'Hold harmless' language pays off in Indiana's comprehensive gaming bill's approval

Then he turned around and voted against it.

House Bill 1015 passed anyway, 59-36 in the House of Representatives and 37-12 in the Senate. It now goes to the governor for signing into law.

Huston, a Republican from Hamilton County, was the chair of a two-Republican, two-Democrat conference committee that hammered out last-minute details of the bill.

Huston said, and others in his caucus acknowledged, that he felt he needed to compromise on issues during the debate. But when it came time to vote, he held fast to his concerns over a controversial part of the bill that reimburses communities for expected decreases in gaming revenues caused by provisions in the bill.

The bill changes the riverboat gambling industry in Gary, where Indiana-based Spectacle Entertainment owns two licenses. One of the casinos will be shifted to a more accessible spot along the highway; the other will move to Vigo County and be up for sale. The Vigo County move will depend upon a voter referendum.

A few months ago, legislators were considering whether to impose a $100 million fee to move one of the Gary casinos inland.

Since then, the fee has been reduced to $20 million. In addition, the new Vigo County facility would receive a $40 million tax credit for its first five years.

"I have negotiated many transactions over the years, and I’ve never seen anything like what I’ve seen here," Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, said.

"We started out being encouraged to believe there was $100 million in the offing for this ability to move the boat from the lake down to the highway -- $100 million coming to the people of Indiana from the gaming industry," Delaney said. "Now ... we’re going to get $20 million instead of $100 million, and we’re going to pay back $40 million."

Mixed with the relocation of casinos, officials in some current Indiana gambling havens expect to see a decrease in revenue.

The bill includes "hold harmless" language intended to reimburse those communities. The language is specific to East Chicago, Hammond and Michigan City, where revenue shifts are predicted, along with French Lick and Evansville.

"Hold harmless" was one of the clauses that raised debate in later legislative discussions about the bill.

"When you start moving these around, the licenses around, doing that sort of thing, it really affects one community versus another," House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, R-Fort Wayne, said.

"The 'hold harmless' language was very important. It was important to the legislators whose areas were affected, and I think it really would have struggled to move forward (without the clause)."

The bill would direct the state auditor is to make community reimbursements using a base-year comparison of gaming revenues.

"On the Senate side, the 'hold harmless' was crucial that it be included because of the number of other gaming communities that were not directly mentioned or had something in the bill but felt an effect," said Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, whose district includes Harrah's Hoosier Park.

Hoosier Park and the state's other racino, Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, would get live dealers for table games beginning Jan. 1, 2020, a faster timeline than had been set under previous legislation. Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand officials anticipate that live dealers will bring increased gaming revenue.

Officials in southern Indiana communities where casinos are located don’t feel they’ll benefit from the changes detailed in House Bill 1015.

"Are we going to add additional revenue to southeast Indiana to offset the revenue we’re going to lose with the live tables?" Rep. Randy Frye, R-Greensburg, asked, estimating that the Rising Sun riverboat would lose $600,000.