Legislature(2005 - 2006)
03/22/2006 04:24 PM House L&C
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB207 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s) || Board of Certified Direct-entry Midwives || Board of Psychologists and Psychological Associate Examiners || Board of Social Work Examiners | |
| HB447 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 447-BROADCASTING PROMOTING CHARITABLE GAMING CHAIR ANDERSON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 447, "An Act relating to the use of broadcasting to promote raffles and lotteries." 4:54:19 PM CRAIG JOHNSON, Staff to Representative Lesil McGuire, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative McGuire, sponsor, said that this bill levels the playing field for advertising, yet "keeps certain things out." He stated that the amendments offered will help to solve potential problems. 4:54:55 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN offered Amendment 1, by Legislative Legal and Research Services: Page 1, line 6, following "classic": Insert ", other than animal classics," CHAIR ANDERSON objected for discussion purposes. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN explained that the intention of the amendment is to correct a loophole created by previous legislation which was intended to allow "animal classics" at the state fair. CHAIR ANDERSON asked if Representative Lynn was targeting the Tudor Bingo Rat Race, which started after the aforementioned legislation passed, yet was not the intent of the bill. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said yes. 4:56:22 PM CHAIR ANDERSON removed his objection. There being no further objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD offered Conceptual Amendment 2, as follows [original punctuation provided]: Before each use of the word "raffle" or "lottery," including the title of the bill, insert the word "charitable." Page 1, Line 8: Following "lottery" insert "as defined in AS 05.15.690." 4:56:34 PM REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG objected for discussion purposes. 4:56:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD explained that this makes it clear that the bill is intended to allow broadcasting for charitable purposes only. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said that he would be supporting the amendment due to the reference to AS 05.15.690, which defines "raffle" and "lottery". REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG removed his objection. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked how the sponsor feels about Amendment 2. MR. JOHNSON replied that the sponsor does not have a problem with the aforementioned amendment. [Conceptual Amendment 2 was treated as adopted.] 4:58:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD moved Amendment 3 [original punctuation provided]: Page 1, line 5, following "broadcasting": Insert, ", if the broadcasting is limited to public service announcements provided free of charge by a broadcaster to a permittee," Page 1, line 8: Delete ""broadcasting"" Insert ""broadcasting," if the broadcasting is limited to public service announcements provided free of charge by a broadcaster to a permittee, ["Broadcasting"]" CHAIR ANDERSON objected for discussion purposes. 4:58:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD explained that he does not want to expand gaming of any kind, regardless of whether or not it is charitable. He stated that the bill was presented as a way to allow charities to advertise fundraising events, and he opined that [public service announcements] PSAs are the way to do this. He said that he does not want to see this expand to for-profit advertising, adding his belief that the only reason to pay to advertise a raffle or lottery is to expand and involve more people. 5:00:11 PM CHAIR ANDERSON clarified that if the advertising is not limited to PSAs, any company would be able to advertise [gaming activities]. He noted that ultimately, a portion of the money would likely go to a charity. However, he acknowledged that this may encourage many people to spend more money gambling, thereby expanding gambling in the state. He surmised that another reason for Amendment 3 would be to prevent any loopholes in the future. 5:01:18 PM CHAIR ANDERSON removed his objection. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG objected. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN noted that currently, newspapers are able to [advertise charitable gaming] for a fee, and he asked how this discrepancy is addressed. He also expressed concern with expanding gambling of any kind. 5:02:00 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD replied that while he is aware that newspapers are currently able to advertise charitable gaming, he has not seen any ads of this nature. He pointed out that the bill includes television, radio, satellite, cable teletype, and fax as methods of advertising that are acceptable. He said that this is "pretty broad." He stated that gambling is currently illegal and he feels it should remain this way. CHAIR ANDERSON remarked that [PSAs are intended] to assist charities with advertisements; however, if all charities did PSAs, the broadcasters may go out of business. 5:03:26 PM MR. JOHNSON replied that the bill does not expand gambling. He opined that limiting the broadcasting to PSAs would have a negative effect on charities, as it would cause more operators to request PSAs. He surmised, then, that this would result in no PSAs, as the stations may be willing to do six, but not twelve. In response to an earlier comment, he said that the bill is not specifically intended for pulltab and bingo advertising. 5:04:35 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD said that he did not specify pulltabs and bingo. 5:04:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD went on to say that he does not believe limiting the amount of advertising for gaming is a "negative effect". He said "I think that if we [put] less advertising and less money into gambling, then that's a good thing." MR. JOHNSON, in response to a question, said that this may cause charities to seek funding from the legislature, as they would require alternative funding sources. CHAIR ANDERSON commented that while he understands the concern, he feels that the bill is good. CHAIR ANDERSON asked if any member of the [broadcasting] industry would like to testify. The committee took a brief at-ease. 5:07:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOTT pointed out that there is no legalized gambling in the state; however, there are "games of chance." He opined that use of the term "gambling" in this discussion is incorrect. 5:07:52 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Guttenberg, Crawford, and Lynn voted in favor of Amendment 3. Representatives LeDoux, Kott, Rokeberg, and Anderson voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 3 failed by a vote of 3-4. 5:08:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG indicated that he objected to moving HB 447 from committee and expressed concern with the possibility of enhancing gaming. He opined that a better approach would be to limit the amount of advertising newspapers are able to do, rather than expanding the advertising requirements to include other forms of media. He said that while he does not wish to "put a burden" on the industry, he does not want to expand gaming. Moreover, he said this seems to be a national issue, and noted that there are restrictions in place that have not been discussed. He questioned how overhead costs are currently dealt with and inquired as to how the added overhead costs would affect the charities. He opined that this may cause a decrease in funds for the charity. 5:11:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG noted that the adoption of Amendment 1 prohibits the Alaska State Fair from holding its "animal classic." He suggested that the sponsor consider an amendment to the amendment to deal with this issue. 5:11:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE LYNN stated that this was not the intent of the amendment. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG noted that HB 477 has an additional referral to the House Finance Committee. REPRESENTATIVE LYNN said that regardless of whether the term is "games of chance" or "gambling," [the same concerns apply]. 5:12:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD opined that Alaska is "under assault" as one of the few states that has not legalized for-profit gambling. He said that there is a large amount of money in gaming, which he feels is why more effort is being made to expand charitable gaming. He stated that one way to expand this is through advertising. He agreed with a previous statement regarding a possible decrease in the amount of money a charity would receive. He suggested limiting the advertising to the charity, rather than the operators, as a possible conceptual amendment. 5:14:28 PM CHAIR ANDERSON commented that gambling exists, and the vendors do make a profit. He said that while he does understand the concern with the legalization of gambling in the state, certain types of gambling, such as online poker, already exist. He opined that there is good intent and merit in enabling charities to advertise raffles and lotteries. 5:15:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG remarked that the broadcasters have a legitimate concern regarding the nature of the industry, and the burdens involved; however, there is a cascading effect outside of this. He acknowledged that there are "good" operators which are sanctioned and regulated by the state, although the regulations may not always be enforced. He said that all operators make a living off of [games of chance]. In the past, he said, nonprofits "ran the game" and received most of the profit. Currently, however, there are operators and distributors involved, and the amount of money that goes back to the charity continues to decrease. He expressed concern with the high cost for television advertising, and he suggested that this be looked into further. 5:17:43 PM CHAIR ANDERSON asked for more information regarding the costs of a raffle or lottery and whether HB 447 will cause the charity and [raffle or lottery winner] to receive less money because of the higher advertising costs. MR. JOHNSON replied that the House Finance Committee would be taking a look at this issue. 5:18:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOTT said that the aforementioned concerns are valid. He opined that the end result would be a higher return as a result of more advertising, adding that allowing these new types of advertising is a better way to "level the playing field," rather than eliminating the advertising altogether. 5:19:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG moved to report HB 447, as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD objected. 5:20:05 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Lynn, LeDoux, Kott, Rokeberg, and Anderson voted in favor of moving HB 447, as amended, from committee. Representatives Guttenberg and Crawford voted against it. Therefore, CSHB 447(L&C) was reported out of the House Labor and Commerce Standing Committee by a vote of 5-2.
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