BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2596| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2596 Author: Portantino (D) Amended: 8/19/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/29/10 AYES: Wright, Harman, Calderon, Florez, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Price, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Oropeza, Wyland SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Gambling: licenses SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill makes various substantive changes to the Gambling Control Act relative to license renewal and payment of annual fees. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/10 make technical and conforming changes to the terms in the bill for consistency with the Gambling Control Act. ANALYSIS : Under existing law, the Gambling Control Act of 1997 established the California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC). Among other responsibilities, the Act grants the CGCC licensing jurisdiction over the operation CONTINUED AB 2596 Page 2 of card clubs and of all persons having an interest in the operation of card clubs. The Bureau of Gambling Control has the task of investigating and enforcing controlled gambling activities in California. Existing law provides that licenses renewed on or before July 31, 2008, shall be for the renewal period in effect at the time of the renewal but shall not expire any sooner than 15 months after the approval of the renewal application, and that licenses renewed on or after August 1, 2008, shall expire 24 months after the date of the approval of the renewal application or after the expiration of the prior license, whichever is later, as described. Existing law requires that an application for renewal of a license application be filed with the commission no later than 120 days prior to expiration of the current license. Existing law requires the CGCC to act upon any application for renewal prior to the date of expiration of the current license and, upon renewal of any owner license, the commission shall issue an appropriate renewal certificate or validating device or sticker. Existing law provides that any owner licensee, who deals, operates, carries on, conducts, maintains, or exposes for play any gambling game after the expiration date of the gambling license is liable to the state for all license fees and penalties that would have been due upon renewal. Under existing law, if an owner licensee fails to renew the gambling license, the CGCC may order the immediate closure of the premises and a cessation of all gambling activity therein until the license is renewed. Existing law provides that the CGCC may deem an applicant suitable to hold a state gambling license even if the applicant has a financial interest in another business conducting lawful gambling in California, or another business conducting lawful gambling outside of California that would violate California law if conducted within the state. Existing law stipulates that an application for a license or a determination of suitability shall be accompanied by CONTINUED AB 2596 Page 3 the deposit of a sum of money that will be adequate to pay the anticipated costs and charges incurred in the investigation and processing of the application, as specified. An applicant may be required to deposit any additional sums as are required to pay final costs and charges of the investigation. This bill: 1. Provides that the California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC) may extend an owner's license for up to 180 days if it falls behind in processing renewal applications and makes it explicit that a gambling license shall be renewed bieiennially. 2. Authorizes the CGCC to assess reasonable late penalties in order to expedite the processing of a renewal application that is not filed in a timely manner. 3. Authorizes the CGCC to assess a late penalty of up to three times the renewal fee for late applications. 4. Adds a new provision to the Act that allows the CGCC to close a gambling establishment for up to 90 days if an owner licensee fails to make timely payment of annual fees. Comments According to the author's office, under existing law, the CGCC and Bureau of Gambling Control do not have the authority to assess late penalties on those who file their applications for renewal of their gambling licenses late. This has become a significant problem, so much so that the CGCC recently held a hearing to discuss remedies which could be assessed for those who file their applications late. During this hearing, it was suggested that the CGCC assess late penalties on those who file their applications in a tardy fashion. The CGCC responded that they do not have the legal authority to assess late penalties on those who file their applications for renewal late. According to the author's office, this bill has been introduced to provide the CGCC with an alternative sanction for those who do not file for the renewal of their gambling licenses in a timely fashion. CONTINUED AB 2596 Page 4 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10) Commerce Club Hollywood Park Casino Village Club ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Miller, Norby, Audra Strickland, Vacancy TSM:do 8/22/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED