Bill Text: TX SJR16 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment to foster economic development and job growth, provide tax relief and funding for education and public safety programs, and reform and support the horse racing industry by authorizing casino gaming at destination resorts, authorizing sports wagering, and creating the Texas Gaming Commission to regulate casino gaming and sports wagering; requiring a license to conduct casino gaming; requiring the imposition of a casino gaming tax, sports wagering tax, and license application fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-11-12 - Filed [SJR16 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SJR16-Introduced.html

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89R5646 BEE-F
By: Alvarado S.J.R. No. 16

A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment to foster economic
development and job growth, provide tax relief and funding for
education and public safety programs, and reform and support the
horse racing industry by authorizing casino gaming at destination
resorts, authorizing sports wagering, and creating the Texas Gaming
Commission to regulate casino gaming and sports wagering; requiring
a license to conduct casino gaming; requiring the imposition of a
casino gaming tax, sports wagering tax, and license application
fees.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that:
(1) the qualified voters of this state should have the
opportunity to decide whether to authorize casino gaming at
destination resorts; and
(2) if authorized by those voters, casino gaming at
destination resorts should:
(A) serve the public interest by fostering
economic development and job growth and providing tax relief and
funding for education and public safety programs;
(B) be strictly regulated by a newly created
state agency empowered to adopt rules governing who may obtain a
casino license and the conduct of casino gaming in this state;
(C) be limited to areas of this state where the
voters previously approved pari-mutuel wagering;
(D) be limited to areas of this state where the
greatest positive economic impact from destination resort
development can be realized;
(E) use some existing pari-mutuel racing
licenses to allow more immediate development of destination resorts
and to more quickly realize the related job growth and economic
development;
(F) encourage participation by and competition
between multiple casino license holders; and
(G) result in the reform and revitalization of
the horse racing industry in this state and the industry's benefits
to agricultural businesses in this state.
SECTION 2. Section 47(a), Article III, Texas Constitution,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting lotteries
and gift enterprises in this State other than those authorized by
Subsections (b), (d), (d-1), and (e) of this section and Section 47a
of this article.
SECTION 3. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 47a to read as follows:
Sec. 47a. (a) In this section:
(1) "Casino" means a licensed facility located in a
destination resort at which casino gaming is conducted.
(2) "Casino gaming" means any game of chance or
similar activity that involves placing a wager for consideration.
The term includes wagering on any type of slot machine or table
game, as defined by the legislature, using money, casino credit, or
any other representation of value. The term does not include:
(A) bingo, a charitable raffle, or the state
lottery authorized under Section 47 of this article; or
(B) placing, receiving, or otherwise knowingly
transmitting a wager by a means that requires the use of the
Internet, except for offering slot machines, table games, or other
devices the Texas Gaming Commission approves that use the Internet
or networking functionality but are played on-site at a casino.
(3) "Casino license" means a license to conduct casino
gaming at a casino.
(4) "Destination resort" means a mixed-use
development consisting of casino gaming facilities and a
combination of tourism amenities and facilities, including hotels,
restaurants, meeting facilities, attractions, entertainment
facilities, and shopping centers.
(5) "Education" means:
(A) public education;
(B) public higher education; and
(C) adult education related to responsible
gaming.
(6) "Metropolitan statistical area" means a
metropolitan statistical area designated by the United States
Office of Management and Budget as of July 1, 2021.
(7) "Person" includes an individual and any legal
entity, including a corporation, organization, partnership, or
association.
(8) "Public safety program" means a program for crime
prevention and law enforcement, including a program designed to
prevent and prosecute crimes involving human trafficking and money
laundering.
(9) "Racetrack association" means a person who holds a
license to conduct racing in this state.
(10) "Racing" means a horse race meeting or greyhound
race meeting with pari-mutuel wagering.
(11) "Sports wagering" means placing a wager on the
outcome of a live sporting event, as defined by general law.
(b) To foster economic development and job growth, provide
tax relief and funding for education and public safety programs,
reform and support the horse racing industry, and provide for
destination resorts in populous metropolitan statistical areas
where pari-mutuel wagering was previously approved, casino gaming
is authorized under casino licenses for casinos at seven
destination resorts in the following locations:
(1) two destination resorts in the Dallas-Fort
Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area;
(2) two destination resorts in the Houston-The
Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area;
(3) one destination resort in the San Antonio-New
Braunfels metropolitan statistical area;
(4) one destination resort in the Corpus Christi
metropolitan statistical area; and
(5) one destination resort in the
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan statistical area.
(c) The legislature shall:
(1) authorize sports wagering only in a place and
manner prescribed by general law;
(2) regulate the conduct of sports wagering by general
law; and
(3) direct the Texas Gaming Commission to adopt rules
consistent with general law to regulate sports wagering in this
state.
(d) The legislature by general law shall establish the Texas
Gaming Commission as a state agency with broad authority to adopt
and enforce the rules necessary to strictly regulate casino gaming
and sports wagering in accordance with this section.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
constitution, the Texas Gaming Commission is composed of five
members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the
senate to serve staggered six-year terms, as established under
general law. To be eligible for appointment and continued service,
a member must satisfy the qualifications the legislature
establishes under that law.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
constitution, a racetrack association may designate a person to
apply for and hold a casino license under Subsection (g) of this
section by providing notice to the Texas Gaming Commission in the
manner prescribed by general law or commission rule consistent with
general law. A racetrack association may not change the person
designated in the provided notice unless the person declines the
designation and may not at any time designate more than one person
under this subsection. A racetrack association is ineligible to
hold a casino license if the racetrack association designates a
person for a license under this subsection unless the person
declines the designation. Nothing in this subsection affects
duties or rights established by contract or other law.
(g) Subject to this section and notwithstanding any other
provision of this constitution, the Texas Gaming Commission shall
issue a casino license to each initial qualified applicant. An
initial qualified applicant must:
(1) be of good moral character, be honest, and have
integrity;
(2) demonstrate the issuance of the casino license to
the applicant will not be detrimental to the public interest or the
casino gaming industry;
(3) satisfy the qualifications and any other
requirements established under general law;
(4) demonstrate the financial ability to complete the
development of and operate the destination resort at which the
person will conduct casino gaming;
(5) demonstrate adequate experience in resort
development, resort management, and casino gaming operations;
(6) provide a detailed estimate of the applicant's
total new development investment in the destination resort; and
(7) satisfy the applicable requirements provided in
Subsection (h) of this section.
(h) A qualified applicant for an initial casino license must
satisfy the following requirements for the metropolitan
statistical area in which the destination resort will be located:
(1) for a casino license in the Dallas-Fort
Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area, the applicant must:
(A) be a racetrack association that on January 1,
2024, held a license to conduct racing in the Dallas-Fort
Worth-Arlington metropolitan statistical area or the Laredo
metropolitan statistical area or be the person designated by the
racetrack association under Subsection (f) of this section; and
(B) commit to investing for new development of
the destination resort an amount equal to at least $2 billion,
including land acquisition;
(2) for a casino license in the Houston-The
Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, the applicant
must:
(A) be a racetrack association that on January 1,
2024, held a license to conduct racing in the Houston-The
Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area or the
Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan statistical area or be the
person designated by the racetrack association under Subsection (f)
of this section; and
(B) commit to investing for new development of
the destination resort an amount equal to at least $2 billion,
including land acquisition;
(3) for a casino license in the San Antonio-New
Braunfels metropolitan statistical area, the applicant must:
(A) be a racetrack association that on January 1,
2024, held a license to conduct racing in the San Antonio-New
Braunfels metropolitan statistical area or be the person designated
by the racetrack association under Subsection (f) of this section;
and
(B) commit to investing for new development of
the destination resort an amount equal to at least $1 billion,
including land acquisition;
(4) for a casino license in the Corpus Christi
metropolitan statistical area, the applicant must:
(A) be a racetrack association that on January 1,
2024, held a license to conduct racing in the Corpus Christi
metropolitan statistical area or be the person designated by the
racetrack association under Subsection (f) of this section; and
(B) commit to investing for new development of
the destination resort an amount equal to at least $250 million,
including land acquisition; and
(5) for a casino license in the
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan statistical area, the
applicant must:
(A) be a racetrack association that on January 1,
2024, held a license to conduct racing in the
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan statistical area or be the
person designated by the racetrack association under Subsection (f)
of this section; and
(B) commit to investing for new development of
the destination resort an amount equal to at least $250 million,
including land acquisition.
(i) A destination resort at which casino gaming is conducted
under a casino license authorized by Subsection (b) of this section
may be located anywhere in the metropolitan statistical area for
which the license is issued.
(j) Consistent with this section, the legislature by
general law:
(1) shall regulate casino gaming and sports wagering
in this state by prescribing:
(A) additional requirements governing the
issuance of and continued qualification for holding a casino
license;
(B) restrictions on the transfer of casino
licenses;
(C) definitions of terms necessary or useful to
implement this section and consistent with this section, including
the terms casino, casino gaming, casino license, destination
resort, and sports wagering;
(D) qualifications for the issuance of new casino
licenses to persons who are not initial qualified applicants under
Subsection (g) of this section, provided that the number of active
casino licenses, as defined by the legislature, may not at any time
exceed the number of casino licenses for destination resorts
authorized by Subsection (b) of this section; and
(E) restrictions and penalties for the unlawful
conduct of casino gaming and sports wagering; and
(2) may delegate to the Texas Gaming Commission the
authority to adopt rules regulating casino gaming and sports
wagering in accordance with this section.
(k) State or local public money or facilities developed or
built with state or local public assistance or tax incentives of any
kind may not be used for the development or operation of a
destination resort. The legislature by general law shall prescribe
procedures and enforcement measures to ensure that:
(1) a casino license applicant has the financial
capability of satisfying the minimum investment specified in
Subsection (h) of this section; and
(2) each casino license holder satisfies the
investment required under Subsection (h) of this section.
(l) A person may not have an ownership interest in more than
two casino license holders. The legislature by general law shall:
(1) define ownership interest for purposes of this
subsection; and
(2) prescribe the consequences of violating this
subsection.
(m) The legislature by general law shall direct the Texas
Gaming Commission to adopt rules ensuring a person who holds a
casino license and a license to conduct horse racing at a class 1
racetrack, as that term is defined by general law, maintains a
number of live horse racing dates at least equivalent to the number
of live horse racing dates held at the racetrack in 2024.
(n) The legislature by general law shall require a racetrack
association that:
(1) holds a license to conduct greyhound racing to
cease all racing operations and surrender that license as a
condition of holding, or designating a person to hold, a casino
license; and
(2) holds a license to conduct racing in the Laredo
metropolitan statistical area to cease all racing operations and
surrender that license as a condition of holding, or designating a
person to hold, a casino license.
(o) The legislature by general law shall ensure the Texas
Racing Commission or its successor regulates the racing operations
of each racetrack association that holds a casino license and the
Texas Gaming Commission regulates casino gaming and sports wagering
operations of the racetrack association.
(p) The legislature by general law shall impose:
(1) a 15 percent tax on the gross casino gaming
revenue, as defined by general law, of each casino license holder;
and
(2) a tax in the amount provided by general law on
gross sports wagering revenue, as defined by general law.
(q) This state or a state agency or political subdivision of
this state may not impose a tax on the casino gaming revenue of a
casino license holder or a tax or fee on the non-casino gaming
revenue of a casino license holder's operations at a destination
resort, other than the taxes authorized by this section or a tax or
fee generally applicable to a business operating in this state.
(r) To fund and support the administration and management of
the Texas Gaming Commission, the legislature by general law shall
establish casino license application fees in the amount of:
(1) $2.5 million for an application to conduct casino
gaming at a destination resort in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
or Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area;
(2) $1.25 million for an application to conduct casino
gaming at a destination resort in the San Antonio-New Braunfels
metropolitan statistical area; and
(3) $500,000 for an application to conduct casino
gaming at a destination resort in the Corpus Christi or
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan statistical area.
(s) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
constitution, the legislature by law shall allocate a portion of
the annual revenues received from taxes imposed on the gross casino
gaming revenue of casino license holders to be used as horse racing
purse money for the public purpose of promoting the growth and
sustainability of the horse racing industry in this state.
SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to foster economic
development and job growth, provide tax relief and funding for
education and public safety programs, and reform and support the
horse racing industry by authorizing casino gaming at destination
resorts, authorizing sports wagering, and creating the Texas Gaming
Commission to regulate casino gaming and sports wagering; requiring
a license to conduct casino gaming; and requiring the imposition of
a casino gaming tax, sports wagering tax, and license application
fees."