VA HB 161 Passes Committee; SB 118 Awaits Senate Finance Hearing
On Feb 2, HB 161 passed out of the House General Laws Committee on a 13-8 vote. The bill has been amended to include the provisions that were added in the Senate bill.
It was amended to include a “reenactment clause” which would require the legislation to be approved by the legislature again next year. Including this provision was necessary for the bill to advance, but we will be working to remove it later in the process, if the bills get to a conference committee. The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee.
SB 118 is still awaiting a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee; it should come up next week. There are a number of amendments currently being floated that would impact the structure of the bill, including a reduction of skins, and a way to include minority participation. Another would seek to create another fund taken from iGaming operator GGR that would be used support the land-based casino industry.
Bills would need to pass either the House and Senate by Feb 18, the crossover date, for continued consideration. The iDEA team and our lobbyist have been on the ground meeting with lawmakers this week to educate on the bill and secure passage out of Committee. We will be back in Richmond, week of Feb 9 to meet with lawmakers and continue meet with lawmakers on the proposed amendments and educate on the bills.