Posted: | February 26, 2015 03:13 PM |
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From: | Representative Eddie Day Pashinski |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Co-sponsorship of Legislation – Video Lottery Authorization for Property Tax Relief |
MEMORANDUM TO: All Members of the House of Representatives FROM: Representative Eddie Day Pashinski DATE: February 26, 2015 SUBJECT: Co-sponsorship of Legislation – Video Lottery Authorization for Property Tax Relief In the near future I intend to introduce legislation similar to legislation I introduced last session authorizing the Department of Revenue to establish and regulate video gaming machines in restaurants, bars, and clubs with a valid Liquor License under Article IV of the Liquor Code. My legislation builds off of previous proposals made to implement keno and other video lottery games. The primary difference between this bill and my House Bill 1932 from the 2013-2014 Legislative Session is the distribution of net profits with the proceeds being disbursed as follows:
Each licensed establishment would be limited to a maximum of three video gaming machines. The video gaming machines would be connected to the Pennsylvania Lottery’s Central Computer system, which would be able to track the operations of the machines in real time, ensuring their integrity and compliance. Various estimates indicate that there are still thousands of illegal video gaming terminals in use throughout the Commonwealth, operating in the shadows without oversight. We have a duty to protect Pennsylvanians from unscrupulous operators by bringing this activity into the light of day, regulating these machines to ensure payouts are not being unfairly manipulated. At the same time, we have an opportunity to use the proceeds to help Pennsylvanians who feel the weight of ever-increasing property taxes while also helping clubs and businesses across the state to succeed and providing desperately needed revenue to our municipalities. I hope you will join me in ensuring that we continue to keep our commitment to reducing the burden of property taxes on Pennsylvania’s homeowners by supporting this win-win-win legislation. PREVIOUS SPONSORS: KOTIK, MAHONEY, COHEN, MOUL, READSHAW, CALTAGIRONE, BURNS, YOUNGBLOOD, MASSER, and EVERETT |
Introduced as HB1458