AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A bill exempting paid online fantasy sports sites from Texas anti-gambling laws has begun a potentially contentious journey through the Legislature.
Last year, state Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion that paid online daily fantasy sports constituted gambling by offering chances to win money based on the performance of teams selected online.
FanDuel, one major site offering such games, subsequently agreed to stop accepting paid entries for cash prizes in Texas.
Laredo Democratic Rep. Richard Raymond’s bill seeks to legalize such sites as offering games of skill rather than chance - making them harder to classify as gambling.
It was heard Monday in House committee, but left pending, without approval to the chamber floor.
State lawmakers have traditionally opposed any proposal that might be seen as gambling.
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DALLAS PENSION
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says a bill designed to save the Dallas Police and Fire Pension amounts to a taxpayer bailout while taking control of the pension away from the city.
Rawlings testified against the proposal at the House Committee on Pensions on Monday.
The city and pension representatives spent months trying to hash out a compromise to save the ailing pension fund projected to become insolvent in the next 10 years. Problems mounted after officials spent almost a decade basing the fund’s financial health on inflated asset values from risky real estate investments.
Rawlings says the bill, which was introduced after a compromise wasn’t reached, asks for too much money from Dallas taxpayers. He also says it also gives the city less oversight of the pension board.
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POT PUNISHMENT
A bill that would make carrying small amounts of marijuana a civil penalty in Texas instead of a criminal one is advancing in the state House.
The House Criminal Jurisprudence committee on Monday approved a bill that would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana punishable by a fine of up to $250 instead of a criminal charge. A person also could not be arrested solely for possession of the small amount of pot.
A third violation would increase the fine to $500 as a Class C misdemeanor, though.
The bill now advances to the full House for consideration and its prospects are uncertain. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has previously warned the state won’t legalize marijuana for recreational or medicinal while he’s in office.
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VOTER ID
A federal judge mulling whether Texas passed its voter ID law with the intent to deliberately discriminate has agreed to delay the case until after the legislative session ends.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos said in an order Monday that she’ll delay any ruling until after a hearing June 7. The Texas Legislature adjourns May 29.
Last year, a federal court ruled Texas’ law discriminatory against poor and minority state residents, and ordered a workaround letting people without approved ID vote in November by signing an affidavit.
Gonzales Ramos is now deciding whether state lawmakers meant to discriminate when approving the law in 2011, which would violate the Voting Rights Act.
Meanwhile, a bill making permanent the affidavit process is working its way through the Legislature this session.
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ON DECK
The House reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Tuesday but has a very light legislative calendar. The chamber is gearing up for Thursday and a marathon floor session where lawmakers will slog through more than 400 proposed amendments while passing a proposed state budget.
The Senate heads back to work at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and has a calendar crowded with bills eligible for floor votes - though not all will be taken up immediately.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If you don’t think fantasy football is a game of skill, then you haven’t played it” - Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, while advocating for his bill to legalize paid, daily online fantasy sports sites in Texas.
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