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Senate committee clears bill letting host cities and counties use casino revenue to back local bonds
Summary
A Senate committee advanced a bill that lets municipalities use their share of casino gaming revenues to back local bond issues for public projects such as broadband and other infrastructure; the measure passed the committee by voice vote.
Senate Bill 471, presented to the City, County & Local Affairs Committee, would allow cities and counties receiving casino gaming revenue to pledge those receipts as security for locally issued bonds. The sponsor described it as "a a pretty simple bill. It just carves out, and allows cities that, and counties that receive gaming revenue to bond those, entities."
Supporters told the committee the change clarifies that a municipality may use some or all of its portion of gaming receipts — created and augmented by Amendment 100 — to pay debt service on bonds for public projects. The presenter said the new language would let a local government separate the pledged gaming revenue from its general- revenue pledge so the city “wouldn't have to pledge everything.”
Committee members asked whether the change is permitted under Amendment 100 and how the revenue is divided. The presenter explained the existing distribution scheme — host counties and cities receive set percentages of casino revenue — and said the bill does not change who receives funds, only how local governments may use their portion to back bonds for infrastructure, police, fire and utilities.
No members of the public spoke for or against the bill. The committee moved and passed the bill by voice vote; the committee record shows a motion to pass followed by an affirmative voice vote and no roll-call tally in the transcript.
