Senate panel considers raising allowable reserve for charitable bingo organizations

House Bill 2820, offered to the Senate as a House-originated bill, would increase the maximum amount a licensed charitable-bingo organization may keep in its bingo operating account from $50,000 to $100,000.

"This small but much needed update will provide a more stable foundation for administering charitable bingo in Texas," said Mark Westerman, a CPA from Victoria and treasurer of Texans for Charitable Bingo. Westerman testified the cap has not been updated since 2009 and that the increase would help charities cover interruptions such as natural disasters and maintain operations.

Sponsor testimony said the cap dates to a 2009 change by the 81st Legislature and that inflation and growth in bingo operations have strained charitable bingo organizations. Westerman told the committee that two units the group represents have distributed more than $500,000 annually to member charities over the past five years and remit roughly $300,000 to state and local governments per unit.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the bill language and an expected committee substitute to convert the current draft into a legislative council draft; the sponsor said a committee substitute would be incoming to make a clarifying tweak to the caption.

Public testimony was limited to the Texans for Charitable Bingo representative. The committee closed public testimony and left the bill pending for later action.