling sites. Rep. Chuck Moseley of Portage says he believes the loss of the straight-ticket option would discourage voting.
The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
VIDEO GAMBLING
While casinos gear up for a Thursday hearing on a bill to loosen restrictions on how they operate, bars and truck stops are looking for a piece of the action.
A bill authored by Crawfordsville Senator Phil Boots would let bars and truck stops install low-stakes video gambling terminals. Illinois legalized the games in 2012 — last year, the games generated 200-million dollars in tax revenue.
Indiana Licensed Beverage Association president Don Marquardt argues it wouldn‘t expand gambling, since bars can already sell pull tabs, and truck stops typically sell Hoosier Lottery tickets.
He notes Boots‘ bill caps video wagers at two dollars and payouts at 600 dollars, limits almost identical to those on pull tabs.
RIVERBOAT LEGISLATION
A proposal to allow Indiana’s riverboatcasinos to move inland to nearby sites and allow live dealers for table games at the state’s two horse track casinos is set to go before a state legislative panel.
The House Public Policy committee is scheduled to consider the bill during a meeting Thursday morning.
Supporters of the proposals say they are needed to help Indiana’s casinos as they struggle with growing competition from neighboring states.
Similar proposals have failed in the Legislature in recent years, and casino advocates still must overcome potential opposition from Republican Gov. Mike Pence and some legislators who are against any expansion of gambling.
Total state tax revenues from Indiana’s 13 casinos fell by $99 million, or about 13 percent, during the state’s last budget year.
REDISTRICTING
The first step toward changing the way Indiana draws its legislative maps goes to the full House next week. But legislative leaders have different ideas about what the final step should be.
House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long have said they want a blue-ribbon panel to study whether Indiana should turn redistricting over to an independent commission, and whether that commission should be advisory or have full power to draw the maps.
Minority Leader Scott Pelath co-sponsored Bosma‘s bill to create the study panel, which cleared the House Rules Committee on Tuesday and goes to the House floor next week.
But while Republicans say the issue deserves study, Pelath says he‘s already convinced an independent commission is needed to get the politics out of redistricting.