82R5901 YDB-D
By: Van de Putte S.J.R. No. 35
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature
to legalize the operation of video gaming in this state by persons
and organizations licensed to conduct bingo or lease bingo premises
and providing that federally recognized Indian tribes are not
prohibited from conducting gaming on certain Indian lands.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 47, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(a) The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting lotteries
and gift enterprises in this State other than those authorized by
Subsections (b), (d), [and] (e), and (f) of this section and Section
47a of this article.
(f) This section does not prohibit a federally recognized
Indian tribe from conducting video gaming on land in this state that
was held in trust or recognized as tribal land of the tribe by the
United States on January 1, 1998. The prohibitions provided by
Section 47a of this article do not apply to video gaming by an
Indian tribe on such land.
SECTION 2. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 47a to read as follows:
Sec. 47a. (a) In this section, "gross gaming income" means
the total amount of consideration paid to play a video gaming game
less any amounts paid for video gaming prizes.
(b) The legislature by general law in accordance with this
section may authorize the operation of video gaming in this state in
which individuals play games of chance, including games of chance
that require some skill, operated by persons licensed to conduct
video gaming. The law must:
(1) provide for the regulation of all video gaming by
this state;
(2) limit video gaming operations in this state to
gaming operated by persons or organizations that on January 1,
2011, were licensed to conduct bingo or to lease bingo premises
under state law;
(3) limit video gaming operations in this state to
gaming operations in counties, justice precincts, and incorporated
cities and towns that have held elections in which the conduct of
bingo games in the jurisdiction was approved by the voters of the
jurisdiction as required under Section 47(b) of this article;
(4) provide:
(A) a comprehensive licensing program, including
necessary background investigations, to govern a person who
conducts or assists in the conduct of video gaming operations in
this state or who manufactures, distributes, installs, repairs, or
alters video gaming games and equipment for use or play in this
state; and
(B) procedures for the approval, monitoring, and
inspection of video gaming operations as necessary to protect the
public health, welfare, and safety and the integrity of the state
and to prevent financial loss to this state;
(5) prohibit and impose criminal penalties for the
possession and operation of all gaming devices other than devices
operated in connection with authorized video gaming operations or
gaming devices otherwise authorized by state law;
(6) provide that not more than 20 percent of the gross
gaming income generated from video gaming operated by a licensed
person or organization be transferred to this state as provided by
general law;
(7) require that 10 percent of the gross gaming income
generated from video gaming operated by a licensed person or
organization at a location be transferred to:
(A) the charitable organization conducting bingo
at the location; or
(B) if more than one charitable organization is
conducting bingo at the location, the organizations in equal
amounts;
(8) limit the use by charitable organizations of video
gaming proceeds to the uses authorized by law for charitable bingo
proceeds;
(9) include responsible gaming provisions that:
(A) to protect the security and integrity of
video gaming, require mandatory exclusion of specified classes of
persons from playing a video gaming game; and
(B) allow persons to be excluded voluntarily;
(10) prohibit admission to video gaming premises by
any individual who is less than 18 years of age and prohibit the
play of a video gaming game by an individual who is less than 21
years of age;
(11) prohibit the play of video gaming games by an
individual using any consideration borrowed from the person or
organization licensed to conduct video gaming or obtained through a
credit card or similar credit transaction; and
(12) require the regulatory agency that oversees video
gaming to:
(A) monitor the performance of video gaming
systems and to direct the disabling of a video system or any
component of the system when necessary to protect the security,
accounting, revenue collection, and integrity of video gaming
operations; or
(B) contract with a qualified person for the
person to perform the duties described by Paragraph (A) of this
subdivision.
(c) The general law authorizing the operation of video
gaming in this state may:
(1) require a manufacturer of video gaming equipment
to supply to this state, at no cost to the state, sufficient
equipment and software to allow the regulatory agency that oversees
video gaming to perform the agency's regulatory functions;
(2) authorize the regulatory agency that oversees
video gaming to adopt by reference all or part of the security,
accounting, and equipment standards adopted by another state, the
United States, or the National Indian Gaming Commission; and
(3) subject to the limitations provided by this
section and as required to protect the security, accounting,
revenue collection, and integrity of video gaming operations,
provide for rapid implementation of video gaming to expedite and
maximize the receipt of revenue by this state and charitable
organizations.
(d) In the absence of enabling legislation to implement
Subsection (b) of this section, the authority of this state to
authorize and regulate bingo games under Section 47(b) of this
article includes the authority of the state agency that regulates
bingo to adopt rules to implement video gaming operations in
accordance with Subsection (b) of this section.
(e) All shipments of video gaming equipment or other gaming
devices into, out of, or within this state authorized under this
section or a law enacted under this section are legal shipments of
the devices and are exempt from the provisions of 15 U.S.C. Sections
1171-1178 prohibiting the transportation of gambling devices.
(f) Subject to Subsection (g) of this section, the general
law authorizing the operation of video gaming in this state must
limit the number of video gaming terminals that may be located at a
video gaming premises as follows:
(1) not more than 30 video gaming terminals may be
operated at a video gaming premises where:
(A) a charitable organization conducts video
gaming at a bingo premises that is not leased from a licensed bingo
lessor; or
(B) one or more charitable organizations conduct
video gaming at a bingo premises leased from a licensed bingo lessor
who received not more than $30,000 from the organizations for lease
of the bingo premises in 2010;
(2) not more than 60 video gaming terminals may be
operated at a video gaming premises where one or more charitable
organizations conduct video gaming at a bingo premises leased from
a licensed bingo lessor who received more than $30,000 but not more
than $70,000 from the organizations for lease of the bingo premises
in 2010; and
(3) not more than 120 video gaming terminals may be
operated at a video gaming premises where one or more charitable
organizations conduct video gaming at a bingo premises leased from
a licensed bingo lessor that received more than $70,000 from the
organizations for lease of the bingo premises in 2010.
(g) The legislature by general law may increase the limits
on the number of video gaming terminals that may be operated at a
video gaming premises under Subsection (f) of this section,
provided the law does not authorize the number of video gaming
terminals at any video gaming premises to exceed those limits
before December 1, 2016.
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2011.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment authorizing the
legislature to legalize the operation of video gaming in this state
by persons and organizations licensed to conduct bingo or lease
bingo premises and providing that federally recognized Indian
tribes are not prohibited from conducting gaming on certain Indian
lands."