Author: doris beaver

Doris Beaver’s
EYE ON THE LEGISLATURE . . . 
April 2, 2012 
   With adjournment of the Sixty-Eighth General Assembly just over a month away (May 9th), a number of bills are yet to have their first committee hearing. House Bill 12-1280, concerning video lottery terminals is one those languishing so late in the session.
House Bill 12-1111: As always, any bill concerning requirement(s) to show identification to vote is a very partisan issue. HB 1111 passed out of the House on a straight party line vote of 33-31, with one excused, and now goes to the Senate for consideration where it faces a Democratic majority, never an easy battle on such issues. 
   HB 1111 requires that “identification used for election-related purposes include a photograph of the individual, and removes several forms of identification that do not have a photograph of the individual from the list of acceptable identification. An exception is provided for residents of state-licensed institutions who may use a Medicare or Medicaid card as voter identification. 
   Take note, specifically, the documentation removed from the list that may be used for election-related purposes is: 
•	a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the elector;
•	a certified copy of a birth certificate for the elector issued in the United States; and 
•	Certified documentation of naturalization. 
   Look for lively debate in the Senate with its Democratic majority.
Lead Sponsors of House Bill 12-1111: Representatives Libby Szabo, R-Jefferson, 866-2962, and Ken Summers, R-Jefferson, 866-2927; and Senator Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, Adams, Weld, 866-4876. 
House Bill 12-1280:  This legislative session has been somewhat unusual, but highly unusual is the languishing of HB 1280 which is yet to have its first committee hearing. The substantive provision of HB 1280 is that it gives the Colorado Lottery Commission the discretionary authority to “license no more than two lottery retailers to install and operate video lottery terminals at up to three sites within the state.” 
   Heretofore and typically, any mention of video lottery terminals has the casino industry joining ranks to fight an eminent threat. A video lottery terminal (VLT) is defined in HB 1280 as “not a machine or device that directly disburses coins, cash, tokens, or any item of value other than a printed pay voucher,” and it is not “a machine or device defined as a slot machine in the state constitution.” 
   Here’s the warm and fuzzy aspect behind the bill. It creates the Colorado College Scholarship Fund in the State Treasury. The bill directs the General Assembly to establish the college scholarship program by bill during the 2013 legislative session. The stated purpose is for “increasing access to undergraduate postsecondary education for Colorado residents.” But that’s not exactly the way the distribution will go.
   Distribution of net revenue after expenses is complicated. Community colleges will receive 84 percent up to a combined $29 million from VLTs and from money allocated to community colleges from limited gaming proceeds; Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Act will receive 16 percent up to a combined total of $5.5 million from both sources; AND FINALLY, the spillover of all remaining moneys from VLTs will be credited to the Colorado College Scholarship Fund for annual appropriation by the General Assembly for college scholarship and related administrative costs!
Point-of-Information:  Note how a bill gets hyped as creating the “Colorado College Scholarship Fund in the State Treasury,” but ends up on the tail end of receiving funds. Read on for just how on the tail end of funding scholarships would rank. 
   The state and local impact analysis by the Colorado Legislative Council staff is lengthy, so significant points from it follow. Readers should keep in mind, “Limited gaming is authorized by the Colorado state constitution, but by a section separate and distinct from the Colorado lottery.” 
•	Local approval is required by either a majority of the governing body or a majority of the voters in the city or county where the VLT site is to be located; 
•	The Colorado Lottery Commission (CLC) may approve operation of up to 2,500 VLTs at each of three sites, restricted to one site in Pueblo County, a site east of the Continental Divide outside of Pueblo County and one site west of the Continental Divide;
•	Lottery retailers (must be a para-mutual licensee) will be entitled to received compensation equal to 70 percent of net machine income (net machine income: cash value placed into a VLT minus value of all free games awarded and all pay vouchers issued by such terminal); that’s right, lottery retailers receive 70 percent of the net machine income; 
•	First full year of operation, after payment of the 70 percent of net machine income to lottery retailer, state revenue is estimated to be $70.4 million for Fiscal Year 2013-14; 
•	For purposes of the fiscal note analysis, the VLT average daily net machine revenue is estimated using the statewide average for slot machine devices (based on 2011 data from the Division of Gaming, average daily take per machine is $131.35; except the daily take-per-machine in Black Hawk was $168.20); 
•	The three new VLT locations will, to an unknown degree, compete directly and effectively with Colorado’s limited stakes gaming industry, and will reduce future gaming at the three Colorado mountain communities where gaming is legal; 
   The analysis states that the impact on local government for infrastructure modifications and law enforcement is beyond the scope of the fiscal note analysis and has not been estimated. 
   Local governments are expected to see a decline in distributions in the future from limited gaming due to some gamblers switching their gaming habits to VLT locations. 
Lead Sponsors of House Bill 12-1280:  Representatives Don Coram, R-Delta, Dolores, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel, 866-2955, and Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Weld, 866-3706; and Senators Lois Tochtrop, D-Adams, 866-4863, and Nancy Spence, R-Arapahoe, 866-4883. 
House Bill 12-1169: A bill just signed on March 24th by Governor Hickenlooper may be of interest to readers.  HB 1169 “amends the state’s open meetings law to prohibit a state or local body from adopting any proposed policy position, resolution or regulation or take other formal action, by secret ballot unless otherwise authorized in accordance with the state’s open meetings law.” 
   Under the bill, “state and local public bodies may conduct leadership elections by secret ballot, but must record the total number of votes for each candidate in the meeting during the meeting.” 
Postponed Indefinitely:  House Bill 12-1174, Concerning a Prohibition on Children’s Products that Contain Bisphenol A (that’s the hardening agent used in some plastic products).
The reader’s comments or questions are always welcome.  E-mail me at doris@dorisbeaver.com.
Doris Beaver