Bill Text: NY A04379 | 2019-2020 | 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 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to racing and wagering [A04379 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A04379-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4379 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2019 ___________ 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, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 476 of the laws of 2018 and 3 subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 1978, are amended 4 and two new subdivisions 4-a and 22 are added to read as follows: 5 4. "Authorized organization" shall mean and include any bona fide 6 religious or charitable organization or bona fide educational, fraternal 7 or service organization or bona fide organization of veterans or volun- 8 teer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers, which by its charter, 9 certificate of incorporation, constitution, or act of the legislature, 10 shall have among its dominant purposes one or more of the lawful 11 purposes as defined in this article, provided that each shall operate 12 without profit to its members, and provided that each such organization 13 has engaged in serving one or more of the lawful purposes as defined in 14 this article for a period of three years immediately prior to applying 15 for a license under this article. 16 No organization shall be deemed an authorized organization which is 17 formed primarily for the purpose of conducting games of chance and which 18 does not devote at least seventy-five percent of its activities to other 19 than conducting games of chance. No political party shall be deemed an 20 authorized organization. 21 4-a. "Auxiliary member" shall mean a bona fide member of an organiza- 22 tion or association which is auxiliary to an authorized organization 23 licensed pursuant to this article; or a bona fide member of an organiza- 24 tion or association of which an authorized organization licensed pursu- 25 ant to this article is an auxiliary; or a bona fide member of an organ- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00558-02-9A. 4379 2 1 ization or association which is affiliated with an authorized 2 organization licensed pursuant to this article by being, with it, auxil- 3 iary to another organization or association. 4 6. "Net proceeds" shall mean (a) in relation to the gross receipts 5 from one or more license periods of games of chance, the amount that 6 shall remain after deducting the reasonable sums necessarily and actual- 7 ly expended for conducting games of chance including, but not limited 8 to, supplies and equipment, prizes, security-personnel, stated rental if 9 any, bookkeeping or accounting services according to a schedule of 10 compensation prescribed by the board, janitorial services and utility 11 supplies if any, license fees, and [the cost of bus transportation] 12 reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by volunteers who donate 13 their time to hold, operate or conduct, or assist in the conduct of such 14 games, and as authorized by the board and if authorized by the clerk or 15 department and (b) in relation to the gross rent received by an author- 16 ized games of chance lessor for the use of its premises by a game of 17 chance licensee, the amount that shall remain after deducting the 18 reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for janitorial 19 services and utility supplies directly attributable thereto if any. 20 22. "Reasonable expenses" shall include, but not be limited to, child 21 care expenses, transportation expenses, meals and other expenses, as 22 determined and regulated by the board. 23 § 2. Subdivisions 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11 of section 189 of the general 24 municipal law, subdivisions 4, 10 and 11 as amended by chapter 574 of 25 the laws of 1978, subdivisions 5 and 6 as amended by section 11 of part 26 MM of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017 and subdivision 8 as amended by 27 chapter 434 of the laws of 2016, are amended to read as follows: 28 4. The entire net proceeds of any game of chance shall be exclusively 29 devoted to the lawful purposes of the organization permitted to conduct 30 the same and the net proceeds of any rental derived therefrom shall be 31 exclusively devoted to the lawful purposes of the authorized games of 32 chance lessor; provided, however, that a person may accept reimbursement 33 of reasonable expenses incurred to manage, hold, operate or conduct such 34 games. 35 5. (a) No single prize awarded by games of chance other than raffle 36 shall exceed the sum or value of [three] four hundred dollars, except 37 that for merchandise wheels, no single prize shall exceed the sum or 38 value of [two] three hundred [fifty] dollars, and for bell jar, no 39 single prize shall exceed the sum or value of one thousand dollars. 40 (b) No single prize awarded by raffle shall exceed the sum or value of 41 three hundred thousand dollars. 42 (c) No single wager shall exceed six dollars and for bell jars, coin 43 boards or merchandise boards, no single prize shall exceed one thousand 44 dollars, provided, however, that such limitation shall not apply to the 45 amount of money or value paid by the participant in a raffle in return 46 for a ticket or other receipt. 47 (d) For coin boards and merchandise boards, the value of a prize shall 48 be determined by the cost of such prize to the authorized organization 49 or, if donated, the fair market value of such prize. 50 6. (a) No authorized organization shall award a series of prizes 51 consisting of cash or of merchandise with an aggregate value in excess 52 of: 53 (1) ten thousand dollars during the successive operations of any one 54 merchandise wheel or bell jar; and 55 (2) six thousand dollars during the successive operations of any [bell56jar,] coin board or merchandise board.A. 4379 3 1 (b) No series of prizes awarded by raffle shall have an aggregate 2 value in excess of five hundred thousand dollars. 3 (c) For coin boards and merchandise boards, the value of a prize shall 4 be determined by the cost of such prize to the authorized organization 5 or, if donated, the fair market value of such prize. 6 8. Except for merchandise wheels and raffles, no series of prizes on 7 any one occasion shall aggregate more than [four] five hundred dollars 8 when the licensed authorized organization conducts five single types of 9 games of chance during any one license period. Except for merchandise 10 wheels, raffles and bell jars, no series of prizes on any one occasion 11 shall aggregate more than five hundred dollars when the licensed author- 12 ized organization conducts less than five single types of games of 13 chance, exclusive of merchandise wheels, raffles and bell jars, during 14 any one license period. No authorized organization shall award by raffle 15 prizes with an aggregate value in excess of three million dollars during 16 any one license period. 17 10. No person except a bona fide member of the licensed authorized 18 organization or an auxiliary member of such organization shall partic- 19 ipate in the management of such games[; no person except a bona fide20member of the licensed authorized organization, its auxiliary or affil-21iated organization, shall participate in the operation of such game, as22set forth in section one hundred ninety-five-c of this article]. 23 11. No person shall receive any remuneration for participating in the 24 management or operation of any such game; provided, however, that a 25 person may accept reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred to 26 manage, hold, operate or conduct games of chance. 27 § 3. Subparagraph 5 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 190 28 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 29 1978, is amended to read as follows: 30 (5) the purposes to which the entire net proceeds of such games are to 31 be devoted and in what manner; that no commission, salary, compen- 32 sation[,] or reward [or recompense] will be paid to any person for 33 conducting such game or games or for assisting therein except as in this 34 article otherwise provided; and such other information as shall be 35 prescribed by such rules and regulations. 36 § 4. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 190 of the general 37 municipal law, as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 1978, is amended 38 to read as follows: 39 (b) In each application there shall be designated not less than [four] 40 three bona fide members of the applicant organization under whom the 41 game or games of chance will be managed and to the application shall be 42 appended a statement executed by the members so designated, that they 43 will be responsible for the management of such games in accordance with 44 the terms of the license, the rules and regulations of the board, this 45 article and the applicable local laws or ordinances. 46 § 5. Subdivision 3 of section 190-a of the general municipal law, as 47 added by chapter 400 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 48 3. No person under the age of eighteen shall be permitted to play[,49operate or assist] in any raffle conducted pursuant to this section. No 50 person under the age of eighteen years shall be permitted to operate or 51 assist in any raffle conducted pursuant to this section; provided, 52 however, that a person under the age of eighteen years and who is 53 sixteen years of age or older shall be permitted to assist in any raffle 54 if accompanied by an adult.A. 4379 4 1 § 6. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 191 of the general 2 municipal law, as amended by section 15 of part LL of chapter 56 of the 3 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 4 (a) Issuance of licenses to conduct games of chance. If such clerk or 5 department shall determine that the applicant is duly qualified to be 6 licensed to conduct games of chance under this article; that the member 7 or members of the applicant designated in the application to manage 8 games of chance are bona fide active members of the applicant and are 9 persons of good moral character and have never been convicted of a 10 crime, or, if convicted, have received a pardon, a certificate of good 11 conduct or a certificate of relief from disabilities pursuant to article 12 twenty-three of the correction law, or, if convicted, the member or 13 members are participating in a rehabilitation program licensed or certi- 14 fied by a state agency and operated by the applicant or an auxiliary 15 thereof; that such games are to be conducted in accordance with the 16 provisions of this article and in accordance with the rules and regu- 17 lations of the board and applicable local laws or ordinances and that 18 the proceeds thereof are to be disposed of as provided by this article, 19 and if such clerk or department is satisfied that no commission, salary, 20 compensation[,] or reward [or recompense] whatever will be paid or given 21 to any person managing, operating or assisting therein except as [in22this article] otherwise provided in this article, including reimburse- 23 ment of reasonable expenses incurred by volunteers who donate their time 24 to hold, operate or conduct, or assist in the conduct of such games; it 25 shall issue a license to the applicant for the conduct of games of 26 chance upon payment of a license fee of twenty-five dollars for each 27 license period. 28 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 194 of the general municipal law, as 29 amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as 30 follows: 31 3. [Service of alcoholic beverages.] Subject to the applicable 32 provisions of the alcoholic beverage control law, beer and wine may be 33 offered for sale during the conduct of games of chance on games of 34 chance premises as such premises are defined in subdivision nineteen of 35 section one hundred eighty-six of this article; provided, however, that 36 nothing herein shall be construed to limit the offering for sale of any 37 other alcoholic beverage in areas other than the games of chance prem- 38 ises or the sale of any other alcoholic beverage in premises where only 39 the games of chance known as bell jar or raffles are conducted. 40 § 8. Section 195 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 41 461 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 42 § 195. Sunday; conduct of games on. Except as provided in section one 43 hundred ninety-five-b of this article, [no] games of chance [shall] may 44 be conducted under any license issued under this article on the first 45 day of the week, commonly known and designated as Sunday, unless it 46 shall be otherwise provided in the license issued for the conducting 47 thereof, pursuant to the provisions of a local law or an ordinance duly 48 adopted by the governing body of the municipality wherein the license is 49 issued, [authorizing] prohibiting the conduct of games of chance under 50 this article on that day [only between the hours of noon and midnight]. 51 Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section no games of 52 chance shall be conducted on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day. 53 § 9. Section 195-a of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 54 574 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: 55 § 195-a. Participation by persons under eighteen. No person under the 56 age of eighteen years shall be permitted to play any game or games ofA. 4379 5 1 chance conducted pursuant to any license issued under this article. 2 Persons under the age of eighteen years may be permitted to attend games 3 of chance [at the discretion of the games of chance licensee]. No 4 person under the age of eighteen years shall be permitted to operate any 5 game of chance conducted pursuant to any license issued under this arti- 6 cle or to assist therein; provided, however, that a person under the age 7 of eighteen years and who is sixteen years of age or older shall be 8 permitted to assist in the operation of any game of chance if accompa- 9 nied by a parent. 10 § 10. Section 195-b of the general municipal law, as amended by chap- 11 ter 252 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 12 § 195-b. Frequency of games. No game or games of chance, shall be 13 conducted under any license issued under this article more often than 14 [twelve] eighteen times in any calendar year. No particular premises 15 shall be used for the conduct of games of chance on more than twenty- 16 four license periods during any one calendar year. Games shall be 17 conducted only between the hours of noon and midnight on Sunday, Monday, 18 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and only between the hours of noon on 19 Friday and two A.M. Saturday, and only between the hours of noon on 20 Saturday and two A.M. Sunday. The two A.M. closing period shall also 21 apply to a legal holiday. The above restrictions shall not apply when 22 only the games of chance known as bell jar and/or raffle are conducted. 23 § 11. Section 195-c of the general municipal law, as amended by chap- 24 ter 252 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 25 § 195-c. [1.] Persons operating games; equipment; expenses; compen- 26 sation. 1. No person shall operate any game of chance under any license 27 issued under this article except a bona fide member or auxiliary member 28 of the authorized organization to which the license is issued[, or a29bona fide member of an organization or association which is an auxiliary30to the licensee or a bona fide member of an organization or association31of which such licensee is an auxiliary or a bona fide member of an32organization or association which is affiliated with the licensee by33being, with it, auxiliary to another organization or association]. Noth- 34 ing herein shall be construed to limit the number of games of chance 35 licensees for whom such persons may operate games of chance nor to 36 prevent non-members from assisting the licensee in any activity other 37 than managing or operating games. No game of chance shall be conducted 38 with any equipment except such as shall be owned or leased by the 39 authorized organization so licensed or used without payment of any 40 compensation therefor by the licensee. However, in no event shall bell 41 jar tickets be transferred from one authorized organization to another, 42 with or without payment of any compensation thereof. The head or heads 43 of the authorized organization shall upon request certify, under oath, 44 that the persons operating any game of chance are bona fide or auxiliary 45 members of such authorized organization, auxiliary or affiliated organ- 46 ization. Upon request by an officer or the department any such person 47 involved in such games of chance shall certify that he or she has no 48 criminal record. No items of expense shall be incurred or paid in 49 connection with the conducting of any game of chance pursuant to any 50 license issued under this article except those that are reasonable and 51 are necessarily expended for games of chance supplies and equipment, 52 prizes, security personnel, stated rental if any, bookkeeping or 53 accounting services according to a schedule of compensation prescribed 54 by the board, janitorial services and utility supplies if any, and 55 license fees, reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by volun- 56 teers who donate their time to operate or assist in the operation ofA. 4379 6 1 games of chance and the cost of bus transportation, if authorized by 2 such clerk or department. No commission, salary, compensation[,] or 3 reward [or recompense] shall be paid or given to any person for the sale 4 or assisting with the sale of raffle tickets. 5 2. For the purpose of the sale of tickets for the game of raffle, the 6 term "operate" shall not include the sale of such tickets by persons of 7 lineal or collateral consanguinity to members of an authorized organiza- 8 tion licensed to conduct a raffle. 9 § 12. Section 195-e of the general municipal law, as amended by 10 section 14 of part MM of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to 11 read as follows: 12 § 195-e. Advertising games. A licensee may advertise the conduct of 13 games of chance to the general public by means of newspaper, circular, 14 handbill [and], poster, electronic mail, electronic communications and 15 government access television broadcasts, and by one sign not exceeding 16 sixty square feet in area, which may be displayed on or adjacent to the 17 premises owned or occupied by a licensed authorized organization, 18 through the internet or television as may be regulated by the rules and 19 regulations of the commission. When an organization is licensed or 20 authorized to conduct games of chance on the premises of an authorized 21 games of chance lessor, one additional such sign may be displayed on or 22 adjacent to the premises in which the games are to be conducted. Addi- 23 tional signs may be displayed upon any firefighting or ambulance equip- 24 ment belonging to any licensed authorized organization that is a volun- 25 teer fire company, volunteer ambulance corps or upon any equipment of a 26 first aid or rescue squad in and throughout the community served by such 27 volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance corps or such first aid or 28 rescue squad, as the case may be. All advertisements shall be limited to 29 the description of such event as "Games of chance" or "Las Vegas Night", 30 the name of the authorized organization conducting such games, the 31 license number of the authorized organization as assigned by the clerk 32 or department, the prizes offered and the date, location and time of the 33 event. 34 § 13. Subdivision 3 of section 195-f of the general municipal law, as 35 amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as 36 follows: 37 3. Any authorized organization required to file an annual report with 38 the secretary of state pursuant to article seven-A of the executive law 39 [or the attorney general pursuant to article eight of the estates,40powers and trusts law] shall include with such annual report a copy of 41 the statement required to be filed with the clerk or department pursuant 42 to subdivision one or two of this section. 43 § 14. Subdivision 1 of section 195-n of the general municipal law, as 44 amended by chapter 637 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 1. Distribution; manufacturers. For business conducted in this state, 47 manufacturers licensed by the board to sell bell jar tickets shall sell 48 only such tickets to distributors licensed by the board. Manufacturers 49 of bell jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, and coin boards may 50 submit samples, artists' renderings, or color photocopies of proposed 51 bell jar tickets, seal cards, merchandise boards, coin boards, payout 52 cards, and flares for review and approval by the board. Within thirty 53 days of receipt of such sample or rendering, the board shall approve or 54 deny such bell jar tickets. [Following approval of a rendering of a bell55jar ticket, seal card, merchandise board, or coin board by the board] 56 Prior to the sale of a bell jar game, jar ticket, seal card, merchandiseA. 4379 7 1 board or coin board to any licensed distributor for resale in this 2 state, the manufacturer shall submit to the board a sample of the print- 3 ed bell jar ticket, seal card, merchandise board, coin board, payout 4 card, and flare for such game. [Such sample shall be submitted prior to5the sale of the game to any licensed distributor for resale in this6state.] Within forty-five days of receipt of such sample, the board 7 shall approve or deny the bell jar ticket, jar ticket, seal card, 8 merchandise board or coin board. For coin boards and merchandise boards, 9 nothing herein shall require the submittal of actual coins or merchan- 10 dise as part of the approval process. Any licensed manufacturer who 11 willfully violates the provisions of this section shall: (a) upon such 12 first offense, have their license suspended for a period of thirty days; 13 (b) upon such second offense, participate in a hearing to be conducted 14 by the board, and surrender their license for such period as recommended 15 by the board; and (c) upon such third or subsequent offense, have their 16 license suspended for a period of one year and shall be guilty of a 17 class E felony. Any unlicensed manufacturer who violates the provisions 18 of this section shall be guilty of a class E felony. 19 § 15. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 20 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
