GAMING

HOUSE FILE 594 - Regulation of Electrical and Mechanical Amusement Devices
HOUSE FILE 603 - Gambling in Public Places - Nonprofit Organizations Conducting Bingo Occasions

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 155 - Substantive Code Corrections

SEE STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act contains statutory corrections that include changes relating to bingo and card and parlor games and various references to the Division of Criminal Investigation of the Department of Public Safety.

SENATE FILE 436 - Supplemental Appropriations - Environment First Fund

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act provides that if the U.S. Supreme Court rules on or after July 1, 2003, in favor of the legality of Iowa's tax on the gross receipts from slot machines at racetracks, any additional tax revenues deposited into the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund are to be transferred to the Cash Reserve Fund in an amount equal to $16,555,000, less an amount transferred from the Environment First Fund at the end of FY 2002-2003. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Iowa's tax on June 9, 2003. The Act takes effect April 11, 2003.

SENATE FILE 453 - State and Local Government Financial and Regulatory Matters - Miscellaneous Provisions

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act addresses state and local government financial and regulatory matters. Legislators referred to this legislation as the "Government Reinvention Bill" during debate and discussion. The Act includes transfer of control over the operation of the Iowa Lottery from the Lottery Division within the Department of Revenue and Finance to a new Iowa Lottery Authority, which has independent authority to operate the Iowa Lottery.

SENATE FILE 458 - Miscellaneous Appropriations, Reductions, Revenue Adjustments, and Other Matters

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. Division VII of this Act amends new Code Chapter 99G, enacted by S.F. 453, to require the Iowa Lottery Authority be audited annually by the Auditor of State or an auditing firm appointed by the Auditor of State, and sets July 1, 2003, as the effective date for the establishment of the Iowa Lottery Authority, instead of September 1, 2003.

HOUSE FILE 667 - Appropriations - Health and Human Services

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act makes appropriations for purposes of health and human services to the Department of Elder Affairs, Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Department of Inspections and Appeals, Department of Human Services, and Commission of Veterans Affairs. Division II of the Act appropriates moneys from the General Fund of the State to IDPH for FY 2003-2004 for addictive disorders related to reducing the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, and treating individuals affected by addictive behaviors, including gambling. Division II also appropriates funds from the Gambling Treatment Fund to IDPH for FY 2003-2004 for treatment of addictive disorders, including gambling, and provides for the use of the money remaining in the fund.

GAMING

HOUSE FILE 594 - Regulation of Electrical and Mechanical Amusement Devices (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act provides for the registration and additional regulation of electrical and mechanical amusement devices. The devices, in the nature of a gambling device and currently referenced in Code Chapter 99B concerning games of skill or chance and raffles, are currently limited by law to awarding a prize of no more than $5.

The Act provides that electrical and mechanical amusement devices that award prizes not based on the skill of the operator are required to be registered and acquired from a registered manufacturer or distributor. In addition, the Act limits the number of registered devices that can be permitted at a single location to not more than four for nonprofit organizations and not more than two for all other persons. The Act also provides for a $25 annual registration tag for each device, which tag shall be displayed on each device in use. The Act also provides that any awards given for use of any amusement device shall only be redeemed on the premises for merchandise normally sold on the premises. Fees collected on these devices between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2005, shall be deposited in a special fund and are appropriated to the Department of Inspections and Appeals and the Department of Public Safety for administration and enforcement of the Code sections concerning amusement devices and the distributors and manufacturers of such devices.

New Code Section 99B.10A is created to provide that a person engaged in business in this state as a distributor, manufacturer, or manufacturer's representative of electrical and mechanical amusement devices subject to registration shall also register with the Department of Inspections and Appeals and shall pay an annual registration fee of $2,500 per year.

The Act also provides for the revocation of the registration as provided in this Act, following notice and a hearing, if the registrant fails to comply with applicable legal requirements. The Act also requires the Department of Inspections and Appeals, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, to submit a report to the General Assembly concerning the implementation of this Act.

The Act lowers the criminal penalty for a person who commits an offense in violation of the Code section governing electrical or mechanical amusement devices from a class "D" felony to a serious misdemeanor.

The Act takes effect May 23, 2003.

HOUSE FILE 603 - Gambling in Public Places - Nonprofit Organizations Conducting Bingo Occasions (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act provides an exception to the licensing requirements for a nonprofit organization conducting a bingo game if the participants in the bingo game are not charged to enter the premises where bingo is played and are not charged to play bingo, any prize awarded is donated, and the bingo game is conducted as an activity and not a fundraiser.