Hot Topics at the Capitol: Sports Betting and Judicial Nominating Commission

February 7, 2019

There were more than 100 subcommittees held this week on various topics. Two issues that received an enormous amount of spotlight were bills to allow for sports betting and changes to the judicial nominating process. House and Senate subcommittees approved companion bills on Wednesday that would implement a different method for how members of the state and district judicial nominating commissions are selected. Proponents of the bill argue the move would empower regular citizens’ voices, while opponents argue the legislation would further politicize the nominating process.

House and Senate subcommittees also considered multiple bills concerning sports betting in long meetings with several different stakeholders voicing vastly different opinions on how to best move forward on the issue.

Though ABI has not registered on any legislation in regards to the aforementioned topics, they are issues we have received interest from members on and we will continue to monitor and update members as the issues move forward throughout the session. If you are interested in learning more about either issue, please contact Nicole Crain or Brad Hartkopf.