MO: House Rules Committee Passes HB2502/2556
On 03/08, the House Rules committee passed HB2502/2556 by a vote of 13-1. iDEA testified the week before in support of these bills.
Next Steps: Full House debate/vote on the floor likely in two to three weeks—according to the House Majority Floor Leader.
The Senate Appropriations committee met on 03/09 to hear testimony on several gaming bills including allowance of a VLT program in Missouri and Sports Wagering. One general takeaway was the need to keep the two bills separate as they move through the process. The supporters of VLTs are aggressively attempting to sink sports betting if they do not get included.
iDEA’s lobbyist Scott Swain testified in support of two Senate bills in Committee this week. He was also on hand to meet with members of the House Rules Committee, who voted out the sports betting bills we support.
Next week is the annual Legislative Spring Break and legislators are slated to return March 21st. Not confirmed, but the Senate Appropriations Committee is likely to vote on these measures on March 23rd.