BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 126|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 126
Author: Cedillo (D)
Amended: 8/31/09
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 13-0, 4/14/09
AYES: Wright, Harman, Benoit, Calderon, Denham, Florez,
Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Romero, Wiggins,
Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 38-1, 5/26/09
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete
McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Runner,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Walters, Wiggins, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Cox
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 9/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Bingo: remote caller bingo
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes various technical changes to the
CONTINUED
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remote caller bingo law enacted last year by SB 1369
(Cedillo), Chapter 748, Statutes of 2008. This bill (1)
deletes reference to "school districts" in the provisions
specifying the organizations that may conduct bingo games
and instead authorizes "charitable organizations affiliated
with a school district" to conduct bingo games, (2) deletes
reference to organizations "registered" to conduct those
bingo games, and (3) deletes the requirement that the
California Gambling Control Commission establish criteria
for registering manufacturers and distributors.
Assembly Amendments (1) contain permissive model ordinance
language for local governing bodies to use, (2) allow that
credit card processing fees be accounted for outside of
administrative costs but must be deducted from 37 percent
of proceeds allowable for prizes - not from the proceeds
that would go towards the authorized charitable
organization conducting a remote caller bingo game, and (3)
extend the emergency regulations adopted by the California
Gambling Control Commission to December 31, 2011.
ANALYSIS : Article IV, Section 19(c) of the Constitution
of the State of California states that, "the Legislature by
statute may authorize cities and counties to provide for
bingo games, but only for charitable purposes."
Existing law permits cities, counties, and cities and
counties to allow remote caller bingo games to be conducted
by specified tax exempt and nonprofit organizations for
charitable purposes, subject to provisions of law which, if
violated, constitute a crime.
Existing law authorizes specified tax exempt and nonprofit
organizations that have been incorporated or in existence
for three years or more and that are not organized for the
primary purpose of operating bingo to conduct remote caller
bingo games no more than one day per week.
Existing law defines a "remote caller bingo game" as a game
of bingo in which numbers or symbols on randomly drawn
plastic balls are announced by a person present at the site
at which the live game is conducted, and audio and video
technology links in-state facilities for the purpose of
transmitting the remote calling of a live bingo game from a
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single location to multiple locations.
Existing law requires remote caller bingo games to be
played using traditional paper or other tangible bingo
cards and daubers, and shall not be played by using
electronic devises, except card-minding devices.
Existing law requires an authorized organization to provide
the California Gambling Control Commission (CGCC) with at
least 30 days advanced written notice of its intent to
conduct remote caller bingo games, and submit specified
information about the organizations, locations, vendors,
and licensees involved in the operation of the games, as
well as, a copy of the local ordinance for the counties in
which the games will be played.
Existing law allows affiliated organizations to co-sponsor
remote caller bingo games or 10 unaffiliated organizations
to co-sponsor remote caller bingo games provided the games
do not occur at more than 10 locations. Co-sponsoring
organizations must enter into and provide CGCC with a copy
of written agreements setting forth specified information,
such as, how the expenses and proceeds of the game are to
be allocated among the participating organizations, the
bank accounts into which al receipts are to be deposited
and from which all prizes are to be paid, and how game
records are to be maintained and subjected to annual audit.
Existing law limits an organization's overhead costs, as
defined, to not exceed 20 percent of gross sales, except
for one-time, nonrecurring capital acquisitions.
Existing law limits the value of prizes awarded during the
conduct of any remote caller bingo game to not exceed 37
percent of the gross receipts for that tame.
Existing law requires CGCC to regulate remote caller bingo,
including, but not limited to, licensure and operations.
The CGCC shall license and register any person that
conducts remote caller bingo or any person that provides
supplies or equipment designed for the play of remote
caller bingo.
Existing law requires all equipment used for remote caller
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bingo to be approved in advance by CGCC.
Current law directs the CGCC to adopt appropriate emergency
regulations as soon as possible, but no later than May 1,
2009, in order to avoid delays in implementing regulations
governing remote caller bingo to avoid disruption of
fundraising efforts by nonprofit organizations.
Comments
SB 1369 (Cedillo), Chapter 748, Statutes of 2008, created a
new section of law authorizing local governments to adopt
ordinances for the play of remote caller bingo. Remote
caller bingo is based on the traditional game of bingo.
The major differences between remote caller bingo and
traditional bingo is that remote caller bingo allows for
the transmission of an audio and video signal of a live
bingo game from one organization (a Rotary Club, for
example) located in a local jurisdiction that has adopted a
remote caller bingo ordinance to sister or affiliated
organizations (other Rotary Clubs) located in other local
jurisdictions across the state that have also adopted
remote caller bingo ordinances.
This bill makes a number of technical and clarifying
changes to the remote caller bingo law enacted last year.
As CGCC began to develop the regulations to govern remote
caller bingo, a number of minor drafting errors were
discovered in the law. This bill is intended to correct
those drafting errors to alleviate ambiguity in the law as
CGCC moves forward to adopt regulations prior to May 1,
2009. The most significant technical changes are as
follows:
1. Charitable Organizations Affiliated with a School
District . The Penal Code authorizes remote caller bingo
to be operated, in part, by "charitable organizations
affiliated with a school district" and it also authorizes
traditional bingo to be conducted, in part by "school
districts". Both of the changes to the Penal Code were
enacted by SB 1369 in 2008. When the initial language
relating to bingo was amended into SB 1369, the language
would have allowed school. Districts to operate remote
caller and traditional bingo games. This was not the
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intent of the author. The author wanted to allow
"charitable organizations affiliated with a school
district" to operate remote caller or traditional bingo
games, not the school districts themselves. Subsequent
amendments, however, did not make the corresponding
changes to both references in the bill. This bill makes
the correction intended by the author to allow charitable
organization affiliated with a school district to operate
remote caller or traditional bingo games.
2. Organizations Registered to Conduct Remote Caller Bingo .
There is ambiguity with regard to the term "registered"
as set forth in the remote caller bingo law. The term
"registered" is a vestige of an initial draft of the
bingo language amended into the enabling legislation, SB
1369 of 2008. The initial draft bingo language was
modeled for another law that set up a registration
program or nonprofits that wanted to conduct poker night
fundraisers. Later iterations of SB 1369 established
more rigorous standards for remote caller bingo - a
licensing program instead of a registration program. The
licensing program requires specified persons involved in
the operation of remote caller bingo games to undergo
background investigations to determine if they are
suitable for licensure. In addition, CGCC's draft
emergency regulations require the applicant charitable
organizations to submit specified documents demonstrating
that they are a qualified tax exempt or nonprofit
organization that has been in existence for three or more
years and are not organized for the primary purpose of
operating charitable bingo.
Status of Emergency Regulations . On April 7, 2009, CGCC
sent out notice of intent to adopt emergency regulations
that will establish the process for (1) recognizing
organizations authorized to conduct remote caller bingo,
(2) issuing interim remote caller bingo licenses and work
permits for individuals engaged in the conduct of remote
caller bingo, and (3) issuing interim licenses for
manufacturers and distributors of remote caller bingo
equipment, supplies and bingo card-minding devices.
Prior/Related Legislation
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AB 1036 (Niello), 2009-10 Session . Allows a maximum of 100
unaffiliated organizations to enter into an agreement to
co-sponsor a remote caller bingo game if the game does not
have more than 100 locations. (Pending in Assembly
Governmental Organization Committee)
SB 1369 (Cedillo), Chapter 748, Statutes of 2008 .
Authorizes nonprofit organizations, mobilehome park
associations, senor citizen's organizations, and
organizations affiliated with school districts that have
been incorporated or in existence for three years or more
to conduct "remote caller bingo".
Passed the Senate Floor with a vote of 24-9 on 8/29/08.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/3/09)
California Association of Nonprofits
Charity First for California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NOES: Niello
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Hall, Yamada, Vacancy
TSM:cm 9/3/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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