California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1188

Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 19805 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to gambling.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1188, as introduced, Gipson. Gambling: key employee.

Existing law, the Gambling Control Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of various legalized gambling activities and establishments by the California Gambling Control Commission and the investigation and enforcement of those activities and establishments by the Department of Justice. For purposes of the act, existing law defines “key employee” as any natural person employed in the operation of a gambling enterprise in a supervisory capacity or empowered to make discretionary decisions that regulate gambling operations, including, among others, pit bosses, shift bosses, credit executives, cashier operations supervisors, gambling operation managers and assistant managers, and managers or supervisors of security employees.

This bill would revise the definition of “key employee” to mean any natural person employed in the operation of a gambling enterprise in a supervisory capacity or empowered to make discretionary decisions with regard to gambling operations. The bill would also delete pit bosses and shift bosses from the definition of “key employee,” and would instead include shift managers and surveillance managers and supervisors in these provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 19805 of the Business and Professions
Code is amended to read:

19805.  

As used in this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:

(a) “Affiliate” means a person who, directly or indirectly through
one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under
common control with, a specified person.

(b) “Applicant” means any person who has applied for, or is
about to apply for, a state gambling license, a key employee license,
a registration, a finding of suitability, a work permit, a
manufacturer’s or distributor’s license, or an approval of any act
or transaction for which the approval or authorization of the
commission or department is required or permitted under this
chapter.

(c) “Banking game” or “banked game” does not include a
controlled game if the published rules of the game feature a
player-dealer position and provide that this position must be
continuously and systematically rotated amongst each of the
participants during the play of the game, ensure that the
player-dealer is able to win or lose only a fixed and limited wager
during the play of the game, and preclude the house, another entity,
a player, or an observer from maintaining or operating as a bank
during the course of the game. For purposes of this section, it is
not the intent of the Legislature to mandate acceptance of the deal
by every player if the department finds that the rules of the game
render the maintenance of or operation of a bank impossible by
other means. The house shall not occupy the player-dealer position.

(d) “Chief” means the head of the entity within the department
that is responsible for fulfilling the obligations imposed upon the
department by this chapter.

(e) “Commission” means the California Gambling Control
Commission.

(f) “Controlled gambling” means to deal, operate, carry on,
conduct, maintain, or expose for play any controlled game.

(g) “Controlled game” means any controlled game, as defined
by subdivision (e) of Section 337j of the Penal Code.

(h) “Department” means the Department of Justice.

(i) “Director” means any director of a corporation or any person
performing similar functions with respect to any organization.

(j) “Finding of suitability” means a finding that a person meets
the qualification criteria described in subdivisions (a) and (b) of
Section 19857, and that the person would not be disqualified from
holding a state gambling license on any of the grounds specified
in Section 19859.

(k) “Game” and “gambling game” means any controlled game.

(l) “Gambling” means to deal, operate, carry on, conduct,
maintain, or expose for play any controlled game.

(m) “Gambling enterprise” means a natural person or an entity,
whether individual, corporate, or otherwise, that conducts a
gambling operation and that by virtue thereof is required to hold
a state gambling license under this chapter.

(n) “Gambling enterprise employee” means any natural person
employed in the operation of a gambling enterprise, including,
without limitation, dealers, floor personnel, security employees,
countroom personnel, cage personnel, collection personnel,
surveillance personnel, data-processing personnel, appropriate
maintenance personnel, waiters and waitresses, and secretaries, or
any other natural person whose employment duties require or
authorize access to restricted gambling establishment areas.

(o) “Gambling establishment,” “establishment,” or “licensed
premises,” except as otherwise defined in Section 19812, means
one or more rooms where any controlled gambling or activity
directly related thereto occurs.

(p) “Gambling license” or “state gambling license” means any
license issued by the state that authorizes the person named therein
to conduct a gambling operation.

(q) “Gambling operation” means exposing for play one or more
controlled games that are dealt, operated, carried on, conducted,
or maintained for commercial gain.

(r) “Gross revenue” means the total of all compensation received
for conducting any controlled game, and includes interest received
in payment for credit extended by an owner licensee to a patron
for purposes of gambling, except as provided by regulation.

(s) “Hours of operation” means the period during which a
gambling establishment is open to conduct the play of controlled
games within a 24-hour period. In determining whether there has
been expansion of gambling relating to “hours of operation,” the
department shall consider the hours in the day when the local
ordinance permitted the gambling establishment to be open for
business on January 1, 1996, and compare the current ordinance
and the hours during which the gambling establishment may be
open for business. The fact that the ordinance was amended to
permit gambling on a day, when gambling was not permitted on
January 1, 1996, shall not be considered in determining whether
there has been gambling in excess of that permitted by Section
19961.

(t) “House” means the gambling enterprise, and any owner,
shareholder, partner, key employee, or landlord thereof.

(u) “Independent agent,” except as provided by regulation,
means any person who does either of the following:

(1) Collects debt evidenced by a credit instrument.

(2) Contracts with an owner licensee, or an affiliate thereof, to
provide services consisting of arranging transportation or lodging
for guests at a gambling establishment.

(v) “Initial license” means the license first issued to a person
authorizing that person to commence the activities authorized by
that license.

(w) “Institutional investor” means any retirement fund
administered by a public agency for the exclusive benefit of federal,
state, or local public employees, any investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C.
Sec. 80a-1 et seq.), any collective investment trust organized by
banks under Part Nine of the Rules of the Comptroller of the
Currency, any closed-end investment trust, any chartered or
licensed life insurance company or property and casualty insurance
company, any banking and other chartered or licensed lending
institution, any investment begin delete advisor end delete begin insert adviser end insert registered under the
Investment begin delete Advisors end delete begin insert Advisers end insert Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 80b-1
et seq.) acting in that capacity, and other persons as the commission
may determine for reasons consistent with the policies of this
chapter.

(x) “Key employee” means any natural person employed in the
operation of a gambling enterprise in a supervisory capacity or
empowered to make discretionary decisions begin delete that regulate end delete begin insert with
regard to end insert gambling operations, including, without limitation, begin delete pit
bosses, end delete shift begin delete bosses, end delete begin insert managers, end insert credit executives, cashier operations
supervisors, gambling operation managers and assistant managers,
managers or supervisors of security employees, begin insert surveillance
managers or supervisors, end insert or any other natural person designated
as a key employee by the department for reasons consistent with
the policies of this chapter.

(y) “Key employee license” means a state license authorizing
the holder to be employed as a key employee.

(z) “License” means a gambling license, key employee license,
or any other license issued by the commission pursuant to this
chapter or regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(aa) “Licensed gambling establishment” means the gambling
premises encompassed by a state gambling license.

(ab) “Limited partnership” means a partnership formed by two
or more persons having as members one or more general partners
and one or more limited partners.

(ac) “Limited partnership interest” means the right of a general
or limited partner to any of the following:

(1) To receive from a limited partnership any of the following:

(A) A share of the revenue.

(B) Any other compensation by way of income.

(C) A return of any or all of his or her contribution to capital of
the limited partnership.

(2) To exercise any of the rights provided under state law.

(ad) “Owner licensee” means an owner of a gambling enterprise
who holds a state gambling license.

(ae) “Person,” unless otherwise indicated, includes a natural
person, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, trust, joint
venture, association, or any other business organization.

(af) “Player” means a patron of a gambling establishment who
participates in a controlled game.

(ag) “Player-dealer” and “controlled game featuring a
player-dealer position” refer to a position in a controlled game, as
defined by the approved rules for that game, in which seated player
participants are afforded the temporary opportunity to wager
against multiple players at the same table, provided that this
position is rotated amongst the other seated players in the game.

(ah) “Publicly traded racing association” means a corporation
licensed to conduct horse racing and simulcast wagering pursuant
to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 19400) whose stock is
publicly traded.

(ai) “Qualified racing association” means a corporation licensed
to conduct horse racing and simulcast wagering pursuant to Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 19400) that is a wholly owned
subsidiary of a corporation whose stock is publicly traded.

(aj) “Renewal license” means the license issued to the holder
of an initial license that authorizes the license to continue beyond
the expiration date of the initial license.

(ak) “Work permit” means any card, certificate, or permit issued
by the commission, or by a county, city, or city and county, whether
denominated as a work permit, registration card, or otherwise,
authorizing the holder to be employed as a gambling enterprise
employee or to serve as an independent agent. A document issued
by any governmental authority for any employment other than
gambling is not a valid work permit for the purposes of this chapter.