Bill Text: NY A04616 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Eases certain restrictions on the conducting of games of chance for charitable purposes; authorizes the payment, out of the net proceeds of games of chance, of reimbursement for reasonable expenses of volunteers working at the games; expands the frequency upon which games of chance may be held; authorizes auxiliary members of authorized organizations to operate games of chance; authorizes persons convicted of crimes to operate games of chance when participating in a rehabilitation program; authorizes conducting of games of chance on Sundays; expands advertising of games of chance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to racing and wagering [A04616 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A04616-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4616 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 3, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Racing and Wagering AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the conducting of games of chance by certain organizations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 4 and 6 of section 186 of the general munici- 2 pal law, as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 1978, are amended and 3 two new subdivisions 4-a and 22 are added to read as follows: 4 4. "Authorized organization" shall mean and include any bona fide 5 religious or charitable organization or bona fide educational, fraternal 6 or service organization or bona fide organization of veterans [or], 7 volunteer [firemen] firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers, which 8 by its charter, certificate of incorporation, constitution, or act of 9 the legislature, shall have among its dominant purposes one or more of 10 the lawful purposes as defined in this article, provided that each shall 11 operate without profit to its members, and provided that each such 12 organization has engaged in serving one or more of the lawful purposes 13 as defined in this article for a period of three years [immediatley] 14 immediately prior to applying for a license under this article. 15 No organization shall be deemed an authorized organization which is 16 formed primarily for the purpose of conducting games of chance and which 17 does not devote at least seventy-five percent of its activities to other 18 than conducting games of chance. No political party shall be deemed an 19 authorized organization. 20 4-a. "Auxiliary member" shall mean a bona fide member of an organiza- 21 tion or association which is auxiliary to an authorized organization 22 licensed pursuant to this article; or a bona fide member of an organiza- 23 tion or association of which an authorized organization licensed pursu- 24 ant to this article is an auxiliary; or a bona fide member of an organ- 25 ization or association which is affiliated with an authorized EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09072-02-7A. 4616 2 1 organization licensed pursuant to this article by being, with it, auxil- 2 iary to another organization or association. 3 6. "Net proceeds" shall mean (a) in relation to the gross receipts 4 from one or more license periods of games of chance, the amount that 5 shall remain after deducting the reasonable sums necessarily and actual- 6 ly expended for conducting games of chance including, but not limited 7 to, supplies and equipment, prizes, security-personnel, stated rental if 8 any, bookkeeping or accounting services according to a schedule of 9 compensation prescribed by the board, janitorial services and utility 10 supplies if any, license fees, and [the cost of bus transportation] 11 reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by volunteers who donate 12 their time to hold, operate or conduct, or assist in the conduct of such 13 games, and as authorized by the board and if authorized by the clerk or 14 department and (b) in relation to the gross rent received by an author- 15 ized games of chance lessor for the use of its premises by a game of 16 chance licensee, the amount that shall remain after deducting the 17 reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for janitorial 18 services and utility supplies directly attributable thereto if any. 19 22. "Reasonable expenses" shall include, but not be limited to, child 20 care expenses, transportation expenses, meals and other expenses, as 21 determined and regulated by the board. 22 § 2. Subdivisions 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11 of section 189 of the general 23 municipal law, subdivisions 4, 10 and 11 as amended by chapter 574 of 24 the laws of 1978, subdivisions 5 and 8 as amended by chapter 434 of the 25 laws of 2016 and subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 302 of the laws of 26 2010, are amended to read as follows: 27 4. The entire net proceeds of any game of chance shall be exclusively 28 devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization permitted to conduct 29 the same and the net proceeds of any rental derived therefrom shall be 30 exclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of the authorized games of 31 chance lessor; provided, however, that a person may accept reimbursement 32 of reasonable expenses incurred to manage, hold, operate or conduct such 33 games. 34 5. No single prize awarded by games of chance other than raffle shall 35 exceed the sum or value of [three] four hundred dollars, except that for 36 merchandise wheels, no single prize shall exceed the sum or value of 37 [two] three hundred [fifty] dollars. No single prize awarded by raffle 38 shall exceed the sum or value of three hundred thousand dollars. No 39 single wager shall exceed six dollars and for bell jars, coin boards, or 40 merchandise boards, no single prize shall exceed five hundred dollars 41 provided, however, that such limitation shall not apply to the amount of 42 money or value paid by the participant in a raffle in return for a tick- 43 et or other receipt. For coin boards and merchandise boards, the value 44 of a prize shall be determined by its costs to the authorized organiza- 45 tion or, if donated, its fair market value. 46 6. No authorized organization shall award a series of prizes consist- 47 ing of cash or of merchandise with an aggregate value in excess of ten 48 thousand dollars during the successive operations of any one merchandise 49 wheel or bell jar, and three thousand dollars during the successive 50 operations of any [bell jar,] coin board[,] or merchandise board. No 51 series of prizes awarded by raffle shall have an aggregate value in 52 excess of five hundred thousand dollars. For coin boards and merchandise 53 boards, the value of a prize shall be determined by its cost to the 54 authorized organization or, if donated, its fair market value. 55 8. Except for merchandise wheels and raffles, no series of prizes on 56 any one occasion shall aggregate more than [four] five hundred dollarsA. 4616 3 1 when the licensed authorized organization conducts five single types of 2 games of chance during any one license period. Except for merchandise 3 wheels, raffles and bell jars, no series of prizes on any one occasion 4 shall aggregate more than five hundred dollars when the licensed author- 5 ized organization conducts less than five single types of games of 6 chance, exclusive of merchandise wheels, raffles and bell jars, during 7 any one license period. No authorized organization shall award by raffle 8 prizes with an aggregate value in excess of three million dollars during 9 any one license period. 10 10. No person except a bona fide member of the licensed authorized 11 organization or an auxiliary member of such organization shall partic- 12 ipate in the management of such games[; no person except a bona fide13member of the licensed authorized organization, its auxiliary or affil-14iated organization, shall participate in the operation of such game, as15set forth in section one hundred ninety-five-c of this article]. 16 11. No person shall receive any remuneration for participating in the 17 management or operation of any such game; provided, however, that a 18 person may accept reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred to 19 manage, hold, operate or conduct games of chance. 20 § 3. Subparagraph 5 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 190 21 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 22 1978, is amended to read as follows: 23 (5) the purposes to which the entire net proceeds of such games are to 24 be devoted and in what manner; that no commission, salary, compen- 25 sation[,] or reward [or recompense] will be paid to any person for 26 conducting such game or games or for assisting therein except as in this 27 article otherwise provided; and such other information as shall be 28 prescribed by such rules and regulations. 29 § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 190 of the general 30 municipal law, as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 1978, is amended 31 to read as follows: 32 (b) In each application there shall be designated not less than [four] 33 three bona fide members of the applicant organization under whom the 34 game or games of chance will be managed and to the application shall be 35 appended a statement executed by the members so designated, that they 36 will be responsible for the management of such games in accordance with 37 the terms of the license, the rules and regulations of the board, this 38 article and the applicable local laws or ordinances. 39 § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 190-a of the general 40 municipal law, as amended by chapter 400 of the laws of 2005, is amended 41 to read as follows: 42 (a) For the purposes of this section, "authorized organization" shall 43 mean and include any bona fide religious or charitable organization or 44 bona fide educational, fraternal or service organization or bona fide 45 organization of veterans [or], volunteer [firefighter] firefighters or 46 volunteer ambulance workers, which by its charter, certificate of incor- 47 poration, constitution, or act of the legislature, shall have among its 48 dominant purposes one or more of the lawful purposes as defined in this 49 article, provided that each shall operate without profit to its members, 50 and provided that each such organization has engaged in serving one or 51 more of the lawful purposes as defined in this article for a period of 52 three years immediately prior to being granted the filing requirement 53 exemption contained in subdivision one of this section. 54 § 6. Subdivision 3 of section 190-a of the general municipal law, as 55 added by chapter 400 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:A. 4616 4 1 3. No person under the age of eighteen shall be permitted to play[,2operate or assist] in any raffle conducted pursuant to this section. No 3 person under the age of eighteen years shall be permitted to operate or 4 assist in any raffle conducted pursuant to this section; provided, 5 however, that a person under the age of eighteen years and who is 6 sixteen years of age or older shall be permitted to assist in any raffle 7 if accompanied by an adult. 8 § 7. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 191 of the general 9 municipal law, as amended by section 15 of part LL of chapter 56 of the 10 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 11 (a) Issuance of licenses to conduct games of chance. If such clerk or 12 department shall determine that the applicant is duly qualified to be 13 licensed to conduct games of chance under this article; that the member 14 or members of the applicant designated in the application to manage 15 games of chance are bona fide active members of the applicant and are 16 persons of good moral character and have never been convicted of a 17 crime, or, if convicted, have received a pardon, a certificate of good 18 conduct or a certificate of relief from disabilities pursuant to article 19 twenty-three of the correction law, or, if convicted, the member or 20 members are participating in a rehabilitation program licensed or certi- 21 fied by a state agency and operated by the applicant or an auxiliary 22 thereof; that such games are to be conducted in accordance with the 23 provisions of this article and in accordance with the rules and regu- 24 lations of the board and applicable local laws or ordinances and that 25 the proceeds thereof are to be disposed of as provided by this article, 26 and if such clerk or department is satisfied that no commission, salary, 27 compensation[,] or reward [or recompense] whatever will be paid or given 28 to any person managing, operating or assisting therein except as [in29this article] otherwise provided in this article, including reimburse- 30 ment of reasonable expenses incurred by volunteers who donate their time 31 to hold, operate or conduct, or assist in the conduct of such games; it 32 shall issue a license to the applicant for the conduct of games of 33 chance upon payment of a license fee of twenty-five dollars for each 34 license period. 35 § 8. Subdivision 3 of section 194 of the general municipal law, as 36 amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as 37 follows: 38 3. [Service of alcoholic beverages.] Subject to the applicable 39 provisions of the alcoholic beverage control law, beer and wine may be 40 offered for sale during the conduct of games of chance on games of 41 chance premises as such premises are defined in subdivision nineteen of 42 section one hundred eighty-six of this article; provided, however, that 43 nothing herein shall be construed to limit the offering for sale of any 44 other alcoholic beverage in areas other than the games of chance prem- 45 ises or the sale of any other alcoholic beverage in premises where only 46 the games of chance known as bell jar or raffles are conducted. 47 § 9. Section 195 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 48 461 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 49 § 195. Sunday; conduct of games on. Except as provided in section one 50 hundred ninety-five-b of this article, [no] games of chance [shall] may 51 be conducted under any license issued under this article on the first 52 day of the week, commonly known and designated as Sunday, unless it 53 shall be otherwise provided in the license issued for the conducting 54 thereof, pursuant to the provisions of a local law or an ordinance duly 55 adopted by the governing body of the municipality wherein the license is 56 issued, [authorizing] prohibiting the conduct of games of chance underA. 4616 5 1 this article on that day [only between the hours of noon and midnight]. 2 Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section no games of 3 chance shall be conducted on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day. 4 § 10. Section 195-a of the general municipal law, as amended by chap- 5 ter 574 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: 6 § 195-a. Participation by persons under eighteen. No person under the 7 age of eighteen years shall be permitted to play any game or games of 8 chance conducted pursuant to any license issued under this article. 9 Persons under the age of eighteen years may be permitted to attend games 10 of chance [at the discretion of the games of chance licensee]. No 11 person under the age of eighteen years shall be permitted to operate any 12 game of chance conducted pursuant to any license issued under this arti- 13 cle or to assist therein; provided, however, that a person under the age 14 of eighteen years and who is sixteen years of age or older shall be 15 permitted to assist in the operation of any game of chance if accompa- 16 nied by a parent. 17 § 11. Section 195-b of the general municipal law, as amended by chap- 18 ter 252 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 19 § 195-b. Frequency of games. No game or games of chance, shall be 20 conducted under any license issued under this article more often than 21 [twelve] eighteen times in any calendar year. No particular premises 22 shall be used for the conduct of games of chance on more than twenty- 23 four license periods during any one calendar year. Games shall be 24 conducted only between the hours of noon and midnight on Sunday, Monday, 25 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and only between the hours of noon on 26 Friday and two A.M. Saturday, and only between the hours of noon on 27 Saturday and two A.M. Sunday. The two A.M. closing period shall also 28 apply to a legal holiday. The above restrictions shall not apply when 29 only the games of chance known as bell jar and/or raffle are conducted. 30 § 12. Section 195-c of the general municipal law, as amended by chap- 31 ter 252 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 32 § 195-c. [1.] Persons operating games; equipment; expenses; compen- 33 sation. 1. No person shall operate any game of chance under any license 34 issued under this article except a bona fide member or auxiliary member 35 of the authorized organization to which the license is issued[, or a36bona fide member of an organization or association which is an auxiliary37to the licensee or a bona fide member of an organization or association38of which such licensee is an auxiliary or a bona fide member of an39organization or association which is affiliated with the licensee by40being, with it, auxiliary to another organization or association]. Noth- 41 ing herein shall be construed to limit the number of games of chance 42 licensees for whom such persons may operate games of chance nor to 43 prevent non-members from assisting the licensee in any activity other 44 than managing or operating games. No game of chance shall be conducted 45 with any equipment except such as shall be owned or leased by the 46 authorized organization so licensed or used without payment of any 47 compensation therefor by the licensee. However, in no event shall bell 48 jar tickets be transferred from one authorized organization to another, 49 with or without payment of any compensation thereof. The head or heads 50 of the authorized organization shall upon request certify, under oath, 51 that the persons operating any game of chance are bona fide or auxiliary 52 members of such authorized organization, auxiliary or affiliated organ- 53 ization. Upon request by an officer or the department any such person 54 involved in such games of chance shall certify that he or she has no 55 criminal record. No items of expense shall be incurred or paid in 56 connection with the conducting of any game of chance pursuant to anyA. 4616 6 1 license issued under this article except those that are reasonable and 2 are necessarily expended for games of chance supplies and equipment, 3 prizes, security personnel, stated rental if any, bookkeeping or 4 accounting services according to a schedule of compensation prescribed 5 by the board, janitorial services and utility supplies if any, and 6 license fees, reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by volun- 7 teers who donate their time to operate or assist in the operation of 8 games of chance and the cost of bus transportation, if authorized by 9 such clerk or department. No commission, salary, compensation[,] or 10 reward [or recompense] shall be paid or given to any person for the sale 11 or assisting with the sale of raffle tickets. 12 2. For the purpose of the sale of tickets for the game of raffle, the 13 term "operate" shall not include the sale of such tickets by persons of 14 lineal or collateral consanguinity to members of an authorized organiza- 15 tion licensed to conduct a raffle. 16 § 13. Section 195-e of the general municipal law, as amended by chap- 17 ter 94 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows: 18 § 195-e. Advertising games. A licensee may advertise the conduct of 19 games of chance to the general public by means of newspaper, circular, 20 handbill [and], poster, electronic mail, electronic communications and 21 government access television broadcasts, and by one sign not exceeding 22 sixty square feet in area, which may be displayed on or adjacent to the 23 premises owned or occupied by a licensed authorized organization, and 24 when an organization is licensed to conduct games of chance on premises 25 of an authorized games of chance lessor, one additional such sign may be 26 displayed on or adjacent to the premises in which the games are to be 27 conducted. Additional signs may be displayed upon any fire fighting 28 equipment belonging to any licensed authorized organization which is a 29 volunteer fire company, or upon any equipment of a first aid or rescue 30 squad, or volunteer ambulance company in and throughout the community 31 served by such volunteer fire company or such first aid or rescue squad, 32 or volunteer ambulance company, as the case may be. All advertisements 33 shall be limited to the description of such event as "Games of chance" 34 or "Las Vegas Night", the name of the authorized organization conducting 35 such games, the license number of the authorized organization as 36 assigned by the clerk or department and the date, location and time of 37 the event. 38 § 14. Subdivision 3 of section 195-f of the general municipal law, as 39 amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as 40 follows: 41 3. Any authorized organization required to file an annual report with 42 the secretary of state pursuant to article seven-A of the executive law 43 [or the attorney general pursuant to article eight of the estates,44powers and trusts law] shall include with such annual report a copy of 45 the statement required to be filed with the clerk or department pursuant 46 to subdivision one or two of this section. 47 § 15. Subdivision 1 of section 195-n of the general municipal law, as 48 amended by chapter 637 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as 49 follows: 50 1. Distribution; manufacturers. For business conducted in this state, 51 manufacturers licensed by the board to sell bell jar tickets shall sell 52 only such tickets to distributors licensed by the board. Manufacturers 53 of bell jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, and coin boards may 54 submit samples, artists' renderings, or color photocopies of proposed 55 bell jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, coin boards, payout 56 cards, and flares for review and approval by the board. Within thirtyA. 4616 7 1 days of receipt of such sample or rendering, the board shall approve or 2 deny such bell jar tickets. [Following approval of a rendering of a bell3jar ticket, seal card, merchandise board, or coin board by the board] 4 Prior to the sale of a bell jar game, jar ticket, seal card, merchandise 5 board or coin board to any licensed distributor for resale in this 6 state, the manufacturer shall submit to the board a sample of the print- 7 ed bell jar ticket, seal card, merchandise board, coin board, payout 8 card, and flare for such game. [Such sample shall be submitted prior to9the sale of the game to any licensed distributor for resale in this10state.] Within forty-five days of receipt of such sample, the board 11 shall approve or deny the bell jar ticket, jar ticket, seal card, 12 merchandise board or coin board. For coin boards and merchandise boards, 13 nothing herein shall require the submittal of actual coins or merchan- 14 dise as part of the approval process. Any licensed manufacturer who 15 willfully violates the provisions of this section shall: (a) upon such 16 first offense, have their license suspended for a period of thirty days; 17 (b) upon such second offense, participate in a hearing to be conducted 18 by the board, and surrender their license for such period as recommended 19 by the board; and (c) upon such third or subsequent offense, have their 20 license suspended for a period of one year and shall be guilty of a 21 class E felony. Any unlicensed manufacturer who violates the provisions 22 of this section shall be guilty of a class E felony. 23 § 16. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 24 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.