Legislative action is complete on HB 3012 and the bill is on its way to Governor Morrisey for signature. The bill dealt with the 2% Racetrack Lottery Proceeds that previously went to the County. That 2% for the County was reduced to 1% in 2023 and the remaining 1% was allocated to the municipalities. Since then Chester and New Cumberland have divided that 1%. The 2023 legislation left Weirton out of the distribution due to language which said the municipality had to be “wholly” in Hancock County.
HB 3012 originally contained language which removed the “wholly” making Weirton eligible, but then distributed the allocation on a pro-rata basis, meaning Weirton would get 77%, Chester – 16% and New Cumberland -7%. New Cumberland and Chester officials contacted their legislators, but Del. Pat McGeehan (R-1st) was the only legislator to respond to their concerns. The pro-rata language was removed in a House Committee Substitute. The amended committee substitute passed the House and passed the Senate without amendment. The language now includes Weirton and the 1% will be distributed on three-way split. The completed legislation now goes to Governor Patrick Morrisey for signature. (The Governor can veto the bill or if he does nothing with it, the bill becomes law after a time period.)
