[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6375805,"mediaKeyId","2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c","parentId",2140798,"title","Committee advances three bills in executive session; due-pass recommendations recorded","audioSeconds",236,"startMs",4950000,"endMs",5186000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c&start=4950&end=5186","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c/thumbnail_4950000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6375805/Washington/Committee-advances-three-bills-in-executive-session-due-pass-recommendations-recorded","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375805-d9cf81ccf27942eb4a4d12c2df2d401a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146865&Signature=ghNC61tubMRsqQj3jcs~-TVNINkl01nduR~VlyVqMw12J2hZ9NbWsAxfVwr~Z96V0vSAP~LQmhWT6iGTvFWFlmtKY5MblFArToWnXvub9SGavqvZtIxJozM6y6yTJNmSupKA4QBSzBlv328pNXHjWNSgev6X1ZKkuhXZZMhRTHNJ9vfRuRlMKFpJ3X-lx-q1u2DvMZgAJIp3njj2pEh8jj6Ba7bL3MlUNzkU7LRaX2~ayvBcmntvkqTeRkDM9WzSYZk-HtmpTs-bO-V4tsvlmGwI4Oe91rOZtw1I8X8njI-ZgW1OphcEsdcIZsXTPagZjY0gq9tKAn73zec2DVPRrg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade","date","2025-01-22T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee moved three bills out of committee during an executive session recorded in the transcript.

Senate Bill 5016: Staff described SB 5016 as a measure relating to prearranged funeral services that would exclude certain funeral merchandise, transportation and protection agreements from prearranged funeral-service contract requirements and reduce the percentage of the contract purchase price that must be placed into trust. Committee staff said there were no amendments and no fiscal note was reported during the briefing. A committee member moved that the bill receive a due-pass recommendation and the committee recorded the motion as passing by voice vote; the transcript records the outcome as “bill passes subject to signature.” The transcript did not record a roll-call tally or identify the member who made the motion by name.

Senate Bill 5108: Committee staff described SB 5108 as revising financial-responsibility requirements for service-contract providers and protection-product guarantee providers and as specifying when a consumer may apply for reimbursement for payment or performance due. The briefing noted a fiscal impact exists for 5108. A motion to give SB 5108 a due-pass recommendation was moved and passed by voice vote; the transcript records the action as “pass subject to signature.” No roll-call tally or mover name is recorded in the transcript.

Senate Joint Memorial 8005: Committee staff said SJM 8005 would request that Congress reinstate the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 (reestablish separation between commercial and investment banking). The committee moved the joint memorial and the motion carried by voice vote; the transcript records the memorial moving forward “subject to signature.” Committee members spoke in support during the executive-session discussion but a roll-call tally was not recorded in the transcript.

All three due-pass recommendations were presented in executive session and recorded as subject to members’ signatures within the committee’s 24-hour signature window. The transcript records voice outcomes only; it does not provide a roll-call vote tally or full list of individual member votes for the items advanced.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade - 1/22/2025 8:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","In executive session the Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee voted due-pass on SB 5016, SB 5108 and Senate Joint Memorial 8005; the record shows voice votes and subject-to-signature outcomes.","taxTitle","Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade, Senate, Legislative Sessions, Washington","taxId",20500,"location","Washington","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6375809,"Horse Racing Commission warns HISA fees could threaten Washington racing and related jobs",369,3241000,3610000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c&start=3241&end=3610","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c/thumbnail_3241000.jpg","/articles/6375809/Washington/Horse-Racing-Commission-warns-HISA-fees-could-threaten-Washington-racing-and-related-jobs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375809-ebf9f1a34cd9787b4520be9df00c8959/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146865&Signature=P1H91YAQAPdZI5nUrm1O1OOH2SkV9wvSTv5Hh1f1Ol8vvc7dcIGMtQJvi9s56zzamO~7EPVi4Tq-T6nX13XZip1YW14E5MKg-XhPiXZx3l-X-goPqeiqL3ZG-fohEVrUXpVasKrkW~SLsaARTFA6PMTMri0zIEYIu8PM1tkr16KUGDBnRQ2A1fCg5TgGlZ13rQ1XWGWFIau4lNShqTz0uuAIE3lLImEOwd4CSIJgE9KD3~6yeTNehz8jQJgAYxureSVpVFBKZxPn9gUSAgx5NpZvcz0CR4SM0hf7lma2qPHpswz2iJeYHLR80bCrfXINes6vZsGWgrOZJcreb6psMg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Amanda Benton, executive secretary of the Washington Horse Racing Commission, and commission Chair Doug Moore told the Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee that the state’s pari-mutuel horse-racing industry has shrunk in recent decades and now faces a new financial burden from the federal Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA).

Benton summarized the commission’s regulatory responsibilities and said Emerald Downs is the only active racetrack in Washington; she said Emerald Downs plans a 51-day live-racing season beginning April 27 and ending Sept. 7. She reported that the commission issued 1,426 participant licenses in 2024 and an additional 481 licenses to associated personnel, for a total of 1,907 licenses, and that license totals have declined about 22.5% over the past decade, with the largest drop among owners and trainers.

Benton and Moore emphasized the broader economic footprint of racing: a 2019 (updated 2022) study the commission cited estimated direct and indirect annual cash flows of more than $70,000,000 and a total state economic contribution of roughly $240,000,000 when owners, breeders and related businesses are included. Benton said the industry purchases feed, hay and services locally (an estimated $20 per day to feed one racehorse during the meet, with roughly 700 horses stabled during a seven-month window — a figure the presentation equated to about $3,000,000 in local feed purchases).

Both presenters framed the federal HISA assessments as an existential threat. Benton said Washington’s 2025 assessment fee to HISA is $712,000 before credits; with a potential credit it would be about $424,000 and the commission paid $419,000 in 2024. Moore said HISA’s 2026 fee methodology change could raise Washington’s assessment to between $1,200,000 and $1,300,000 — an increase the commission says it cannot absorb. Moore said previous appropriations from the Legislature covered assessments in recent years but warned that fees at the projected level would “simply do not have the ability to pay” and that passing these costs to owners or the racing association would likely cause participants to leave the industry.

Moore and Benton urged legislative attention and said the commission submitted a regulatory “clean-up” agency-request bill (House Bill 1327) to align fees, taxes and statutory language with current industry practices. Committee members who spoke described the industry’s broad community impact, noting lost tracks and breeding farms and raising concerns about jobs and agricultural supply-chain consequences if racing declines further.

The commission asked for continued engagement and said it would provide additional materials and follow-up to committee members.","Commission leaders told the Senate committee that federal HISA assessment fees are rising sharply and could make horse racing financially unsustainable in Washington without legislative or other relief.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6375814,"Gambling Commission briefs Senate committee on enforcement, licensing and self-exclusion program",649,2375000,3024000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c&start=2375&end=3024","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c/thumbnail_2375000.jpg","/articles/6375814/Washington/Gambling-Commission-briefs-Senate-committee-on-enforcement-licensing-and-self-exclusion-program","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375814-ef7d13839c1d4829264ff6564357a28b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146865&Signature=By8SB3d2gAdc1KqgXoIuWuG8j8cJi1vZk-BZrNhWZUBpM04JFdpUjtOlEf~UnZJ0JE9xl-3WGY7VDETsLsKjLDGC10nb1XkOnol6NJPwwUf7tKjQbyIrMb~eJgQbivTC7zx5WsULTXKfVRUs2BNJW5zWoZXUdmclJUMJQ8VJsxuIgQRCd78EuObEhw~g8U~ExRe1E9eBtyLysT7iNFOmT3FR3WHVGHFNL85o-V8KoQfAHGWTCAV7U9e0DvaH0sg-R8Lzewz2hvXd8jCXw2PTEU3fU~4FHDGgSiABmZqHgGSZbANun7roIU86P8yzgv0T6U3HaFNBJVKLDi7sswNilg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Tina Griffin, director of the Washington State Gambling Commission, told the Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee that the commission’s mission, drawn from the state Gambling Act, is “to protect the public by ensuring that gambling is legal and honest.”

Griffin described the commission as a limited-authority law enforcement agency that investigates crimes connected to gambling, including theft, money laundering and structuring. She said roughly 75% of the commission’s funding comes from license fees and about 25% from tribal cost reimbursements. Griffin said the commission is a non-appropriated agency that has set aside funds to replace legacy IT systems and expects to launch a new system within about a year.

The commission presented year-over-year licensing and receipts data and reported a 6% decline in active charitable nonprofit licensees and an 18% decline in commercial licensees since 2018, while net receipts increased for both sectors (25% for nonprofit organizations and 29% for commercial licensees). The presentation credited changes such as the 2020 legislative increase in punchboard and pull-tab value and a 2023 rule raising house-made cardroom wager limits for part of the revenue change.

Griffin summarized tribal gaming: the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988) and the first state–tribal compact (1991), noting 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington have compacts and 23 tribes operate 29 gambling facilities. The commission’s units include licensing (conducting more than 20,000 background investigations annually), regulatory inspections and an electronic gambling lab that approves equipment.

The commission highlighted public-safety and consumer-protection work: criminal investigations of illegal online pull-tab operations, support to other agencies on gambling components of broader investigations, and outreach on problem gambling. Griffin noted the commission distributes new informational signage developed with the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling and detailed a statewide self-exclusion program launched in May 2022 with more than 1,100 registrants; application materials are available in more than a dozen languages.

Tricia Naughing, legislative and rules manager, described the commission’s 2025 agency-request bill in the senate (Senate Bill 5196), a public-records exemption intended to protect proprietary financial and security information of licensees and tribal partners from disclosure that could increase fraud, robbery or cyber threats. She said the commission solicited feedback while drafting the exemption and incorporated some changes.

Committee members asked about bingo and small charitable raffles; Griffin explained unlicensed bingo and amusement gaming is allowed for organizations that meet the charitable-nonprofit definition and operate no more than twice per year with combined gross gambling receipts up to $5,000, otherwise a license is required. Griffin deferred some questions outside the commission’s purview (for example, mail-based raffle rules) to federal statutes or other state agencies.

The commission offered to provide additional follow-up information and to distribute updated signage and materials to licensees.","Tina Griffin and a commission manager described enforcement authority under the Gambling Act, the agency’s funding model, an IT replacement project and a statewide self-exclusion program with more than 1,100 registrants.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6375818,"Washington Lottery outlines operations, revenue distribution and responsible-gambling steps",150,1146000,1296000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c&start=1146&end=1296","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2140798-b93b099c6d1063a45993018ef38c051c/thumbnail_1146000.jpg","/articles/6375818/Washington/Washington-Lottery-outlines-operations-revenue-distribution-and-responsible-gambling-steps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6375818-c9b14e4c51c8f67a1f116306bb7833bf/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146865&Signature=YY5~l-y0wrdS2pUUt5eP7BHnnR4m~4W03tlc2QLc~HvxcWdpe6obFuF6utEzMQ6NOF2Bj4-C68WZuSUc7Z1K1G99zm0F2hiljfNmH8B9dD5T9jDGCs9bq4frPvnBS0aruo25Uds5FymLXQS4u5MEWC6QpS-p1ELl1EtcbH9Sm5AADddUGtDkXN5TNpETHwGkX6LJAOyr~E3lIYkxkxSuN4UF68n0EloxZGNuSkSDJtsrB4Gojg31ucxQgJlHxqwasbVCNWbmjF2wicL2wORVsMe59BeM9~geqCc1gbAJ4P71XiXUF7xhjX-iLxiHn0uPs1qKNYmTAcSRc0Rg06zxow__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Washington Lottery Director Joshua Johnston and Christy Weeks, the lottery’s director of legal services, told the Senate Business, Financial Services and Trade Committee that the agency was created in 1982 and now directs most net revenue to the Washington Opportunity Pathway account rather than the general fund.

Johnston said the agency’s statutory mandate is “to produce the maximum amount of net revenue for the state, consonant with the dignity of the state and the general welfare of the people.” The directors told the committee the lottery’s overall profit margin is just under 25% and that in 2024 the Washington Opportunity Pathway account received nearly $190,000,000 (about 18.5% of revenue, per the presentation). Scratch-ticket sales represented about $665,000,000 last year and were described as roughly 65% of total sales.

The presentation described two main product lines: draw games (Powerball, Mega Millions and state draw games) and instant “scratch” tickets, which retail at multiple price points (from $1 up to $30). Weeks said draw games produce higher percentage profit margins (40–50% for some draw products) while high-price-point scratch tickets return a smaller percentage but a larger dollar amount per ticket.

The lottery described a retailer network and retail strategies: the agency reported approximately 3,658 active retailers when the slide deck was produced and a vending-machine presence it said increases total sales at participating locations. The agency also operates six regional offices and has experimented with mall storefronts and kiosks to convert cost centers into revenue centers and to provide prize redemption over the $600 retail limit.

Johnston and Weeks addressed responsible-gambling steps taken by the agency. Weeks said the lottery received a “sustaining level responsible gambling verification” from the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries and the National Council on Problem Gambling after a five-year review of employee and retailer training, public awareness, product oversight and advertising. The agency prints the problem-gambling helpline on scratch tickets and participates in a legislatively mandated advisory work group on disordered gambling.

Committee members asked about how the agency gathers player demographic data. Weeks said tickets are anonymous and the lottery uses quarterly telephone surveys to estimate player age and income profiles. The directors emphasized that the lottery is prohibited from offering online sales in Washington and that evolving player expectations and competition from other gambling and entertainment options pose ongoing challenges.

The directors closed by offering to answer follow-up questions and noting the lottery’s outreach and retail experiments to increase convenience and revenue for the state while highlighting safeguards to preserve drawing integrity.","Washington Lottery directors gave the Senate committee an overview of games, revenue flows and responsible-gambling measures, saying profit margins are near 25% and that most net revenue now goes to the Washington Opportunity Pathway account.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee advances three bills in executive session; due-pass recommendations recorded

Horse Racing Commission warns HISA fees could threaten Washington racing and related jobs

Gambling Commission briefs Senate committee on enforcement, licensing and self-exclusion program

Washington Lottery outlines operations, revenue distribution and responsible-gambling steps