Senate Must Concur

Bills aimed restricting appointments to the state Gaming Control Board (GCB) and moving its investigative arm to the state attorney general’s office easily passed the state House of Representatives Tuesday.

House Bill 262 would move the GCB’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement’s 73 members to the attorney general to help insure independence in BIE investigations and establish it as a full-fledged law enforcement group. The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery) and passed, largely along party lines, 126 to 72.

A bill prohibiting members of the General Assembly and senior state officials from being appointed to the GCB for at least one year after leaving state employment passed overwhelmingly, 189 to 8. House Bill 391 was sponsored by state Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Cumberland).

Members of the GCB earn $145,000 annually.

Both bills were sent to the state Senate for concurrence.