House committee adopts 'do not pass' recommendation on bill narrowing charitable gaming definition

Bismarck — The House Education Committee voted to recommend 'do not pass' on Senate Bill 2035 on a 13-0 roll call after several hours of testimony and questioning about proposed changes to which nonprofits may hold state charitable gaming licenses.

Deb McDaniel, director of the Charitable Gaming Division in the Office of the Attorney General, told the committee the amendment aims to narrow the statute's definition of “public spirited” organizations and to clarify related terms already defined elsewhere in state law. “My name is Deb McDaniel, I'm the director for the charitable gaming division under the office of Attorney General and I would be happy to answer some questions,” she said at the start of her remarks.

The amendment would move “educational activities” and “educational public service organizations” from the catch-all public-spirited category into the separate statutory definition for educational organizations. It also would remove adult amateur athletic competitions (which McDaniel said the office interprets to mean pool leagues and similar adult leagues) from the public-spirited category. The amendment clarifies that only domestic (North Dakota–domiciled)…