HB 272-CARD ROOMS & OPERATIONS  9:52:18 AM CHAIR RALPH SEEKINS announced CSHB 272(FIN) AM to be up for consideration. MICHAEL O'HARE, Staff to Representative Pete Kott, advised the committee of a committee substitute (CS) identified as 24- LS0916\L. The changes are as follows: Page 2, line 8 allows for a maximum fee or rake a licensed owner may collect from players to be up to $4.00 per game. Page 2, line 13 adds that a municipality may regulate the hours of operation and other matters relating to card rooms within the municipality. Page 2, starting at line 28 after "department" adds that the licensed owner shall obtain a signed self determined pre-set loss limit from the player before selling tokens or chips. Page 8, line 23 says an owner's license may not be transferred, sold, or purchased. It is a non-transferable license. Page 9, line 9 allows for licenses to be issued for card room operations in a municipality that has a municipal police department if the municipality has adopted the ordinance, ratified by at least 60 percent of the municipal voters voting to authorize card rooms and card games in that municipality. If the population of the municipality is less than 50,000, only one owner's license may be issued in that municipality. If the population of the municipality is 50,000 or more, the total number of owner's licenses issued may not exceed the total population divided by 50,000. Page 11, line 7 subsection (b) is added as a factor to consider in granting an owner's license, the department shall make an application for an owner's license available for public inspection and copying, and shall invite the public comment on an application and consider all comments received in determining whether to grant the owner's license. Page 11, line 11 adds subsection (c) in order to give local input to the department in order to determine who would get a license in the case of more than one entity vying for a permit. 9:56:23 AM SENATOR CHARLIE HUGGINS moved version L as the working document before the committee. Hearing no objections, the motion carried. MR. O'HARE submitted answers to questions that the committee had in the previous bill hearing. He added the document titled Question to the Sponsor of HB 272 Posed by the Senate Judiciary Committee Dated 03/29/2006 to the committee packet. 10:01:25 AM CHAIR SEEKINS called for public testimony. EDWARD JAMES, Anchorage, testified in favor of the bill. DAN STICKLE, Economist for the Department of Revenue (DOR), offered to answer questions regarding the fiscal note. ROBERT HALL, Vice President of the Houston Chamber of Commerce, testified in favor of the bill. He thanked the sponsor for adding the changes that the city suggested. 10:09:03 AM MR. HALL recognized the hesitancy of the committee to passing the bill and suggested that they put the question on the ballot and allow the public to vote on it. LINK FANNON, City Councilman, Houston, Alaska, testified in support of the bill. He thanked the sponsor for adding the suggested changes to the bill, such as local control and the super-majority vote. He advised the committee that the City of Houston was taking an economic approach to the bill. Card playing is happening currently and a lot of money is going out of the country, he said. The State of Alaska needs to enforce consumer protection and allow citizens to play in their home state in a safe environment. 10:12:02 AM RUTH BLANCHARD, City Council Member of Houston, Alaska testified in favor of the bill. The bill provides for a safe and responsible way for people to enjoy playing poker, she asserted. ROSEMARY BURNETT, Deputy Mayor of Houston, testified in support of the bill. 10:15:09 AM MELISSA PARKER, representing the Alaska Poker Association, testified in support of the bill. She said her organization has been approached by several organizations, such as churches and the police, who asked them to help organize poker tournaments. She said HB 272 would help people stay in Alaska to play poker and that the money would stay in state. SENATOR GENE THERRIAULT asked Ms. Parker whether she had any reason to believe that people wouldn't still go out of the state, play online, or play in back rooms. He took issue with the claim that the bill would keep money in the state. MS. PARKER said it wouldn't prevent Internet gaming but that Alaskan's would stay in state to play in the tournaments, rather than going out of state to play. SENATOR HUGGINS asked Ms. Parker a reasonable parameter of loss- limits. MS. PARKER said that would be self-imposed and so it would be an individual decision. 10:19:34 AM CHAIR SEEKINS asked Ms. Parker her thoughts of whether the card rooms would morph into rooms full of gaming, including bingo and pull-tabs. MS. PARKER said it would be up to the municipality but it could be likely. CHAIR SEEKINS asked her impression of the cost of opening a card room. MS. PARKER said someone would have to be wealthy to open up a card room. 10:22:16 AM CHAIR SEEKINS closed public testimony and asked for discussion among committee members. He asked for the will of the committee. CHAIR SEEKINS recognized that there was no will of the committee and he held the bill in committee.