First Regular Session of the 110th General Assembly At the time the IGC published the 1996 Annual Report, several pieces of legislation were pending in the 1997 Session of the General Assembly, the following which were enacted into law:
P.L. 27-1997 Emergency Rule Making Authority I.C. 4-22-2-37.1 was amended to provide the IGC with emergency rule making authority. Under its emergency rule making ability, the IGC can adopt an emergency rule effective for only 90 days, with a possible extension of 90 days. Within thirty (30) days of adopting an emergency rule, the IGC must begin the process for permanent enactment of that rule.
P.L. 90-1997 Local Gaming Funds I.C. 8-18-8-5 was amended to allow a local government that receives tax revenue from the riverboat admission tax or wagering tax to establish a riverboat fund. It also allows a local unit of government to deposit money from the riverboat admission tax and wagering tax in the unit's general fund or riverboat fund and to use gaming funds for the maintenance of county highways.
P.L. 28-1997 Withholding of Federal Taxes from Winnings I.C. 6-3-4-8.2 was added to require riverboat owners to withhold federal tax from winnings and retain adjusted gross income tax at the time and in the amount described in withholding instructions issued by the Department of Revenue.
Second Regular Session of the 110th General Assembly Several bills related to riverboat gambling have been introduced in the 1998 Session of the General Assembly. The results of those bills will be reported in the next Annual Report.