Senate File 199
SENATE FILE
BY LAMBERTI, McCOY, ZIEMAN,
HOUSER, and KRAMER
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for gambling on excursion boats and at
2 racetracks, by eliminating the cruise requirement for gambling
3 boats, providing for gambling games at racetrack enclosures
4 and for off=boat facilities, providing for the issuance of
5 additional excursion boat gambling licenses, and relating to
6 the tax on the adjusted gross receipts from gambling games.
7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
8 TLSB 2250XS 80
9 ec/cf/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 99F.1, subsection 9, Code 2003, is
1 2 amended to read as follows:
1 3 9. "Gambling game" means any game of chance authorized by
1 4 the commission. However, for racetrack enclosures, "gambling
1 5 game" does not include table games of chance or video
1 6 machines. "Gambling game" does not include sports betting.
1 7 Sec. 2. Section 99F.3, Code 2003, is amended to read as
1 8 follows:
1 9 99F.3 EXCURSION BOAT GAMBLING AUTHORIZED.
1 10 The system of wagering on a gambling game as provided by
1 11 this chapter is legal, when conducted on an excursion gambling
1 12 boat at authorized locations by a licensee as provided in this
1 13 chapter. For purposes of this section, "excursion gambling
1 14 boat" includes a facility that is not a boat, is operated by a
1 15 licensee of an excursion gambling boat, and is located within
1 16 the county in which the excursion boat is authorized to
1 17 operate and within one=quarter mile of the dock of an
1 18 excursion gambling boat operated by the licensee.
1 19 Sec. 3. Section 99F.4, subsection 17, Code 2003, is
1 20 amended to read as follows:
1 21 17. To define the excursion season and the duration of an
1 22 excursion. While an excursion gambling boat is docked,
1 23 passengers may embark or disembark at any time during its
1 24 business hours. The commission shall not require that an
1 25 excursion gambling boat leave the dock and cruise in order to
1 26 operate gambling games on the boat.
1 27 Sec. 4. Section 99F.7, subsection 1, Code 2003, is amended
1 28 to read as follows:
1 29 1. If the commission is satisfied that this chapter and
1 30 its rules adopted under this chapter applicable to licensees
1 31 have been or will be complied with, the commission shall issue
1 32 a license for a period of not more than three years to an
1 33 applicant to own a gambling game operation and to an applicant
1 34 to operate an excursion gambling boat. The commission shall
1 35 decide which of the gambling games authorized under this
2 1 chapter it will permit. The commission shall decide the
2 2 number, location, and type of excursion gambling boats
2 3 licensed under this chapter for operation on the rivers,
2 4 lakes, and reservoirs of this state. The license shall set
2 5 forth the name of the licensee, the type of license granted,
2 6 the place where the excursion gambling boats will operate and
2 7 dock, and the time and number of days during the excursion
2 8 season and the off season when gambling may be conducted by
2 9 the licensee. The commission shall not allow a licensee to
2 10 conduct gambling games on an excursion gambling boat while
2 11 docked during the off season if the licensee does not operate
2 12 gambling excursions for a minimum number of days during the
2 13 excursion season. The commission may delay the commencement
2 14 of the excursion season at the request of a licensee.
2 15 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 99F.7A LICENSING CERTIFICATE ==
2 16 ISSUANCE == RENEWALS == FEES.
2 17 1. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the
2 18 contrary, the commission may issue up to three excursion
2 19 gambling boat licenses in addition to the number of licenses
2 20 issued as of January 1, 2003, under section 99F.4 to a person
2 21 holding a valid licensing certificate issued pursuant to the
2 22 requirements of this section.
2 23 2. The commission shall establish a process by which up to
2 24 three licensing certificates will be auctioned to persons who
2 25 will then be authorized to apply for a license as otherwise
2 26 provided by this chapter. The auction process shall provide
2 27 that a minimum bid of a person seeking a licensing certificate
2 28 applicable to a county with a population according to the most
2 29 recent federal decennial census of less than one hundred
2 30 thousand people shall be twenty million dollars and the
2 31 minimum bid for a person seeking a licensing certificate
2 32 applicable to all other counties shall be thirty=five million
2 33 dollars.
2 34 3. A licensing certificate issued to a person under this
2 35 section shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance
3 1 and shall be renewable on an annual basis pursuant to the
3 2 requirements of this section.
3 3 4. A person issued a licensing certificate may renew the
3 4 certificate upon payment of a renewal fee and a determination
3 5 by the commission that the person is making sufficient
3 6 progress, pursuant to criteria adopted by the commission by
3 7 rule, toward establishing and operating a facility that will
3 8 generate tax revenue pursuant to this chapter. If the
3 9 commission determines that the person has failed to make
3 10 sufficient progress, the commission shall not renew the
3 11 licensing certificate unless the person holding the
3 12 certificate pays a penalty equal to the amount paid at auction
3 13 for issuance of the certificate. If a licensing certificate
3 14 is not renewed under this section, the commission shall
3 15 auction the certificate to another person in the same manner
3 16 as the initial licensing certificate was auctioned. The
3 17 decision of the commission under this subsection constitutes
3 18 final agency action pursuant to the requirements of chapter
3 19 17A.
3 20 5. The commission shall set the renewal fee to be charged
3 21 as provided in this section in an amount not to exceed the
3 22 cost to the commission of conducting the necessary
3 23 investigation to determine eligibility for the renewal of the
3 24 licensing certificate without penalty.
3 25 6. The fees and penalties collected pursuant to this
3 26 section shall be credited to the general fund of the state as
3 27 provided for license fees in section 99F.4, subsection 2.
3 28 Sec. 6. Section 99F.11, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2003,
3 29 is amended to read as follows:
3 30 A tax is imposed on the adjusted gross receipts received
3 31 annually from gambling games authorized under this chapter at
3 32 the rate of five percent on the first one million dollars of
3 33 adjusted gross receipts, at the rate of ten percent on the
3 34 next two million dollars of adjusted gross receipts, and at
3 35 the rate of twenty percent on any amount of adjusted gross
4 1 receipts over three million dollars. However, beginning
4 2 January 1, 1997, the rate on any amount of adjusted gross
4 3 receipts over three million dollars from gambling games at
4 4 racetrack enclosures is twenty=two percent and shall increase
4 5 by two percent each succeeding calendar year until the rate is
4 6 thirty=six percent. The taxes imposed by this section shall
4 7 be paid by the licensee to the treasurer of state within ten
4 8 days after the close of the day when the wagers were made and
4 9 shall be distributed as follows:
4 10 EXPLANATION
4 11 This bill makes changes to several provisions governing
4 12 gambling on excursion boats and at racetrack enclosures.
4 13 The bill amends the definition of "gambling game" by
4 14 eliminating the restriction on table games of chance and video
4 15 machines at a racetrack enclosure.
4 16 The bill permits a licensee of an excursion gambling boat
4 17 to conduct gambling games at a facility that is not a boat if
4 18 the facility is located within the county in which the
4 19 licensee is authorized to operate and within one=quarter mile
4 20 of the dock of the licensee's excursion gambling boat.
4 21 The bill amends Code section 99F.4, relating to the powers
4 22 of the racing and gaming commission, to provide that the
4 23 commission shall not require that an excursion gambling boat
4 24 cruise in order to operate gambling games.
4 25 The bill sets the maximum rate of tax on the adjusted gross
4 26 receipts received annually from gambling games at racetrack
4 27 enclosures at the same rate applied to excursion gambling
4 28 boats, 20 percent.
4 29 The bill establishes new Code section 99F.7A, which
4 30 authorizes the issuance of three additional excursion gambling
4 31 boat licenses from the number currently awarded as of January
4 32 1, 2003. The bill provides that prior to obtaining a license,
4 33 a person shall obtain a licensing certificate which will then
4 34 authorize the holder to seek a license. The certificates will
4 35 be sold at auction by the racing and gaming commission with
5 1 the minimum bid for a person seeking a license in a county
5 2 under 100,000 persons set at $20 million and the minimum bid
5 3 applicable for all other counties set at $35 million. The
5 4 certificate is good for one year and can be renewed upon
5 5 payment of a renewal fee and a determination that the holder
5 6 of the license is making sufficient progress toward completing
5 7 a revenue=generating facility. If the commission determines
5 8 that the person is not making sufficient progress, the bill
5 9 provides that the certificate can be renewed upon payment of a
5 10 penalty equal to the amount bid for that certificate. If a
5 11 licensing certificate is not renewed, the commission may
5 12 auction that certificate in the same manner as the initial
5 13 auction. The bill provides that moneys received pursuant to
5 14 this new section shall be deposited in the general fund of the
5 15 state.
5 16 LSB 2250XS 80
5 17 ec/cf/24.1