Indiana Senate unanimously passes multi-million dollar Gary repayment bill
The Indiana Senate, on Monday, unanimously passed the bill on its third reading.
House Bill 1448 — authored by state Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville — addresses a state comptroller mistake with supplemental payments that were signed into law in 2019.
Following the move of Majestic Star casinos to Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, East Chicago and Michigan City were to receive funds to ease the financial burden, but Gary mistakenly received the funds.
State sens. Travis Holdman, R-Markle; Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka; Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; and Mark Spencer, D-Gary, sponsored House Bill 1448.
Holdman gave an overview of the bill before its vote Monday. Gary will start payments next year, Holdman said.
'This won't take effect until next year because budgets have already been passed,' he said. 'Revenues are dependent on passage of those budgets.'
Money from supplemental payments will come from deducted state comptroller funds and money appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, according to bill documents.
Money will be withheld for 10 years, Holdman said Monday.
If payments were withheld from the city this year, Mayor Eddie Melton previously said Gary would lose about $6 million, which would directly affect police, fire and other necessary resources.
House Bill 1448 originally had Gary begin payments this year, but Melton asked to have the timeline delayed due to fiscal constraints.
Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch asked for Gary to repay the cities 'in a timely manner,' adding that last year, Michigan City had a shortfall of about $2 million. Last year, the city's budget was cut by about $6 million from the prior year, according to Post-Tribune archives.
'What I don't want to see is a six, seven, eight-year payback,' Nelson Deuitch previously told senators. 'The original was four years, and I would like it to stay at four years.'
Gary owes more than $6.4 million to East Chicago and more than $5.7 million to Michigan City, according to bill documents. Gary might also owe Hammond, which was also included on the 2019 supplemental payment bill, if the city is missing funds during the 2025 fiscal year.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott previously told the Post-Tribune that Horseshoe Casino has lost about $15 million to $20 million each year since Hard Rock opened.
State. Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, praised the cities' mayors for their work with state legislators about House Bill 1448.
'This is not an easy issue to resolve,' Pol said before Monday's vote. 'Obviously, people are concerned about revenues, and I think (the bill) does a good job of ensuring that everybody's voices are heard.'
State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said he appreciates that the bill was made to be a bipartisan effort. Leaders from Lake and Porter counties met to discuss the bill, Niemeyer said.
'It was a good fix,' Niemeyer said before the vote. 'It was an agreement between all three cities, so it's a good bill.'
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