House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee
Event Log
HB2638 — House Bill 2638 is referenced as the law that made sports betting legal in March 2020 on a limited basis, including in tribal casinos.
Rob Chase — Asked why in-state collegiate teams such as Washington State basketball teams are prohibited from betting.
Rob Chase — Representative Chase asked whether, during the COVID period, tribal members were individually free to decide whether to receive vaccinations and whether any mandates existed, continuing the same line of questioning in a brief follow-up exchange.
Rob Chase — Asked whether other states are pursuing the same kind of task force work.
Darya Farivar — Asked whether there is much collegiate betting on teams outside Washington.
Darya Farivar — Darya Farivar asked what the state needs at this time in relation to the task force's next steps, then followed up by asking whether prevention work would be within the task force's future scope.
Beth Doglio — Representative Doglio was called on and then asked for clarification about the witness’s testimony regarding collegiate betting. She followed up by asking what safeguards or parameters could be put in place if Washington State collegiate sports betting were allowed, specifically to prevent concerns such as game fixing and point shaving.
Beth Doglio — Beth Doglio asked follow-up questions about whether a lack of communication and collaboration between tribal and non-tribal police had been identified as part of the problem, and whether there have been any changes in that communication.
Executive Director Vicki Lowe — Introduced as the next presenter on health data and tribal sovereignty.
Vicki Lowe — Introduced herself and identified her affiliation with the American Indian Health Commission and her tribal background.
Vicki Lowe — The testimony is being clarified in relation to her data and tribal affiliation.
Marilyn Scott — Cited as a former chair of the American Indian Health Commission and former chair and vice chair of the Upper Skagit Tribe, emphasizing direct tribal access to data.
Sharlett Mena — Sharlett Mena thanked the presenter for the helpful background on tribal data sovereignty and asked for clarification on what is meant by “tribal data.” She then continued clarifying her point by identifying herself in relation to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe while discussing the data question.
Sharlett Mena — Addressed as Chair Mena in the exchange.
Sharlett Mena — Addressed as Madam Chair.
Sharlett Mena — Addressed as Chair by Vice Chair Stearns.
Sharlett Mena — Addressed as Chair by Representative Doglio.
Sharlett Mena — Closed questions and offered continued conversation about possible legislative proposals, including data sovereignty.
Executive Director Lowe — Thanked for the presentation and invited to follow up with questions.
Lucy Smartlowett / Lucy Smartlut (questionable spelling) — Lucy Smartlowett (spelling uncertain in the transcript) is introduced as a task force representative and then identifies herself as a senior tribal policy analyst in the Attorney General’s office and an AGO-appointed task force member working on MMIWP.
Lucy — Explained that the task force is focusing on education, awareness, racial classification, and preventing misclassification to address underreporting.
Lucy — Said the effort is focused on education, awareness, racial classification, and training to address underreporting in law enforcement data.
Lucy — Was thanked for the presentation and asked to continue explaining the task force's approach.
Lucy — Explained limitations in the NCIC database and how race is often observed by officers rather than self-disclosed.
Lucy — Described the NCIC database limitations and noted that officers often classify race and ethnicity by observation unless self-disclosed.
Lucy — Said the task force makes federal recommendations but federal action would be needed to change database limitations.
Lucy — Confirmed the issue remains and referred to the law enforcement survey.
Lucy — Cited survey results showing only 18% of agencies often work with tribal law enforcement agencies.
Lucy — Answered that sustainability is needed from the state.
Lucy — Said she has worked with the task force for two years and emphasized that systemic issues cannot be undone quickly.
Lucy — Said she currently has no legislative ask, but support and opportunities to share the work are most critical.
Lucy — Said preventative efforts are a priority for the executive committee, though prioritization is difficult in a reactionary environment.
Yale Rowe — Yale Rowe opens his testimony by checking that he can be heard, then identifies himself as the chief executive officer of Emerald Queen Casinos as he begins introducing his remarks.
John Strauss — John Strauss, the chief gaming officer, is introduced as the person who will present the details and then begins a brief overview of sports betting.
Robert Yerbury — Referenced as having given a prior briefing in the sportsbook.
Tricia Gullion — Introduced herself as being from the Washington State Gambling Commission and began the sports betting overview.
Chris Stearns — Chairman Chris Stearns was thanked for hosting the committee, showing members around, and attending the hearing.
Chris Stearns — Vice Chair Chris Stearns is addressed briefly, then responds by thanking the chair and Lucy and reflecting on the task force’s work as important but challenging. He then continues the discussion by asking about how race is identified in law enforcement data, including whether default race categories are still used.