The House Standing Committee on Gaming met to discuss Governor's Communication 24-71 and related proposed changes to law 1856, adopting its agenda and agreeing to solicit agency and public comment for 14 days.

Chair of the committee called the meeting to order, confirmed a quorum and said the purpose was to "be as, as transparent as possible to the public" while the committee gathers input on the administration-sponsored proposal. There was a motion to adopt the agenda, which passed by voice vote.

Representative Camacho asked whether the legislature can amend the casino law given ongoing contractual and bankruptcy matters. The chair said a district court bankruptcy decision involving IPI has been adjudicated and noted that the bidder who won the auction, Tim King, "is given, I believe, 9 months to consider purchasing the exclusive license," and that the courtordered a $2,000,000 license fee for one year as part of the process.

Representative Flores asked counsel to pull the federal bankruptcy order so the committee could review the court's findings; counsel agreed to do so and provide it at the next meeting. The committee set a 14-day comment period to receive submissions from agencies and the public before further action.

Vice Chair Representative Atell urged the committee to review earlier laws that led to 1856 (cited in discussion as prior laws numbered 1837, 1843 and 1845) and suggested the preferred approach would be to repeal and reenact related statutes rather than amend 1856 in isolation. Atell also raised fiscal questions reported in the meeting, saying "we know that was it 12 point some million dollars" was expected to be distributed and questioned whether the purchaser would inherit IPI's debts.

Representative Flores and others warned that the draft language in the administration's proposal appears to shift powers to a proposed casino commission, reduce the lottery commission's role, give the secretary of finance escrow-selection authority, and that the Law Revision Commission's codified text may not reflect recent changes. Flores said the commission has been dissolved under an executive order and that "even getting documentation is like looking for a needle in a haystack when it comes to money," urging stronger checks, transparency, and clearer direction on who would control revenues.

The committee did not act on any bill at the meeting. The chair said the next steps were to have counsel retrieve the bankruptcy court documents, open the 14-day comment period for agencies and the public, and assign the governor's communication to the vice chair for review of prior laws before the committee schedules further hearings or sponsorship on the floor. The meeting adjourned at 10:32 a.m.

What happens next: Counsel will provide the bankruptcy order and the vice chair will report back after reviewing the statutes that led to law 1856; the committee will consider agency and public comments collected during the 14-day period before any legislative action is taken.