Lawmakers are trying to maintain their control over the Hoosier Lottery, inserting language into an unrelated tax bill Tuesday that would prohibit the lottery from expanding into online lottery games or tickets unless it's approved by the General Assembly.
The language was added into House Bill 1002, which initially would have implemented $1.3 billion worth of income and business tax cuts. The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee gutted that tax language within minutes and with no discussion, striking a major blow to the House and Gov. Eric Holcomb's priority bill and to those in the manufacturing community.
Instead the unrelated Hoosier Lottery language was added to the bill.
"There's been rumors floating about the Statehouse that the lottery commission is moving to expand gaming by promoting and putting out there I-lottery tickets for portable devices," Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, said when introducing the amendment.
Hoosier Lottery looking into online gaming
Julie Mahurin, a spokeswoman for Hoosier Lottery, said the organization had been researching online gaming. Other states have already expanded into the online territory, including Michigan and Illinois. Michigan's lottery, for example, has 150 interactive games set to music on its website.
“Changes in consumer behavior are driving many organizations like ours to identify new and innovative ways to provide options to today’s customers," Mahurin said in a statement. "While no formal action has been taken, for the past few years, we have been researching innovations in the industry including potential changes to the way our games are played."
The Hoosier Lottery is primarily operated by private contractor IGT Indiana.
Under the version of the bill that passed the House, the individual income tax all Hoosiers pay would be reduced from 3.23% to 3% by 2026, the taxes businesses have to pay on equipment would be reduced and a utility tax that impacts all energy users would be nixed.
Altogether, House Republicans said in a press release that it would save Hoosiers and businesses about $1.3 billion once fully implemented.
Bill author Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, advocated for the tax cuts to be reinstated into the bill.
"This isn’t our money," Brown said. "It’s the citizens' money."
Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Bremen, defended the Senate's decision, and said he would prefer to pay down the state's debt first before implementing any new tax cuts, due in part to the large amount of certainty surrounding the future of the economy and the state's finances.
The amended bill still contains a provision to expand who can qualify for the automatic taxpayer refund this spring.
The Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy has to vote on the legislation before it could move to the full chamber for consideration. The House would also either have to accept the Senate version if the bill, or the two sides would have to negotiate a final version.
That means the bill is not a done deal, and some tax cuts could still come back in the final version of the bill.
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/15/indiana-lawmakers-nix-tax-cuts-push-control-over-hoosier-lottery-online-games/6795642001/