BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1753|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1753
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: 4/14/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 5/20/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Slot machines
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
DIGEST : This bill increases the fines for repeat slot
machine-related offenses.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that every person, who
has in his/her possession or under his/her control or who
permits to be placed, maintained or kept in any room,
space, inclosure or building owned, leased or occupied by
him/her, or under his management or control, any slot or
card machine, contrivance, appliance or mechanical device,
upon the result of action of which money or other valuable
thing is staked or hazarded, and which is operated or
played by placing or depositing therein coins, checks,
slugs, balls, or other articles or device, or in any other
CONTINUED
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manner or as a result of the operation of which any
merchandise, money, representative or article of value,
checks or tokens, redeemable in or exchangeable for money
or other thing of value, is won or lost, or taken from or
obtained from such machine, when the result of action or
operation of such machine, contrivance, etc., is dependent
upon hazard or chance, and every person who has in his/her
possession or under his/her control, either as owner,
lessee, agent, employee, mortgagee, or otherwise, or who
permits to be placed, maintained or kept, in any room,
space, inclosure or building, owned, leased or occupied by
him/her, or under his/her management or control, any card
dice, or any dice having more than six faces or bases each,
upon the result of action of which any money or other
valuable thing is staked or hazarded, or as a result of the
operation of which any merchandise, money, representative
or article of value, check or token, redeemable in or
exchangeable for money or any other thing of value is won
or lost or taken when the result of action or operation of
such dice is dependent upon hazard or chance is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $100 and $1,000
and/or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six
months. (Section 33a of the Penal Code [PEN])
This bill provides that the penalty for a second offense of
the above shall be a fine between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or
up to six months in the county jail.
This bill provides that a third or subsequent offense of
the above shall be a fine between $10,000 and $25,000
and/or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.
This bill provides that if the above offense involved more
than one machine or more than one location, an additional
fine of $1,000 to $5,000 shall be imposed per machine per
location.
Existing law provides that it is unlawful for any person to
manufacture, repair, own, store, possess, sell, rent,
lease, let on shares, lend or give away, transport, or
expose for sale or lease, or to offer to repair sell, rent,
lease, let on shares, lend or give away, or permit the
operation, placement, maintenance, or keeping of, in any
place, room, space, or building owned, leased, or occupied,
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managed, or controlled by that person, any slot machine or
device as defined. It is unlawful for any person to make
or to permit the making of an agreement with another person
regarding any slot machine or device, by which the user of
the slot machine or device, as a result of the element of
hazard or chance or other unpredictable outcome, may become
entitled to receive money, credit, allowance, or other
thing of value or additional chance or right to use the
slot machine or device, or to receive any check, slug,
token, or memorandum entitling the holder to receive the
money, credit, allowance or other thing of value. A
violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months
in county jail and/or a fine not more than $1,000. (PEN
Section 330b)
This bill provides that a first violation of the above is
punishable by a fine between $500 and $1,000 and/or by
imprisonment in the county jail for up to six months.
This bill provides that the penalty for a second offense of
the above shall be a fine between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or
up to six months in the county jail.
This bill provides that a third or subsequent offense of
the above shall be a fine between $10,000 and $25,000
and/or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.
This bill provides that if the above offense involved more
than one machine or more than one location, an additional
fine of $1,000 to $5,000 shall be imposed per machine per
location.
Existing law provides that every person who manufactures,
owns, stores, keeps, possesses, sells, rents, leases, lets
on shares, lend or gives away, transports, or exposes for
sale or lease, or offers to sell, rent, lease, lets on
shares, lend or give away or who permits the operation of
or permits to be placed, maintained, used or kept in any
room, space, or building owned, leased, or occupied by
him/her or under his/her management or control, any slot
machine or device as defined, and every person who makes or
permits to be made with any person any agreement with
reference to any slot machine or device as defined,
pursuant to which agreement with the user thereof, as a
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result of any element of hazard or chance, may become
entitled to receive anything of value or additional chance
or right to use that slot machine, or to receive any check,
slug, token, or memorandum, whether of value or otherwise,
entitling the holder to receive anything of value is a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000
and/or up to six months in jail. (PEN Section 330.1)
This bill provides that the penalty for a second offense of
the above shall be a fine between $1,000 and $10,000 and/or
up to six months in the county jail.
This bill provides that a third or subsequent offense of
the above shall be a fine between $10,000 and $25,000
and/or imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.
This bill provides that if the above offense involved more
than one machine or more than one location, an additional
fine of $1,000 to $5,000 shall be imposed per machine per
location.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/2/10)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (co-source)
California State Sheriffs' Association
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Tribal Council (if
amended)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"Unlicensed slot machines, often disguised as video
arcade machines, are being placed in small businesses in
largely lower income neighborhoods. These slot machines
look and act nearly identical to licensed slot machines
found at tribal gaming facilities yet are being placed in
bars, restaurants, liquor stores and tobacco shops.
Revenues from these machines are unregulated, unreported
and untaxed.
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"The profits from these illegal slot machines make the
minor penalty for conviction merely a cost of doing
business for these offenders. Therefore, law enforcement
has had few tools available to stop and deter these
machines from operating throughout California."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: De La Torre, Evans, Fletcher, Harkey,
Nava, Norby, Villines, John A. Perez, Vacancy
RJG:mw 8/2/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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