Bill Text: PA HB678 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibiting expansion of gambling and gaming except by referendum or by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 29-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-03 - Referred to GAMING OVERSIGHT [HB678 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB678-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 751
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 678 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY HICKERNELL, THOMAS, CLYMER, BAKER, BOYD, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, DENLINGER, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, GEIST, GINGRICH, HENNESSEY, HESS, HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, MAJOR, MILNE, MURT, OBERLANDER, M. O'BRIEN, PHILLIPS, RAPP, ROCK, ROHRER, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, STERN, SWANGER, TRUE AND TURZAI, MARCH 3, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GAMING OVERSIGHT, MARCH 3, 2009
AN ACT
Prohibiting expansion of gambling and gaming except by
referendum or by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Gambling and
Gaming Control Act.
Section 2. Certain expansion of gambling and gaming prohibited.
(a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and
(c), no legislation shall be enacted which expands existing
forms of gambling or gaming or authorizes new forms of gambling
or gaming.
(b) Existing law.--Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) The Pennsylvania State Lottery, as authorized by the
act of August 26, 1971 (P.L.351, No.91), known as the State
Lottery Law.
(2) Bingo, as authorized by the act of July 10, 1981
(P.L.214, No.67), known as the Bingo Law.
(3) Pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, as authorized
by the act of December 17, 1981 (P.L.435, No.135), known as
the Race Horse Industry Reform Act.
(4) Small games of chance, as authorized by the act of
December 19, 1988 (P.L.1262, No.156), known as the Local
Option Small Games of Chance Act.
(5) Any gaming activity authorized as of July 5, 2004,
by 4 Pa.C.S. Pt. II (relating to gaming).
(c) New gambling or gaming.--No new forms of gambling or
gaming shall be authorized except:
(1) by a vote of no less than two-thirds of all the
members elected to each chamber of the General Assembly; or
(2) upon approval of the electors in a public referendum
as follows:
(i) the referendum question shall appear on a
primary election ballot pursuant to a concurrent
resolution of the General Assembly and shall utilize
clear language that is readily understandable by a
layperson;
(ii) the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall draft a
nonlegal interpretive statement which shall accompany the
referendum question in accordance with section 201.1 of
the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the
Pennsylvania Election Code;
(iii) adoption of the referendum shall authorize
enactment of legislation expanding gambling or gaming to
the extent stated in the language of the referendum; and
(iv) notwithstanding any other provision of this
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act, subsequent expansion of new gambling or gaming
authorized pursuant to the provisions of this subsection
shall require resubmission to the electors under this
paragraph or legislative action under paragraph (1).
Section 3. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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