LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6400 NOTE PREPARED: Dec 13, 2023
BILL NUMBER: HB 1048 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Various Gaming Issues.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Morrison BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED: GENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
XDEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill does the following:
(1) It provides that a hold harmless agreement or an agreement to offset a financial loss between a casino,
riverboat, or unit of government and another unit of government concerning potential losses of revenue by
the other unit of government is prohibited and unenforceable.
(2) It repeals the requirement that the licensed owner of a riverboat operating in Vigo County pay certain
payments to the city of Evansville.
(3) It repeals language concerning a supplemental payment to East Chicago, Hammond, and Michigan City
under certain circumstances.
(4) It repeals the Historic Hotel District Community Support Fee.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024.
Explanation of State Expenditures:
Explanation of State Revenues: Historic Hotel District Community Support Fee: The bill eliminates the
Historic Hotel District Community Support Fee [see Explanation of Local Revenues]. The change is
estimated to remove distributions of this revenue to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).
The agency annually receives $660,000. The IEDC distributes the revenue to the South Central Indiana
Regional Economic Development Corporation and Radius Indiana. The fiscal impact will begin in FY 2025.
Explanation of Local Expenditures:
Explanation of Local Revenues: Historic Hotel District Community Support Fee: The bill eliminates the
HB 1048 1 Historic Hotel District Community Support Fee of $1.25 M annually paid by the two racinos. A total of $2.5
M annually is distributed to the IEDC and local units in Orange, Dubois, and Crawford Counties. The IEDC
receives $660,000, and the remaining $1.84 M is distributed to the local units.
The fiscal impact to local units from these changes is shown in the following table. The revenue loss will
begin in FY 2025.
Local Units
Estimated Annual
Revenue Loss
Orange County $697,500
Orleans 158,750
Paoli 158,750
French Lick 280,000
West Baden 280,000
Dubois County 132,500
Crawford County 132,500
Payment to City of Evansville: Under current law, the potential Vigo County casino licensee would pay three
annual payments to the city of Evansville. The annual payments are $1.2 M in the first year, $0.9 M in the
second year, and $0.6 M in the third year after the Vigo County casino starts operation. The bill removes
these distributions to the city of Evansville.
Hold-harmless from Gary Casino Relocation: Current law provides a Riverboat Wagering Tax distribution
formula to offset the reduction in Wagering Tax distributions to the city of East Chicago, Hammond, and
Michigan City after the Gary riverboat relocates to an inland facility. The hold-harmless distribution applies
for the first full four years after the relocation of a Gary riverboat to an inland location. The bill will remove
the hold-harmless distribution to these units. This would result in a decrease in distributions to the city of
East Chicago and Michigan City and an increase to the city of Gary. Any fiscal impact will begin in FY 2025.
The fiscal impact to these local units is indeterminable.
Additional Information - Hold-harmless from Gary Casino Relocation: The hold-harmless distribution is
based on the level of revenue decline relative to FY 2019. The local Riverboat Wagering Tax distributions
are capped up to the FY 2002 level, and business at the Hammond casino will have to substantially decrease
before the revenue received by the city will fall below the cap. It is estimated that the city of Hammond will
not receive any hold-harmless distributions under the current law. The hold-harmless distribution under
current law will offset the revenue loss impact to East Chicago and Michigan City. This bill will remove this
hold-harmless distribution. This would result in a revenue loss to East Chicago and Michigan City and a
revenue gain for the city of Gary.
State Agencies Affected: Indiana Gaming Commission; Indiana Economic Development Corporation;
Auditor of the State.
Local Agencies Affected: City of Evansville, Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Michigan City, Orange
County local units; Dubois County; Crawford County.
Information Sources:
HB 1048 2 Fiscal Analyst: Randhir Jha, 317-232-9556.
HB 1048 3