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H. J. R. No. 4 As Introduced
As Introduced
| 128th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2009-2010 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Yuko, Koziura, Foley
A JOINT RESOLUTION
| Proposing to amend Section 6 and to enact Section 6a
of Article XV of the Constitution of the State of
Ohio to authorize the conduct of casino gaming at
facilities in specified locations in this state if
approved by the electors of a county or municipal
corporation and in accordance with laws enacted to
regulate and restrict these facilities.
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| Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio,
three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring
herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the
state, in the manner prescribed by law at the general election to
be held on May 4, 2010, a proposal to amend Section 6 and to
enact Section 6a of Article XV of the Constitution of the State of
Ohio to read as follows: |
Sec. 6.6. Except as otherwise provided in this
section and in Section 6a of Article XV of this constitution,
lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, for any
purpose
whatever,
shall forever be prohibited in this State. |
| The General Assembly may authorize an agency of the state to
conduct
lotteries, to sell rights to participate therein, and to
award prizes by
chance to participants, provided that the entire
net proceeds of any such
lottery are paid into a fund of the state
treasury that shall consist solely
of such proceeds and shall be
used solely for the support of elementary,
secondary, vocational,
and special education programs as determined in
appropriations
made by the General Assembly. |
| The General Assembly may authorize and regulate the operation
of bingo to be
conducted by charitable organizations for
charitable purposes. |
| 6a. (A) The general assembly shall enact laws
authorizing and regulating the operation of casinos and the
conduct of gaming in those casinos, which shall be consistent with
all of the following, not later than six months after the
effective date of this section. |
| (1) Casino gaming in this state is to be authorized at up to
fifteen casinos in the following manner: |
| (a) Up to six casinos in counties with a population of four
hundred thousand or more; |
| (b) Up to five casinos in counties with a population of one
hundred thousand or more but less than four hundred thousand; |
| (c) Up to four casinos in counties with a population of less
than one hundred thousand. |
| (2) A tax of fifty per cent is to be levied and collected on
all gross casino revenue that each casino operator receives. The
tax collected is to be distributed as follows: |
| (a) Forty-five per cent is to be paid into the general
revenue fund of the state. |
| (b) Twenty per cent is to be distributed among all counties
in the state in proportion to the counties' respective populations
at the time of the distribution. After receiving its distribution,
each county through its board of county commissioners is to
determine the percentage of the population of the county that
resides in municipal corporations and is to multiply this
percentage by the amount distributed to the county. The county
then is to distribute the resulting amount to municipal
corporations within the county in proportion to each municipal
corporation's respective population that resides in the county at
the time of the distribution. |
| (c) Twenty per cent is to be distributed among all counties
in the state in proportion to the counties' respective public
school district populations at the time of the distribution. Each
distribution that a county receives is to be distributed among all
public school districts located in whole or in part within the
county in proportion to each public school district's respective
student population composed of residents of the county at the time
of the distribution. Each public school district is to determine
how its distribution shall be appropriated, but all distributions
to a school district are to be used only to support primary and
secondary education. |
| (d) Five per cent is be distributed to each municipal
corporation in which a casino is located or, if a casino is not
located in a municipal corporation, then to the county in which
the casino is located. |
| (e) Three per cent is to be used to pay for the expenses of
the Ohio casino control commission. |
| (f) Three per cent is to be used to support purses for horse
races, horse breeding programs, and operations at all commercial
horse racing tracks that were in existence on January 1, 2009. No
distribution is to be made under division (A)(2)(f) of this
section to a commercial horse racing track if an owner or operator
of the track holds a majority interest in a casino authorized by,
or in a casino license issued, under this section. |
| (g) Two per cent is to be used to enhance public safety by
providing additional training opportunities to law enforcement
agencies. |
| (h) Two per cent is to be used for the treatment of problem
gambling and substance abuse and for related research. |
| Casino operators and their operations, their owners, and
their property are to be subject to all customary
nondiscriminatory fees, taxes, and other charges that are applied
to, levied against, or otherwise generally imposed upon other
businesses in this state, their gross or net revenues, their
operations, their owners, and their property. |
| (3)(a) The Ohio casino control commission is to be created to
ensure the integrity of casino gaming. The commission is to
license casino operators, management companies retained by casino
operators, and employees of casino operators, and is to regulate
those operators, management companies, employees, gaming-related
vendors, and all gaming authorized by this section. |
| (b) The commission is to consist of seven members appointed
by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Each
member of the commission is to be a resident of this state. At
least one member is to be experienced in law enforcement and
criminal investigation, at least one member is to be a certified
public accountant experienced in accounting and auditing, at least
one member is to be an attorney admitted to the practice of law in
this state, and at least one member is to be a resident of a
county where a casino is located. Not more than four members are
to be affiliated with the same political party. No member is to
have an affiliation with a casino or a casino operator. The
governor is to appoint the members of the commission not later
than sixty days after the effective date of the law that
establishes the commission. |
| In order to carry out this section, and in addition to any
other enforcement provisions contained in the laws of this state,
the state tax commissioner and the casino control commission, or
any person employed by the tax commissioner or commission, upon
demand is to be allowed to inspect books, accounts, records, and
memoranda of any person subject to this section or those
provisions, and to examine under oath any officer, agent, or
employee of that person. |
| (c) Each of the initial licensed casino operators is to pay
to the casino control commission, for the benefit of the state, a
licensing fee for each casino. The
commission is to issue casino
licenses competitively, based upon
criteria the commission is to
establish within sixty days after
all members of the commission
have been appointed. These criteria are to include the amount and
terms of the licensing fee the casino operator is required to pay,
the cost and quality of the proposed improvements to be
constructed in connection with a casino, including the anticipated
economic development impact of the construction on both the
economy of the state and the area where the casino will be
located, and the proximity of the location of the proposed casino
to other casinos in this state. The commission
is not to be
required to issue all casino licenses at the same
time and is to
be allowed to choose to issue the licenses over
time and under
revised criteria. |
| (4)(a) Each initially licensed casino operator is to make an
initial investment of at least twenty-five million dollars for the
development of that casino. |
| (b) In order to provide for community-wide economic
development, each casino is to be planned and constructed in order
to provide overnight accommodations and restaurant facilities to
provide for not more than forty per cent of the casino's patrons,
with such determinations to be made by the commission in
consultation with economists or with the aid of market studies or
such other resources the commission considers necessary and
appropriate. |
| (c) In order to promote local control and increase the
percentage of profits subject to the taxes of this state, each
entity owning a casino is to be incorporated under the laws of
this state, and all facilities and operations related to each
casino is to be owned by a single entity. Each of these casino
corporations, if sold, is to be sold under the laws of this state
to an interstate purchaser. No person, family, or other affiliated
person is to be allowed to own more than ten per cent of such a
corporation. |
| (d) Only licensed casino operators, or licensed management
companies retained by such operators, are to be allowed to conduct
casino gaming authorized under this section. Gaming is to be
allowed to be conducted at a casino twenty-four hours each day at
the discretion of the casino operator. |
| (e) Each casino is to be subject to all applicable state laws
and local ordinances or resolutions related to health and building
codes and any related requirements and provisions. |
| (5) The electors of each county and each municipal
corporation are to be required to approve the licensing and
operation of casino gaming within the county or municipal
corporation before casino gaming may be conducted in that county
or municipal corporation. The question to be submitted to the
electors of the county or municipal corporation at a primary,
general, or special election shall read as follows: |
| "Shall casino gaming be authorized within this (county)
(municipal corporation)?" |
| Only if a majority of the electors voting on the question
vote "yes," shall casino gaming be allowed to be conducted in that
county or municipal corporation as authorized by this section. |
| (6)(a) The attorney general of this state is to have primary
responsibility to enforce the laws enacted by the general assembly
and rules adopted by the casino control commission to regulate
casinos. |
| (b) No owner or operator of a casino is to provide credit or
a loan to enable a person to participate in gaming at a casino. |
| (c) No person under twenty-one years of age is to be a
participant in gaming at a casino either as a player or as an
employee conducting the gaming. |
| (d) The commission is to license all employees of a casino. |
| (e) Neither the state nor any political subdivision is to
provide any tax abatement or deferment, or to provide a grant or
loan, to be used to construct or operate any casino. |
| (f) Laborers and mechanics employed in a casino are to be
paid the same prevailing rates of wages for their work as state
law determines must be paid for similar work throughout the state. |
| (g) An aggregate value of five per cent of the total value of
all contracts for the construction of a casino project and five
per cent of the total value of all materials and equipment
purchased for such a project are to be set aside for minority
business enterprises. |
| (7) There is to be a casino oversight commission, created as
a permanent body, to conduct hearings and make annual reports and
recommendations regarding the operation of casinos. |
| (B) Each provision of this section is intended to be
independent and severable. If any provision is determined to be
invalid, either on its face or as applied to any person or
circumstance, the remaining provisions and their application to
any person or circumstance other than those to which it is
determined to be invalid is not affected thereby. In any case of a
conflict between this section and any other provision contained in
the constitution of this state, this section prevails. |
| If the proposal is adopted by a majority of the electors
voting on the proposal, it takes effect on July 1, 2010, and
existing Section 6 of Article XV of the Constitution of the State
of Ohio is repealed and new Section 6a of Article XV is enacted on
that effective date. |
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