A lengthy and perhaps contentious debate is scheduled for Thursday in the Iowa House which will consider a wide-ranging gambling bill. House Republican Leader Chuck Gipp of Decorah has issued a parliamentary edict to ensure any proposed changes to the bill are known well in advance.Gipp says that means there won’t be “paper” — in the form of amendments — fall all over the place on the day of the debate. All amendments must be filed by Tuesday. Gipp says not even legislative leaders know what the final form of the bill might turn out to be. He says they’re offering a bill that’s a “platform” so every issue in the gaming industry is “germane to” it. That means there can’t be any attempt to use a rules maneuver to prevent debate on a specific topic. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, expects a lengthy debate. Rants says given the complexity of the issue and the number of subjects covered in the bill, he expects a lot of amendments to change all sorts of proposals. The debate will start at 8:45 on Thursday morning.
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