Will casinos be in budget deal? House GOP to meet Tuesday

State lawmakers could decide Tuesday whether to include a proposal to further expand gambling in North Carolina in their long-delayed compromise state budget.

House Republicans are expected to caucus Tuesday ahead of expected budget votes in mid-September, and a proposal to allow up to four additional brick-and-mortar casinos as well as video lottery terminals across the state will be considered.

"There’s been no determination made whether the gaming legislation will or will not be in the budget," House Speaker Tim Moore said last week. "It is something we’re going to discuss in our caucus. When we come back, we’re going to be caucusing over this issue before the week that we take the vote."

Budget votes are expected to begin Sept. 12, and whatever emerges from final negotiations among top leaders will get up-or-down votes on the House and Senate floors — no changes allowed.

Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, has been a proponent of the casino proposal, outlining the economic and job-creation benefits of putting entertainment districts in counties that have lagged economically.

The revenue from gambling expansion would fund further cuts in the personal income tax rate to below 3%, either 2.75% or 2.49%, according to one lawmaker. "It is a revenue generator that we are allocating for a tax cut," Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, told a gathering of Nash County residents in August. "The funding from these facilities is what we are using to offset to get to that point. That's why it's a budget bill."

Moore, R-Cleveland, has repeatedly told reporters that House Republicans haven't discussed the potential gambling legislation as a group. Moore is in favor of the expansion as is a sizable percentage of his caucus, he said.

He said support does not cut along ideological lines in the caucus, despite opposition from conservative groups outside of the legislature.

Moore disputed a comment from former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, a current Republican gubernatorial candidate who said less than 25% of House Republicans favor the proposal.

"That is not consistent with the data I've seen," Moore said, adding the percentage is "higher."

House Republicans typically won't bring legislation up for a floor vote if it's not supported by a majority of its caucus. Republicans hold supermajorities in the House and Senate, which allows them to override a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper without any Democratic support.

Each chamber passed a budget earlier this year, but negotiations between the bodies on a unified spending plan have dragged on for months delayed by summer vacations, out-of-town conferences and travel plans. Legislative leaders at one point hoped to be finished by July 4 and the timeline has moved several times since, but lawmakers seem confident final details will fall into place in time for votes the week of Sept. 11.

"I feel really good about it," Sen. Jim Burgin said Friday. "I think we're winding some things down."

The new fiscal year began on July 1, and state government operations continue without interruption at last year's spending levels. But raises for teachers and state workers and Medicaid expansion, a top priority for Cooper, are on hold until a final budget is passed and becomes law. The state is foregoing hundreds of millions of dollars a month by delaying expansion, and Democrats have pushed repeatedly to uncouple expansion from state budget negotiations so it can be implemented faster.

Assuming the new budget passes in mid-September, the earliest the state could expand Medicaid would be Dec. 1, according to Gov. Roy Cooper's administration. Some legislative Republicans have hoped for an earlier start despite budget delays but Burgin, R-Harnett, acknowledged the administration's timeline Friday.

"It's going to be Dec. 1," Burgin said. "That's what we're shooting for now."

Draft legislation for the casino entertainment districts, first obtained and published by WRAL, called for a single developer to invest at least $1.5 billion total into three sites. Eligible counties are not named in the bill. Moore previously confirmed Anson, Nash and Rockingham counties would be the sites. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina would be allowed to operate a casino in the southeastern part of the state under the draft legislation.

Lawmakers are also contemplating changes that would allow video lottery terminals around the state, Moore said the NC Lottery Commission's recent decision to allow online purchase of instant games "raised the temperature" on the discussion. VLTs are illegal in the state but many of the slot machine-like games are in operation anyway at businesses across North Carolina. Expanding their numbers and taxing them could raise billions for the state in coming years.

State lawmakers approved mobile sports gambling in June. The legislation allows for sports gambling on electronic devices for adults located in North Carolina and in-person betting facilities at several sports venues across the state. Mobile sports betting can begin in North Carolina as soon as Jan. 8 or as late as June 14.

Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln, and Sen. Jim Perry, R-Lenoir, the top lawmakers on that mobile sports gambling bill, were named finalists Wednesday for an American Gambling Award.

The pair are finalists for "Policymaker of the Year." Gambling.com presents the the American Gambling Awards. There is an invitation-only dinner in New York in November in lieu of a traditional award ceremony. Saine and Perry were finalists last year as well. New York state Sen. Joseph Addabbo won the award.

Mobile sports gambling failed by a single vote in the House in 2022 before its passage this year.