[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=15320

Small-Time Gambling Now Legal In Bars

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - For decades, bar patrons in La Porte County have been able to go into their local tavern, put down a dollar or two and tear into a tip board or bet on the Super Bowl without real repercussions.

Until today, though, they've been doing it illegally.

And while the state this morning put into place a new law making small-time gambling in bars legal, the face of such games has changed, not so much for patrons, but for bar owners.

"I don't know. It was good before, but now we're going to get taxed on it," said Tom Savinski, owner of Harmony Bar, 1901 Franklin St.

"It will remain to be seen if this is good. It was understood in La Porte County for 100 years that as long as you didn't shake the dice in the middle of Franklin Street or Lincolnway, they didn't do anything. Now, I think it's too little, too late."

Public Law 95 - co-authored by State Rep. Tom Dermody, La Porte - takes effect today, allowing small-stakes gaming such as pull tabs, tip boards and other forms of paper gambling in bars and taverns across the state.

The law will give taverns the same rights currently given to veterans, fraternal and non-profit organizations, which were authorized for small-stakes gaming in 2007.

Overseen by the Indiana Gaming Board, but run through the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, the law will allow bars to file for a license through the ATC.

The state looks at the move as a money maker, as the licensing fees and excise tax revenues will bring anticipated millions to the state. A license costs $250.

Peggy Chapman, who owns Stadium Inn, 2323 Wabash St., with her husband, Harry, is one of 14 bar owners in La Porte County to be granted a license so far, according to the ATC.

She said in a climate where local bar business is suffering due to the economy and more intensive drunken driving patrols, the law should be a boon to business.

"Hopefully, it will give all of us a boost. We'll take in a little more money. Everybody's scraping by," she said. "We're hoping it will help. I sure think it will."

Five Michigan City taverns have been granted licenses, according to the ATC. They are: City Lanes, Stadium Inn, Barker Inn, Joe's Bar & Grill (Pines) and Three Sheets Bar and Grill.

The Nowhere Bar and Grill in Rolling Prairie, Les and Pearl's in Union Mills and I Street Family Bar, Little Tavern, Dick's Bar, Julie's, Shooters Bar and Grill, Mickeys and Western Inn, all in La Porte, also have been granted licenses.

More than 300 bars and taverns statewide have applied for licenses, according to the ATC.

Contact Jason Miller at jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com.

Along with the new tavern gaming law, dozens of new laws take effect in Indiana today. Among them are:

• A law that allows dilapidated or abandoned properties to be transferred into the care of new owners.

• An expansion of Indiana's Security Breach Notification Act to educate consumers about the risks and ramifications of security breaches involving personal information.

• A law that makes parolees responsible for paying their own parole, reducing direct costs to taxpayers.

• A law expands state disaster relief fund to allow for financial assistance to be utilized by local government for repairing, replacing or restoring public facilities.

• A law making it illegal for anyone under 18 to speak on a cell phone while driving unless in an emergency.

- Jason Miller

[Dave]

A law that allows dilapidated or abandoned properties to be transferred into the care of new owners.

Anyone know anything about this? My google skills seem to be lacking today.

[kharris]

Anyone know anything about this? My google skills seem to be lacking today.

I believe this has to do with properties that have been taken over by the county for delinquent taxes. If I remember correctly, it allows for the property to be tranferred to an adjacent owner. This results in the previous unkempt property to be properly maintained, and also, and perhaps more importantly, places the property back on the tax rolls.

[Johnny Rush]

From a Tom Dermody Press Release, Keith pretty much nailed it (I also included the parole one, since I find it interesting...)

Dermody Laws to Become Effective July 1
(STATEHOUSE) June 30, 2008 — A number of new laws will take effect on July 1, affecting Hoosiers around the state. Several of these laws were co-authored and co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Dermody (R-LaPorte). The legislation covers issues important to the community — homeland security, abandon property transfers, security breach notification, gaming and requiring prisoners to pay for their parole.



House Enrolled Act 1145: Dilapidated and abandoned properties may be transferred into the care of new owners, thanks to a bill Rep. Dermody co-authored. This law will take great steps toward removing eyesores from our communities by allowing counties to sell abandoned properties to neighboring landowners.



“Not only do abandoned properties pose a safety risk and reduce property values, very often, no one is paying property taxes on them, shifting the burden to other residents,” said Rep. Dermody. “The result of these transfers will result in a more equitable tax bill for all.”


Senate Enrolled Act 117: Rep. Dermody co-sponsored this bill, which makes parolees responsible for paying their own parole, reducing direct costs to taxpayers. Enforcing stricter rules on offenders’ financial responsibilities will ease taxpayers’ burden.



“This bill will ensure parolees are not given a free pass for services they utilize. I am in favor of rehabilitating those who were incarcerated, and I can think of no better way to teach responsibility than asking them to contribute in a monetary way for their own well-being,” Rep. Dermody said.



The bill will require parolees, once released from prison, to pay for required testing, such as polygraphs and drug screens. If a parolee is unable to afford these costs, it will not affect their parole eligibility.

[Southsider2k12]

Anyone know anything about this? My google skills seem to be lacking today.

Here is the CBTL thread about it

http://www.citybythelake.org/forums/index....operty+transfer

[Roger Kaputnik]

When GM shut down in MI, a city or two did this, and it worked great for them. The key is that is it the adjacent landowners who get the property, not another absentee landlord.