Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HJR129 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R12803 YDB-F
2	2	By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.J.R. No. 129
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to
7	7	operate video lottery games at certain horse and greyhound
8	8	racetracks and providing that federally recognized Indian tribes
9	9	are not prohibited from conducting gaming on certain Indian lands.
10	10	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 47, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
12	12	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting lotteries
15	15	and gift enterprises in this State other than those authorized by
16	16	Subsections (b), (d), [and] (e), and (f) of this section and Section
17	17	47a of this article.
18	18	(f) This section does not prohibit a federally recognized
19	19	Indian tribe from conducting gaming on land in this state that was
20	20	held in trust or recognized as tribal land of the tribe by the
21	21	United States on January 1, 1998. The prohibitions provided by
22	22	Section 47a of this article do not apply to gaming by an Indian
23	23	tribe on such land.
24	24	SECTION 2. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
25	25	adding Section 47a to read as follows:
26	26	Sec. 47a. (a) The Legislature by general law in accordance
27	27	with this section may authorize this state to control and operate a
28	28	video lottery system under which individuals may play lottery games
29	29	of chance on video lottery terminals owned and operated by persons
30	30	licensed or otherwise authorized by this state at locations
31	31	determined as provided by this subsection in order to generate
32	32	revenue to provide additional money to fund state governmental
33	33	programs. The law authorizing a video lottery system must:
34	34	(1) except as otherwise provided by this section,
35	35	require this state to continually monitor the activity of each
36	36	video lottery terminal and remotely terminate the operation of a
37	37	terminal as necessary to protect the public health, welfare, or
38	38	safety or the integrity of the state lottery or to prevent financial
39	39	loss to this state;
40	40	(2) include a comprehensive registration program to
41	41	govern a person that manufactures, distributes, sells, or leases
42	42	video lottery terminals for use or play in this state and a process
43	43	to approve terminals for use in the video lottery system in
44	44	accordance with technical standards established by this state;
45	45	(3) provide for a comprehensive licensing program to
46	46	govern a person that owns, manages, or maintains video lottery
47	47	terminals operated in this state;
48	48	(4) limit the operation of video lottery games on
49	49	behalf of this state to a person licensed in this state to operate a
50	50	horse or greyhound racetrack at which wagering on horse or
51	51	greyhound racing is permitted, provided that the person may be
52	52	licensed to conduct video lottery games only at the location
53	53	licensed for conducting that wagering;
54	54	(5) prohibit and impose criminal penalties for the
55	55	possession and operation of all electronic and mechanical gaming
56	56	devices other than:
57	57	(A) video lottery terminals operated in
58	58	connection with the video lottery system; or
59	59	(B) a gaming device expressly authorized under
60	60	other state law; and
61	61	(6) prohibit the operation or possession of a video
62	62	lottery terminal that is not subject to this state's measures for
63	63	monitoring and terminating operation of the terminal required by
64	64	this subsection and does not generate revenue for this state,
65	65	except that the law may provide for limited storage or transport of
66	66	video lottery terminals as authorized by this state and for
67	67	possession of video lottery terminals by this state for testing and
68	68	evaluation.
69	69	(b) In the absence of enabling legislation to implement
70	70	Subsection (a) of this section, the authority of this state to
71	71	operate lotteries under Section 47(e) of this article includes the
72	72	authority of the state agency that operates state lotteries to
73	73	adopt rules to implement video lottery in accordance with
74	74	Subsection (a) of this section as part of the state lottery.
75	75	(c) All shipments of video lottery terminals or gaming
76	76	devices into, out of, or within this state authorized under this
77	77	section or a law enacted under this section are legal shipments of
78	78	the devices and are exempt from the provisions of 15 U.S.C. Sections
79	79	1171-1178, prohibiting the transportation of gambling devices.
80	80	(d) The governing body of a political subdivision of this
81	81	state may not take any action regarding the repeal or revocation of
82	82	a previous authorization by the voters of the political subdivision
83	83	to approve the legalization or conduct of pari-mutuel wagering on
84	84	horse races or greyhound races at a racetrack in that political
85	85	subdivision if the racetrack may be authorized under this section
86	86	to operate video lottery games on behalf of this state.
87	87	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
88	88	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2009.
89	89	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
90	90	proposition: "The constitutional amendment authorizing a state
91	91	video lottery system to operate video lottery games at certain
92	92	horse and greyhound racetracks and providing that federally
93	93	recognized Indian tribes are not prohibited from conducting gaming
94	94	on certain Indian lands."