The Louisiana House Appropriations Committee recently approved without objection state Rep. Helena Moreno’s bill that would pay for rape victims’ medical exams using casinos’ unclaimed gambling money, about .2 million annually. Currently casinos keep that money.
Moreno said her House Bill 143 is necessary because rape victims in Louisiana are regularly billed for rape exams, although that’s against federal law.
Objections came, however, from the Louisiana Casino Association. Director Wade Duty said the state ought to find a way to pay for victims’ exams but using unclaimed casino gambling money is the wrong way to do it. Casinos already pay high taxes, he said.
The bill now will go to the full House.
