Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, | 5 |
three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring | 6 |
herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the | 7 |
state, in the manner prescribed by law at the special election to | 8 |
be held on May 4, 2010, a proposal to amend Section 6 of Article | 9 |
XV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio to read as follows: | 10 |
(A) The General Assembly may authorize an agency of the state | 14 |
to conduct lotteries, to sell rights to participate therein, and | 15 |
to award prizes by chance to participants, provided that the | 16 |
entire net proceeds of any such lottery are paid into a fund of | 17 |
the state treasury that shall consist solely of such proceeds and | 18 |
shall be used solely for the support of elementary, secondary, | 19 |
vocational, and special education programs as determined in | 20 |
appropriations made by the General Assembly. | 21 |
(C)(1) Casino gaming shall be authorized at four casino | 25 |
facilities (a single casino at a designated location within each | 26 |
of the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo and | 27 |
within Franklin County) to create new funding for cities, | 28 |
counties, public school districts, law enforcement, the horse | 29 |
racing industry and job training for Ohio's workforce. | 30 |
(2) A thirty-three percent tax shall be levied and collected | 31 |
by the state on all gross casino revenue received by each casino | 32 |
operator of these four casino facilities. In addition, casino | 33 |
operators, their operations, their owners, and their property | 34 |
shall be subject to all customary non-discriminatory fees, taxes, | 35 |
and other charges that are applied to, levied against, or | 36 |
otherwise imposed generally upon other Ohio businesses, their | 37 |
gross or net revenues, their operations, their owners, and their | 38 |
property. Except as otherwise provided in section 6(C), no other | 39 |
casino gaming-related state or local fees, taxes, or other charges | 40 |
(however measured, calculated, or otherwise derived) may be, | 41 |
directly or indirectly, applied to, levied against, or otherwise | 42 |
imposed upon gross casino revenue, casino operators, their | 43 |
operations, their owners, or their property. | 44 |
(b) Thirty-four percent of the tax on gross casino revenue | 54 |
shall be distributed among all eighty-eight counties in proportion | 55 |
to such counties' respective public school district student | 56 |
populations at the time of such distribution. Each such | 57 |
distribution received by a county shall be distributed among all | 58 |
public school districts located (in whole or in part) within such | 59 |
county in proportion to each school district's respective student | 60 |
population who are residents of such county at the time of such | 61 |
distribution to the school districts. Each public school district | 62 |
shall determine how its distributions are appropriated, but all | 63 |
distributions shall only be used to support primary and secondary | 64 |
education. | 65 |
(e) Three percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be | 71 |
distributed to an Ohio state racing commission fund to support | 72 |
purses, breeding programs, and operations at all existing | 73 |
commercial horse racetracks permitted as of January 1, 2009. | 74 |
However, no funding under this division shall be distributed to | 75 |
operations of an Ohio commercial horse racetrack if an owner or | 76 |
operator of the racetrack holds a majority interest in an Ohio | 77 |
casino facility or in an Ohio casino license. | 78 |
Tax collection, and distributions to public school districts | 87 |
and local governments, under sections 6(C)(2) and (3), are | 88 |
intended to supplement, not supplant, any funding obligations of | 89 |
the state. Accordingly, all such distributions shall be | 90 |
disregarded for purposes of determining whether funding | 91 |
obligations imposed by other sections of this Constitution are | 92 |
met. | 93 |
(4) There is hereby created the Ohio casino control | 94 |
commission which shall license and regulate casino operators, | 95 |
management companies retained by such casino operators, key | 96 |
employees of such casino operators and such management companies, | 97 |
gaming-related vendors, and all gaming authorized by section 6(C), | 98 |
to ensure the integrity of casino gaming. | 99 |
Said commission shall determine all voting issues by majority | 100 |
vote and shall consist of seven members appointed by the governor | 101 |
with the advice and consent of the senate. Each member of the | 102 |
commission must be a resident of Ohio. At least one member of the | 103 |
commission must be experienced in law enforcement and criminal | 104 |
investigation. At least one member of the commission must be a | 105 |
certified public accountant experienced in accounting and | 106 |
auditing. At least one member of the commission must be an | 107 |
attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio. At least one | 108 |
member of the commission must be a resident of a county where one | 109 |
of the casino facilities is located. Not more than four members | 110 |
may be affiliated with the same political party. No commission | 111 |
member may have any affiliation with an Ohio casino operator or | 112 |
facility. | 113 |
Said commission shall require each initial licensed casino | 114 |
operator of each of the four casino facilities to pay an upfront | 115 |
license fee of fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) per casino | 116 |
facility for the benefit of the state, for a total of two hundred | 117 |
million dollars ($200,000,000). The upfront license fee shall be | 118 |
used to fund state economic development programs which support | 119 |
regional job training efforts to equip Ohio's workforce with | 120 |
additional skills to grow the economy. | 121 |
To carry out the tax provisions of section 6(C), and in | 122 |
addition to any other enforcement powers provided under Ohio law, | 123 |
the tax commissioner of the State and the Ohio casino control | 124 |
commission, or any person employed by the tax commissioner or said | 125 |
commission for that purpose, upon demand, may inspect books, | 126 |
accounts, records, and memoranda of any person subject to such | 127 |
provisions, and may examine under oath any officer, agent, or | 128 |
employee of that person. | 129 |
(5) Each initial licensed casino operator of each of the four | 130 |
casino facilities shall make an initial investment of at least two | 131 |
hundred fifty mi1lion dollars ($250,000,000) for the development | 132 |
of each casino facility for a total minimum investment of one | 133 |
billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) statewide. A casino operator: (a) | 134 |
may not hold a majority interest in more than two of the four | 135 |
licenses allocated to the casino facilities at any one time; and | 136 |
(b) may not hold a majority interest in more than two of the four | 137 |
casino facilities at any one time. | 138 |
(7) Each of the four casino facilities shall be subject to | 146 |
all applicable state laws and local ordinances related to health | 147 |
and building codes, or any related requirements and provisions. | 148 |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local zoning, land use laws, | 149 |
subdivision regulations or similar provisions shall prohibit the | 150 |
development or operation of the four casino facilities set forth | 151 |
herein, provided that no casino facility shall be located in a | 152 |
district zoned exclusively residential as of January 1, 2009. | 153 |
Being an approximate 61 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 166 |
as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as | 167 |
tax parcel numbers 004-28-001, 004-29-004A, 004-29-005, | 168 |
004-29-008, 004-29-009, 004-29-010, 004-29-012, 004-29-013, | 169 |
004-29-014, 004-29-020, 004-29-018, 004-29-017, 004-29-016, | 170 |
004-29-021, 004-29-025, 004-29-027, 004-29-026, 004-28-008, | 171 |
004-28-004, 004-28-003, 004-28-002, 004-28-010, 004-29-001, | 172 |
004-29-007 and 004-04-017 and all lands and air rights lying | 173 |
within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such | 174 |
parcels. | 175 |
Consisting of floors one through four, mezzanine, basement, | 204 |
sub-basement, Parcel No. 36-2, Item III, Parcels First and Second, | 205 |
Item V, Parcel A, and Item VI, Parcel One of the Higbee Building | 206 |
in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County | 207 |
Auditor, as of 2/29/09, as tax parcel numbers 101-23-002 and | 208 |
101-23-050F and all lands and air rights lying within and/or above | 209 |
the public rights of way adjacent to such parcels. | 210 |
Being an approximate 18.312113.794 acre area in the City of | 212 |
Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, as identified by the Franklin | 213 |
County Auditor, as of 03/05/0901/19/10, as tax parcel numbers | 214 |
010-005518-80, 010-005518-90, 010-020215-80, 010-020215-90, | 215 |
010-008443-80 and 010-008443-90number 140-003620-00. | 216 |
Being an approximate 20.4 acre area in Hamilton County, Ohio, | 218 |
being identified by the Hamilton County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, | 219 |
as tax parcel numbers 074-0002-0009-00, 074-0001-0001-00, | 220 |
074-0001-0002-00, 074-0001-0003-00, 074-0001-0004-00, | 221 |
074-0001-0006-00, 074-0001-0008-00, 074-0001-0014-00, | 222 |
074-0001-0016-00, 074-0001-0031-00, 074-0001-0039-00, | 223 |
074-0001-0041-00, 074-0001-0042-00, 074-0001-0043-00, | 224 |
074-0002-0001-00, 074-0004-0001-00, 074-0004-0002-00, | 225 |
074-0004-0003-00 and 074-0005-0003-00. | 226 |
"Casino gaming" means any type of slot machine or table game | 231 |
wagering, using money, casino credit, or any representative of | 232 |
value, authorized in any of the states of Indiana, Michigan, | 233 |
Pennsylvania and West Virginia as of January 1, 2009, and shall | 234 |
include slot machine and table game wagering subsequently | 235 |
authorized by, but shall not be limited by subsequent restrictions | 236 |
placed on such wagering in, such states. Notwithstanding the | 237 |
aforementioned definition, "casino gaming" does not include bingo, | 238 |
as authorized in article XV, section 6 of the Ohio Constitution | 239 |
and conducted as of January 1, 2009, or horse racing where the | 240 |
pari-mutuel system of wagering is conducted, as authorized under | 241 |
the laws of Ohio as of January 1, 2009. | 242 |
"Casino operator" means any person, trust, corporation, | 243 |
partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability | 244 |
company or other business enterprise that directly holds an | 245 |
ownership or leasehold interest in a casino facility. "Casino | 246 |
operator" does not include an agency of the state, any political | 247 |
subdivision of the state, or any person, trust, corporation, | 248 |
partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability | 249 |
company or other business enterprise that may have an interest in | 250 |
a casino facility, but who is legally or contractually restricted | 251 |
from conducting casino gaming. | 252 |
"Majority interest" in a license or in a casino facility (as | 257 |
the case may be) means beneficial ownership of more than fifty | 258 |
percent (50%) of the total fair market value of such license or | 259 |
casino facility (as the case may be). For purposes of the | 260 |
foregoing, whether a majority interest is held in a license or in | 261 |
a casino facility (as the case may be) shall be determined in | 262 |
accordance with the rules for constructive ownership of stock | 263 |
provided in Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-3(i)(5)(iii) as in effect on | 264 |
January 1, 2009. | 265 |
"Slot machines" shall include any mechanical, electrical, or | 266 |
other device or machine which, upon insertion of a coin, token, | 267 |
ticket, or similar object, or upon payment of any consideration, | 268 |
is available to play or operate, the play or operation of which, | 269 |
whether by reason of the skill of the operator or application of | 270 |
the element of chance, or both, makes individual prize | 271 |
determinations for individual participants in cash, premiums, | 272 |
merchandise, tokens, or any thing of value, whether the payoff is | 273 |
made automatically from the machine or in any other manner. | 274 |
(11) Each provision of section 6(C) is intended to be | 281 |
independent and severable, and if any provision of section 6(C) is | 282 |
held to be invalid, either on its face or as applied to any person | 283 |
or circumstance, the remaining provisions of section 6(C), and the | 284 |
application thereof to any person or circumstance other than those | 285 |
to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby. In any | 286 |
case of a conflict between any provision of section 6(C) and any | 287 |
other provision contained in this Constitution, the provisions of | 288 |
section 6(C) shall control. | 289 |
(12) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(C)(11), | 290 |
nothing in this section 6(C) (including, without limitation, the | 291 |
provisions of sections 6(C)(6) and 6(C)(8)) shall restrict or in | 292 |
any way limit lotteries authorized under section 6(A) of this | 293 |
article or bingo authorized under section 6(B) of this article. | 294 |
The provisions of this section 6(C) shall have no effect upon | 295 |
activities authorized under sections 6(A) and/or (6)(B) of this | 296 |
article. | 297 |