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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana Bill Revises Riverboat Tax Distributions and Validates Lake County Convention Center Financing
Last action · January 6, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on Ways and MeansSponsor: Harold Slager
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 1347 restructures distributions for riverboats operating in Gary, East Chicago, and Hammond, and validates financial obligations entered into by the Indiana Finance Authority, development authority, and Lake County Convention Center Authority before February 28, 2026. The legislation modifies when the Lake County Convention Center Authority is established, setting it at substantial completion of the convention center rather than upon proposal approval, and introduces residency and professional background requirements for its members while barring active-standing attorneys.
Local tax revenues and funding mechanisms for regional development funds, municipal projects, and convention center financing in Lake County are altered, affecting funding flows to the cities of Gary, East Chicago, and Hammond, as well as the Lake County Convention Center Authority and the state general fund.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Lake County Convention Center Authority
Its establishment timeline, board member qualifications, and administrative responsibilities for the reserve fund are altered by the bill.
City of Gary
Its wagering tax revenue distributions, funding obligations, and deposits into local revitalization and demolition funds are modified.
Indiana Finance Authority
Its prior bonds, notes, leases, and written obligations executed before February 28, 2026, are legalized and validated.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Lake County Convention Center Authority officially established under this bill?
Who is prohibited from being appointed to the Lake County Convention Center Authority?
Who administers the Lake County convention and event center reserve fund before the authority is formed?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 6, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Ways and Means
- Jan 6, 2026HouseAuthored by Representative Slager
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Restructuring of Lake County Convention Authority Establishment
The bill shifts the triggering event for the establishment of the Lake County Convention Center Authority from proposal approval to substantial completion of the facility.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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