House panel approves move of charity and bar discipline to Gaming Commission with $25,000 appropriation

Representative Ben Koppelman told the House Judiciary Committee he amended House Bill 1525 to keep most gaming authority with the Attorney General’s Office while moving disciplinary authority over charities and bars to the state Gaming Commission and adding funding for commission operations.

Koppelman, the bill sponsor, said the amendment removes a proposed transfer of the entire gaming division and instead moves only disciplinary hearings into the open, public process of the Gaming Commission so enforcement can be televised and the public can have greater confidence. "We're paying the commissioners more than we were before, so we're going from 75 to $200 a day ... we're going from 5 to 9," Koppelman said while explaining a separate $25,000 appropriation he added to the bill to cover increased costs.

The committee debated whether the $25,000 appropriation for two…