The following is a list of Senate Committees: Senate Committee on Aging (Special) Note: While special committees have no legislative authority, they can study issues, conduct oversight of programs, and investigate reports of fraud and waste. Job and Vocational Training and the Workforce Investment Act. This Committee also deals with federal.
Consider the innocuously labeled SB 1256 the opening salvo of the Pennsylvania budget battle: Part Two.
When the Pennsylvania Senate left Harrisburg for their home districts on Sept. 22, lots of unfinished business remained. Chiefly, that’s passing a state budget for the rest of the fiscal year after having approved a stopgap spending measure at the end of May covering only part of the year.
So brace yourselves for a dark and bumpy ride.
The state’s second budget season commences on Oct. 5. The biggest and heaviest lift is passing a budget during November, likely not until sometime after Election Day on Nov. 3. And a reminder: PA has a long, strange tradition of sometimes bizarre last-minute deal-making on the eve of passing a budget.
As the Pennsylvania Capital Star put it in a recent opinion piece:
“A fall debate on the commonwealth’s budget is going to be painful for everyone in Pennsylvania. Relations between the Administration and the Republican majority in the General Assembly are frayed, making negotiations difficult.”
Senate holds a hearing on VGTs and skill games bill Oct. 6
As part of the windup, the Senate goes back to work in the capital on Oct. 5. And while it’s not strictly a budget measure, there’s a much-anticipated hearing the next day on an important bill, Senate Bill 1256.
That’s pet legislation of Sen. Jake Corman, the Republican majority leader (pictured, lead image). The 29-page legislative proposal focuses on expanding video gaming terminals, or VGTs, and expressly legalizing games of skill.
But the bill assigns no taxation level to the machines it seeks to allow and does not state how many devices might be allowed.
SB 1256 gets first hearing in public after a lull
Through July, Republicans secretly discussed the bill behind closed doors. But it failed to gain traction. Despite the shroud of backroom secrecy, Spotlight PA scrutinized some of the machinations.
Corman had characterized the bill to Spotlight as a way to control and license the proliferation of illegal gambling machines in PA. He claimed expanding VGTs’ presence was somehow a matter of fairness, given the bill’s aim to widely allow skill games.
He also said the move would raise revenues but never named an amount.
Corman now has a casino coming to his district
Since Corman spoke to Spotlight in late June, there’s been one significant change and two additional developments.
First, a mini-casino license was auctioned off in his Centre County district for $7.5 million to Philadelphia real estate development and financial consultant Ira Lubert.
Next, Spotlight has written more recently about Corman and a so-called “dark money” fund overseen by a lobbyist he’s connected with. And then there was also his hiring of a lobbyist with deep ties to out-of-state VGT makers to lead his staff.
Meanwhile, the VGT and skills games bill has lain dormant since July.
That’s about to change.
Senator from Philly suburbs plans a hearing
Republican state Senator Thomas Killion‘s Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee is holding a hearing on Bill 1256 beginning at 10 a.m. on Oct. 6.
Killion, who represents part of the Philadelphia suburbs in Delaware and Chester counties, is running for re-election in November. He did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did the committee’s co-chair, state Sen. Lindsey M. Williams, a Democrat who represents the Pittsburgh area.
Casinos and POM hate SB 1256
Proving that politics makes for strange bedfellows, all 13 PA casinos, which include the yet-to-open Live! properties, have opposed the Corman bill, but then so has Pace-O-Matic, the PA company that makes and distributes Pennsylvania Skills games.
The industry letter went out on Sept. 17 and was signed by the leaders of casino properties employing more than 20,000 Pennsylvanians. The casinos are:
- Mohegan Sun Pocono
- Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack
- Meadows Racetrack and Casino
- Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course
- Valley Forge Casino Resort
- Rivers Casinos in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
- Parx Casino
- Presque Isle Downs & Casino
- Mount Airy Casino Resort
- Wind Creek Bethlehem, Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin
- Live!
Casinos’ position on SB 1256
In part, the casinos’ letter opposing the bill reads:
“Expanding VGTs to liquor licensees would result in as many as 85,000 gambling machines being added to the state — which is more than three times the current number of slot machines in all of Pennsylvania’s casinos combined. Similarly, legalizing (and thereby rewarding) the currently illegal skill game slot machines that are prevalent in bars, convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses would cause tremendous damage to our industry and the nearly 20,000 Pennsylvanians we are proud to employ, as well as negatively impact the Pennsylvania Lottery and the public interest. SB 1256 does exactly that.”
The letter also points out the recent economic losses the licensed casino industry — and the state — are still struggling with:
“Collectively, casinos suffered approximately $968.8 million in revenue losses from slot machines and table games (due to the virus shutdowns), $424.2 million of which would have been payable to the Commonwealth.”
Casinos reference “good faith” by the state
Additionally, the letter claims:
- “Stores, golf courses, microbreweries and a variety of other businesses could all potentially become miniature casinos.”
- “This bill would come at the expense of the Commonwealth in the form of lost tax revenue, gaming industry job losses and lost local share revenue.”
The letter concludes by pointing out the Commonwealth is a better than 50% stakeholder in the casino industry via fees and tax revenue, and finally, that the casino license holders invested in PA with the state “a good-faith partner.”
Legislative leaders mum on SB 1256
All members of the legislature got the letter.
But the letter addressed Corman in particular, as well as:
- Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati III
- Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa
- Assembly Speaker Bryan Cutler
- House Majority Leader Kerry A. Benninghoff
- House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody
PlayPennsylvania sought comments from all of the legislative leaders. None responded.
But a spokeswoman for Scarnati referred the request back to Corman. “Any questions regarding VGTs and skill games would be best directed at Senate Majority Leader Corman’s office,” she said.
Scarnati is retiring at the end of the session in December. Corman is seen as his likeliest successor should the Republicans maintain their majority in the PA Senate.
Wolf also stays quiet
Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat who is frequently at odds with the Republican-led Legislature, has expressed quiet opposition to expanding gambling further as contemplated in the bill.
His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Pennsylvania Skills game distributor has its say
Pace-O-Matic of PA, or POM, hates the bill.
The Williamsport company, which distributes Pennsylvania Skills machines, has been taking its opposition to rival skill games and VGTs to the streets. POM is outing what it says are illegal casinos openly operating in small towns around the state. POM is holding press conferences in front of the businesses. Dossiers on those businesses were handed off to district attorneys in Lancaster, Schuylkill and Beaver counties recently.
POM’s pitch is that its games are legal and its rivals’ are not. That’s because the Beaver County Common Pleas Court six years ago found that an element of skill was necessary to win the three games found on one seized POM device.
For a time, POM used that court win and a subsequent injunction as it distributed more machines and even sued a competitor, saying the rival did not offer a skill game.
But then another court in November 2019 labeled skill games as slot machines. The enforcement injunction was lifted in January 2020. POM has appealed the lifting of the injunction, but that case is plodding through the courts.
PGCB and PA State Police take stances against skill games
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has definitively labeled skill games, including POM machines, as illegal slot machines under the state’s gaming laws.
The PA State Police unequivocally say all gambling devices outside casinos, other than licensed truck stop VGTs, are illegal and subject to seizure.
POM continues, though, to try to differentiate itself from rival wagering device companies, most recently at a Harrisburg press conference.
POM: It’s not us, it’s those other guys
Mike Barley, a spokesman for POM, issued a written statement to PlayPennsylvania when asked about SB 1256:
“While we believe the regulation of skill games will greatly benefit small businesses, restaurants, bars, fraternal clubs and the Commonwealth, SB 1256 promotes the widespread proliferation of VGTs on every corner of Pennsylvania. This legislation would kill the legal skill game industry and countless Pennsylvania small businesses, many [of] which are multigenerational family businesses, in the coin-op industry. SB 1256 puts the interests of large out-of-state companies over these family-owned small businesses.
“While Pennsylvania Skill games, powered by Pace-O-Matic, have been adjudicated legal and require skill, a VGT is a slot machine which directly competes with the games already offered in casinos. Illegal VGTs, masquerading as ‘skill games,’ are already on the street, many in unregulated mini-casinos, and were recently seized by the District Attorney of Berks County.
“The claims that the lottery or casinos have lost revenue due to skill games ring hollow when you examine the numbers. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the revenues related to casinos and lottery were at record highs. That was at the same time the revenue for skill games [was] growing. We contracted with an independent economist who reviewed the data and found that our games have not had a negative impact on either the casinos or lottery revenues. The lottery’s study was conducted internally and the details have not been released.”
What Senate Committee Deals With Slot Machines 2020
Lead image credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke
What Senate Committee Deals With Slot Machines Jackpots
The proposed $3 billion gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida got a boost Wednesday when a key Senate panel approved it and another related gambling measure.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee, which oversees gambling in Florida, approved both measures (SB 7072, SB 7074) with four senators opposed: Republicans AaronBean of Fernandina Beach, AnitereFlores of Miami, KelliStargel of Lakeland, and Democrat GwenMargolis of Miami.
Tribe Chairman James E. Billie “and other leaders of the Seminole Tribe of Florida want to thank Chairman Bradley and members of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee for their work on the Seminole Compact,” spokesman GaryBitner said. “The Tribe hopes to continue working with legislators to finalize a Compact agreement this session.”
That panel was initially the only “committee of reference” for the measures, which began as proposed committee bills. That means they now head to Senate President Andy Gardiner, who will decide at least one other committee to review them, according to spokeswoman KatieBetta.
Senators also discussed and approved a raft of changes that, among other things, would expand slot machines beyond South Florida, lower the effective tax rate on the machines, and clarify that fantasy sports play is a game of skill and not gambling.
What Senate Committee Deals With Slot Machines Dispense
The package is bitterly opposed by the horse and dog racing industry, which fears it will suffer if the bills are made law, and by gambling opponents.
A “decoupling” provision would allow pari-mutual facilities, such as greyhound and horse tracks, to stop running live races if they wish to offer other gambling, like slots and card rooms.
They’re currently required to keep races going if they want other games. Otherwise, dog and horse breeders and trainers say demand for their services is sure to die off.
A coalition made up of The Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, representing 8,400 licensed thoroughbred owners and trainers; Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association; Florida Quarter Horse Breeders and Owners Association, which has around 1,000 members; and the 500-member Florida Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association “strongly oppose(s) ANY form of decoupling whatsoever,” they said in a statement.
But Senate President-designate JoeNegron, the Stuart Republican who offered decoupling and other amendments, said requiring live racing is “arbitrary and outdated.”
“I see no public policy rationale to tell a business to engage in an activity,” he said. Still another measure cleared Wednesday would allow lottery tickets to be sold at gas pumps in the state.
John Sowinski of Florida’s No Casinos anti-gambling expansion group told FloridaPolitics.com after Wednesday’s meeting that the new Seminole Compact “is certainly an expansion of gambling, (but) the implementing bill is an explosion.”
Using tribal gambling compacts “as a vehicle to expand gambling for every different gambling interest in Florida is completely antithetical to what compacts exist for,” he added, saying they should be limited to specific deals between tribes and states.
Negron disagreed, saying that “clearly there is a market for these activities,” referring to different and additional ways to gamble.
Committee Chairman Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, told reporters that although there’s a chance the Compact may not be approved by the Legislature this Session, “This is a work in progress … I suspect the final landing place, if there is a final landing place, will look a little different.”
He also bristled at suggestions that provisions OK’d Wednesday mirror a case now before the Florida Supreme Court, which is being asked to decide whether slot machines are allowed outside South Florida if local voters in a particular area approve of them. That would include Brevard, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach and Washington counties.
A lower court said several Florida dog and horse tracks can’t also have slot machines. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which runs the racetrack in Gretna, brought the case.
“I don’t think it’s fair to leave it to courts to decide that kind of policy question,” Bradley said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Bradley also wrote a letterto fellow senators, disclosed Wednesday, saying he did not want to “punt to the courts” and “end up with the most significant expansion of gaming in Florida history.”
“If the Legislature takes no action and the Florida Supreme Court sides with (the pari-mutuels), the state will lose all revenue sharing” from the Seminoles, he wrote.
The tribe already has paid Florida more than $1 billion for exclusive rights to offer blackjack. Those rights expired last year, requiring a new deal.
“I wanted there to be an understanding of what’s at stake,” Bradley told reporters when asked about the letter. “There hasn’t been a lot of discussion and this is complicated … There’s a lot at stake.”
But Wednesday’s votes illustrate the divide in the Senate: Committee members with gambling interests, including Seminole casinos, in their districts voted for the measures; others from “family-friendly” areas near Disney resorts were opposed.
“We have a lot of strong personalities on this committee, so the fact we were able to get a bill out says a lot,” Bradley said.