BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 340|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 340
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 5/12/11
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 12-0, 4/26/11
AYES: Wright, Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Corbett, De
Le�n, Evans, Hernandez, Padilla, Strickland, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/23/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Runner, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Remote caller bingo
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill transfers jurisdiction of remote
caller bingo from the California Gambling Control
Commission to the Department of Justice, and specifies
other programmatic changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Declares in Section 19(c) of Article IV of the
California Constitution that the Legislature may enact
statutes authorizing cities and counties to provide for
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bingo games, but only for charitable purposes.
2. Authorizes cities and counties to permit eligible
nonprofit organizations to conduct bingo games and
remote caller bingo games for charitable purposes
pursuant to an ordinance that allows those games to be
conducted in accordance with specified requirements.
3. Prohibits an organization from conducting remote caller
bingo more than two days per week.
4. Requires an organization authorized to conduct remote
caller bingo games to give at least 30 days' advance
written notice of its intent to conduct a remote caller
bingo game.
5. Requires the California Gambling Control Commission
(CGCC) to regulate remote caller bingo, including
licensure and operations.
6. Requires any person who conducts a remote caller bingo
game, and any person who manufactures or otherwise
provides equipment for use in the playing of a remote
caller bingo game to be licensed.
7. Requires the CGCC to approve in advance all equipment
used for remote caller bingo, to monitor operation of
the transmission and other equipment used for remote
caller bingo, and to monitor the game itself.
8. Requires the CGCC to submit a report to the Legislature,
on or before January 1, 2012, on the fundraising
effectiveness and regulation of remote caller bingo. A
loan from the Gambling Control Fund to the California
Bingo Fund for the start-up costs relating to
remote-caller bingo is required to be repaid within five
years.
9. Permits players who are physically present at a bingo
game to use hand-held, portable card-minding devices, as
specified, that are approved prior to use by the CGCC.
10.Requires the CGCC to license persons or entities that
manufacture, supply, or service card-minding devices and
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related equipment, and may inspect and prohibit the use
of any card-minding devices that are noncompliant.
11.Requires the CGCC to adopt regulations concerning remote
caller bingo and card-minding devices.
This bill:
1. Permits a city, county, or city and county to amend an
existing local ordinance that allows bingo games to be
conducted, by resolution, to permit the conduct of
remote caller bingo games pursuant to that ordinance, as
specified.
2. Allows an organization to conduct one extra remote
caller bingo game per quarter in addition to the current
two days per week authorization.
3. Requires an organization authorized to conduct remote
caller bingo games to provide at least 10 days' advance
written notice of intent to conduct a remote caller
bingo game on a form prescribed by the city, county, or
city and county, and to provide at least 24 hours'
advance notice if the location of the remote caller
bingo game changes and repeal the model ordinance.
4. Deletes all state licensure requirements for the conduct
of remote caller bingo, and instead, requires an
organization that is eligible to conduct remote caller
bingo games to register annually with the Department of
Justice (DOJ), as specified.
5. Requires the DOJ to maintain a registry on its Internet
Web site of all organizations registered to conduct
remote caller bingo, and authorizes the DOJ to charge an
annual registration fee of $100, to be deposited into
the California Bingo Fund, to cover the actual costs of
the department to administer and enforce these
provisions, and authorizes the DOJ to adopt regulations
.
6. Makes other technical and conforming changes relating to
the duties of the DOJ and the CGCC, including setting
forth procedures for a city, county, or city and county,
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as the local licensing entity, to obtain a background
check from the DOJ.
7. Deletes the requirement that the CGCC approve all
equipment used for remote caller bingo in advance, but
requires the city, county, or city and county to monitor
operation of the transmission and other equipment used
for remote caller bingo and to monitor the game.
8. Authorizes a city, county, or city and county, until
June 1, 2012, to recognize a state license, work permit,
or approval of equipment that was issued by the CGCC and
effective on June 30, 2011, as specified.
9. Permits an authorized organization to contract with a
management company to provide business services, but
requires the organization to give notice of the contract
to the city, county, or city and county and meet other
requirements, as specified.
10. Requires the live, physical calling and broadcast of a
remote caller bingo game to be conducted from a
jurisdiction that authorizes by local ordinance the
conduct of remote caller bingo games.
11.Makes additional changes relating to the requirements
for cosponsoring remote caller bingo games, and
simplifies other procedures and requirements applicable
to the conduct of remote caller bingo games.
12.Deletes that reporting requirement, and deletes the
requirement that the start-up loan be repaid within five
years.
13.Repeals these provisions relating to card-minding
devices and the duties of the CGCC.
Related Legislation
SB 1090 (Cedillo), Chapter 514, Statutes of 2010, allowed
charitable organizations to conduct remote caller bingo
games up to two days per week, instead of 1 day per week.
Amended the model local ordinance to provide additional
flexibility for local agencies to verify the tax-exempt
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status of organizations applying for a license to conduct
bingo games.
SB 126 (Cedillo), Chapter 562, Statutes of 2009, enacted a
model local ordinance for use by local government agencies
to sanction remote caller bingo in the city or county
jurisdiction, and specified that an organization may be
authorized to offer remote caller bingo not more than two
times per week.
SB 1369 (Cedillo), Chapter 748, Statutes of 2008, banned
the use of electronic bingo machines, but authorized the
play of remote caller bingo up to one time per week in
jurisdictions that have a remote caller bingo ordinance,
and created a mitigation fund to minimize the impacts to
the charities that previously operated electronic bingo
machines.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Admin cost (CGCC) ($104) ($104) ($104)
Special*
(Savings)
Admin expenses (DOJ) $75 $75 $75
--Potentially offset by fee
revenue--Special*
* California Bingo Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/11)
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
Bingo Innovations
Calexico Chamber of Commerce
California Association of Nonprofits
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Knights of Columbus, Council No. 11137
Knights of Columbus, Grass Valley Council, No. 1875
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic community, Tujunga, CA
St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Simi Valley, CA
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/11)
California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill's supporters say that
the current law requires charities to follow complicated
bureaucratic guidelines, which stunt the ability of
qualified honorable charities to easily provide fundraising
games in their communities. The current process requires
excessive paperwork and a lengthy period of review for
qualification. Simply put, it is too overwhelming for
charities to navigate. Supporters argue that the spirit of
the remote caller bingo law was to enable charities to
utilize an easy method of fundraising to help their
organizations provide essential services.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Coalition
Against Gambling Expansion writes that, before policymakers
vote for more bills to expand existing forms or authorize
new types of gambling activities, they ought to consider
the social, economic, and moral impact that more legalized
gambling will have on our state and its citizenry.
Specifically, they are troubled by the provisions in this
bill that allows for limitless numbers of persons
participating in a bingo game at a single location via
remote call-in, the deletion of the advance written notice
of such activities, transfer of oversight of remote caller
bingo from the CGCC to the DOJ, and the continued erosion
of the primary purpose of legalized bingo, i.e., its
charitable fundraising.
PQ:kc 5/24/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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