BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
241 (Hall)
Hearing Date: 8/15/2011 Amended: As Introduced
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: GO 10-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 241 extends the moratorium on the issuance of
new gambling licenses for card rooms from January 1, 2015 to
January 1, 2020.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2012-14 Fund
Moratorium ---unknown potential
loss of revenue
of
several hundred thousand
annually beginning 2015--- Special*
*Gambling Control Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense file.
Extending the moratorium on new card clubs could result in
significant foregone revenues to the Gambling Control Fund to
the extent that new card rooms are precluded from being
established from January 1, 2015 until January 1, 2020, which
would be partially offset by less workload to the Gambling
Control Commission. There are currently 89 licensed cardrooms
in California. Total revenues are estimated at approximately
$13.7 million for FY 2011-12. Each card club provides average
revenue of approximately $156,000 annually to the state,
although the actual revenue depends on the number of tables
within the card club and the amount of wagers generated.
There are currently two moratoriums that restrict the growth of
controlled gambling in California. One moratorium prevents a
local jurisdiction from expanding gambling beyond that permitted
on January 1, 1996, but sunsets that prohibition on January 1,
2015. Another prohibits the Commission from issuing a gambling
license for a gambling establishment that was not licensed to
operate on December 31, 1999. This moratorium will also end on
January 1, 2015. AB 241 extends the sunset provisions of both
moratoriums until January 1, 2020.
In 1997 the Legislature created the Gambling Control Act to
provide a comprehensive scheme for statewide regulation of legal
gambling. The Act provided that no new gambling establishment
may be opened in a city, county, or city and county, in which a
gambling establishment was not operating on and before January
1, 1996, except upon the affirmative vote of the electors of
that local jurisdiction. Local jurisdictions may adopt a
gambling ordinance governing items such as the hours of
operation of gambling at those premises, patron security,
location of premises, wagering limits and the number of tables
permitted in those premises and in the jurisdiction as a whole.
AB 241 (Hall)
Page 2
This bill is similar to SB 213 (Florez) which was vetoed by the
Governor in 2009 who indicated that "there was no compelling
rationale for extending the moratorium at that time". It is
identical to AB 2193 (Hall) which was vetoed last year because
"there is no compelling rationale for extending the gambling
moratorium at this time as a similar extension was approved just
four years ago."