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Video poker bills make a comeback

by Jeremy Alford, LaPolitics

A trio of video poker bills that passed by overwhelming votes last term but were vetoed by former Gov. Bobby Jindal at the urging of the Louisiana Family Forum are back in the mix.

A trio of video poker bills that passed by overwhelming votes last term but were vetoed by former Gov. Bobby Jindal at the urging of the Louisiana Family Forum are back in the mix for the regular session.

Jindal and LFF said at the time they were worried about weakening safeguards, despite the endorsements by the House and Senate.

HB 189 by Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, and SB 339 by Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, would allow a truck stop casino to run its machines even when the attached restaurant is closed, under certain conditions.

HB 196 by Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, and SB 323 by Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, somewhat cut the link between volume of fuel sales and the number of machines allowed at truck stops.

Another proposal concerns license suspensions and revocations. It’s inside HB 226 by Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, and SB 322 by Morrell. The legislation provides for a revocation hearing when an operator receives a third or subsequent underage violation, rather than an automatic revocation. It likewise allows operators to argue “extenuating circumstances” in such hearings.