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H. J. R. No. 6 As Introduced
As Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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A JOINT RESOLUTION
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Proposing to amend Section 6 of Article XV of the
Constitution of the State of Ohio to require the
General Assembly to allow casino facilities at
locations that the General Assembly designates, to
require that licenses for these casino facilities
be awarded by competitive bidding by the State
Lottery Commission, to generally require voter
approval of
the operation of a casino facility in
the county
or municipal corporation in which the
casino
facility is located, to require that a tax
of
sixty per cent be levied and collected by the
state on all gross casino revenue received by each
casino facility operator, and to require that
one-half of the
proceeds of this tax be used
solely for the
support of elementary, secondary,
vocational, and
special education programs as
determined in
appropriations made by the General
Assembly and one-half of the proceeds be used
solely for assistance to students at certain
institutions of higher education.
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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 of Article XV
of
the Constitution of the State of Ohio to read as follows: |
6. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, for any purpose
whatever, shall forever be prohibited in this State. |
(A) 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. |
(B) The General Assembly may authorize and regulate the
operation of bingo to be conducted by charitable organizations for
charitable purposes. |
(C)(1) Casino gaming shall be authorized at four casino
facilities (a single casino at a designated
location within each
of the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo)at
locations designated by the General Assembly to
create new
funding for cities, counties, public school districts,
law
enforcement, the horse racing industry
and job training for
Ohio's workforce. |
(2) A thirty-threesixty percent tax shall be levied and
collected
by the state on all gross casino
revenue received by
each casino
operator of these fourthe casino facilities. In
addition, casino
operators, their operations, their owners, and
their property
shall be subject to all customary
non-discriminatory
fees, taxes,
and other charges that are
applied to, levied against, or
otherwise
imposed generally upon
other Ohio businesses, their
gross or net revenues, their
operations, their
owners, and their
property. Except as otherwise
provided in section 6(C), no other
casino
gaming-related state or
local fees, taxes, or other charges
(however measured,
calculated, or
otherwise derived) may be,
directly or indirectly,
applied to, levied against, or otherwise
imposed
upon gross
casino revenue, casino operators, their
operations, their owners,
or their property. |
(3) The proceeds of the tax on gross casino revenue collected
by the state shall be distributed as
follows: |
(a) Fifty-one percent of the tax on gross casino revenue
shall be distributed among all eighty-eight
counties in proportion
to such counties' respective populations at the time of such
distribution. If a county's most populated city, as of the 2000
United States census bureau
census, had a population greater than
80,000, then fifty percent of that county's distribution will
go
to said city. |
(b) Thirty-four percent of the tax on gross casino revenue
shall be distributed among all eighty-eight
counties in proportion
to such counties' respective public school district student
populations at the time of such distribution. Each such
distribution received by a county shall be
distributed among all
public school districts located (in whole or in part) within such
county in
proportion to each school district's respective student
population who are residents of such county at the time of such
distribution to the school districts. Each public school district
shall
determine how its distributions are appropriated, but all
distributions shall only be used to
support primary and secondary
education. |
(c) Five percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be
distributed to the host city where the
casino facility that
generated such gross casino revenue is located. |
(d) Three percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be
distributed to fund the Ohio casino
control commission. |
(e) Three percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be
distributed to an Ohio state racing
commission fund to support
purses, breeding programs, and operations at all existing
commercial
horse racetracks permitted as of January 1, 2009.
However, no funding under this division shall
be distributed to
operations of an Ohio commercial horse racetrack if an owner or
operator of the
racetrack holds a majority interest in an Ohio
casino facility or in an Ohio casino license. |
(f) Two percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be
distributed to a state law enforcement
training fund to enhance
public safety by providing additional training opportunities to
the law
enforcement community. |
(g) Two percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be
distributed to a state problem
gambling and addictions fund which
shall be used for the treatment of problem gambling and
substance
abuse, and related researchpaid into a fund of the state treasury
that shall consist solely of such proceeds. One-half of such
proceeds shall be used
solely for the support of elementary,
secondary, vocational, and
special education programs as
determined in appropriations made by
the General Assembly and
one-half of such proceeds shall be used solely for assistance to
students attending career colleges, community colleges, technical
colleges, and private regionally accredited four-year colleges. |
Tax collection, and distributions to public school districts
and local governments,distribution under sections
6(C)(2) and
(3), are
intended to supplement, not supplant, any funding
obligations of
the state.
Accordingly, all such distributionsdistribution shall be
disregarded for purposes of determining
whether
funding
obligations imposed by other sections of this
Constitution are
met. |
(4) There is hereby created the Ohio casino controlThe state
lottery
commission which shall license and regulate
casino
operators of casino facilities at locations designated by the
General Assembly,
management companies retained by such casino
operators, key
employees of
such casino operators and such
management companies,
gaming-related vendors, and all gaming
authorized by section 6(C),
to ensure the integrity of casino
gaming.
The state lottery commission shall issue licenses for
casino facilities based on competitive bidding. |
Said commission shall determine all voting issues by majority
vote and shall consist of seven
members appointed by the governor
with the advice and consent of the senate. Each member of
the
commission must be a resident of Ohio. At least one member of the
commission must be
experienced in law enforcement and criminal
investigation. At least one member of the
commission must be a
certified public accountant experienced in accounting and
auditing. At
least one member of the commission must be an
attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio.
At least one
member of the commission must be a resident of a county where one
of the casino
facilities is located. Not more than four members
may be affiliated with the same political party.
No commission
member may have any affiliation with an Ohio casino operator or
facility. |
SaidThe commission shall require each initial licensed
casino
operator of each of the four casino
facilities to pay an
upfront
license fee of fifty million dollars ($50,OOO,OOO) per
casino
facility for
the benefit of the state, for a total of two
hundred
million dollars ($200,OOO,OOO). The upfront
license fee
shall be
used to
fund state economic development programs which
support
regional
job training efforts to equip Ohio's workforce
with
additional
skills to grow the economythat shall be set by
the commission. |
To carry out the tax provisions of section 6(C), and in
addition to any other enforcement powers
provided under Ohio law,
the tax commissioner of the State and the Ohio casino control
commission, or any person employed by the tax commissioner or saidthe
commission for that
purpose, upon demand, may inspect books,
accounts, records, and memoranda of any person
subject to such
provisions, and may examine under oath any officer, agent, or
employee of that
person. |
(5) Each initial licensed casino operator of each of the four
casino facilities shall make an initial
investment of at least two
hundred fifty mi1lion dollars ($250,000,000) for the development
of
each casino facility for a total minimum investment of one
billion dollars ($1,000,000,000)
statewide. A casino operator: (a)
may not hold a majority interest in more than two of the four
licenses allocated to the casino facilities at any one time; and
(b) may not hold a majority interest
in more than two of the four
casino facilities at any one time. |
(6) Casino gaming authorized in section 6(C) shall be
conducted only by licensed casino
operators of the four casino
facilities or by licensed management companies retained by such
casino operators. At the discretion of each licensed casino
operator of a casino facility: (a)
casino gaming may be conducted
twenty-four hours each day; and (b) a maximum of five
thousand
slot machines may be operated at such casino facility. |
(7) Each of the four casino facilities shall be subject to
all applicable state laws and local
ordinances related to health
and building codes, or any related requirements and provisions.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local zoning, land use laws,
subdivision regulations or similar
provisions shall prohibit the
development or operation of the four casino facilities set forth
herein, provided that no casino facility shall be located in a
district zoned exclusively residential
as of January 1, 2009. |
(8) Notwithstanding any provision of the Constitution,
statutes of Ohio, or a local charter and
ordinance, only one
casino facility shall be operated in each of the cities of
Cleveland,
Columbus, Cincinnati and ToledoExcept as otherwise
provided in division (C)(8) of this section, the electors of each
county and each municipal
corporation shall 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. |
Division (C)(8) does not apply to a casino facility located
in the cities of Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, or Toledo. |
(9) For purposes of this section 6(C), the following
definitions shall be applied: |
"Casino facility" means all or any part of any one or more of
the following properties (together
with all improvements situated
thereon) in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo: |
Being an approximate 61 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
as identified by the Cuyahoga
County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel numbers 004-28-001, 004-29-004A, 004-29-005,
004-29-008, 004-29-009, 004-29-010, 004-29-012, 004-29-013,
004-29-014, 004-29-020, 004-29-018, 004-29-017, 004-29-016,
004-29-021, 004-29-025, 004-29-027, 004-29-026, 004-28-008,
004-28-004, 004-28-003, 004-28-002, 004-28-010, 004-29-001,
004-29-007 and 004-04-017
and all lands and air rights lying
within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to
such
parcels. |
Being an approximate 8.66 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
being that parcel identified by
the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of
02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-21-002 and all lands
and air
rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent
to such parcel. |
Being an approximate 2.56 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
being that parcel identified by
the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of
02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-21-OO2 and all lands
and air
rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent
to such parcel. |
Being an approximate 7.91 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
being that parcel identified by
the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of
02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-23-050A and all lands
and air
rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent
to such parcel. |
All air rights above the parcel located in Cuyahoga County,
Ohio identified by the Cuyahoga
County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel number 101-22-003. |
Being an approximate 1.55 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
as identified by the Cuyahoga
County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel numbers 122-18-010, 122-18-0ll and 122-18-012
and all
lands and air rights lying within and/or above the public rights
of way adjacent to such
parcels. |
Being an approximate 1.83 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio,
as identified by the Cuyahoga
County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as
tax parcel numbers 101-30-002 and 101-30-003 and all lands
and air
rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent
to such parcels. |
Consisting of floors one through four, mezzanine, basement,
sub-basement, Parcel No. 36-2,
Item III, Parcels First and Second,
Item V, Parcel A, and Item VI, Parcel One of the Higbee
Building
in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County
Auditor, as of
2/29/09, as tax parcel numbers 101-23-002 and
101-23-050F and all lands and air rights lying
within and/or above
the public rights of way adjacent to such parcels. |
Being an approximate 18.312 acre area in the City of
Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, as
identified by the Franklin
County Auditor, as of 03/05/09, as tax parcel numbers
010-005518-80,
010-005518-90, 010-020215-80, 010-020215-90,
010-008443-80 and 010-008443-90. |
Being an approximate 20.4 acre area in Hamilton County, Ohio,
being identified by the Hamilton
County Auditor, as of 02/27/09,
as tax parcel numbers 074-0002-0009-00, 074-0001-0001-00,
074-0001-0002-00, 074-0001-0003-00, 074-0001-0004-00,
074-0001-0006-00, 074-0001-0008-00,
074-0001-0014-00,
074-0001-0016-00, 074-0001-0031-00, 074-0001-0039-00,
074-0001-0041-00, 074-0001-0042-00, 074-0001-0043-00,
074-0002-0001-00, 074-0004-0001-00, 074-0004-0002-00,
074-0004-0003-00 and 074-0005-0003-00. |
Being an approximate 44.24 acre area in the City of Toledo,
Lucas County, Ohio, as identified
by the Lucas County Auditor, as
of
03/05/09, as tax parcel numbers 18-76138 and 18-76515at
locations designated by the General Assembly. |
"Casino gaming" means any type of slot machine or table game
wagering, using money, casino
credit, or any representative of
value, authorized in any of the states of Indiana, Michigan,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia as of January 1, 2009, and shall
include slot machine and table
game wagering subsequently
authorized by, but shall not be limited by subsequent restrictions
placed on such wagering in, such states. Notwithstanding the
aforementioned definition, "casino
gaming" does not include bingo,
as authorized in article XV, section 6 of the Ohio Constitution
and conducted as of January 1, 2009, or horse racing where the
pari-mutuel system of wagering
is conducted, as authorized under
the laws of Ohio as of January 1, 2009. |
"Casino operator" means any person, trust, corporation,
partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability
company or other business enterprise that directly holds an
ownership or leasehold interest in a casino facility. "Casino
operator" does not include an agency of the state, any political
subdivision of the state, or any person, trust, corporation,
partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability
company or other business enterprise that may have an interest in
a casino facility, but who is legally or contractually restricted
from conducting casino gaming. |
"Gross casino revenue" means the total amount of money
exchanged for the purchase of chips,
tokens, tickets, electronic
cards, or similar objects by casino patrons, less winnings paid to
wagerers. |
"Majority interest" in a license or in a casino facility (as
the case may be) means beneficial
ownership of more than fifty
percent (50%) of the total fair market value of such license or
casino facility (as the case may be). For purposes of the
foregoing, whether a majority interest is
held in a license or in
a casino facility (as the case may be) shall be determined in
accordance
with the rules for constructive ownership of stock
provided in Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-3(i)(5)(iii)
as in effect on
January 1, 2009. |
"Slot machines" shall include any mechanical, electrical, or
other device or machine which, upon
insertion of a coin, token,
ticket, or similar object, or upon payment of any consideration,
is
available to play or operate, the play or operation of which,
whether by reason of the skill of the
operator or application of
the element of chance, or both, makes individual prize
determinations for individual participants in cash, premiums,
merchandise, tokens, or any thing of value, whether the payoff is
made automatically from the machine or in any other manner. |
"Table game" means any game played with cards, dice, or any
mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device or machine for
money, casino credit, or any representative of value. |
(10) The General Assembly shall pass laws within six months
of the effective date of section 6(C) to facilitateimplement the
operation
of section 6(C). |
(11) Each provision of section 6(C) is intended to be
independent and severable, and if any
provision of section 6(C) is
held to be invalid, either on its face or as applied to any person
or circumstance, the remaining provisions of section 6(C), and the
application thereof to any person
or circumstance other than those
to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby. In any
case of a conflict between any provision of section 6(C) and any
other provision contained in this
Constitution, the provisions of
section 6(C) shall control. |
(12) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(C)(11),
nothing in this section 6(C) (including,
without limitation, the
provisions of sectionssection 6(C)(6) and 6(C)(8))shall restrict
or in
any way
limit lotteries authorized under section 6(A) of
this
article or bingo authorized under section 6(B)
of this
article.
The provisions of this section 6(C) shall have no effect
upon
activities authorized
under sections 6(A) and/or (6)(B) of
this
article. |
EFFECTIVE DATE AND REPEAL
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If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this
proposal, the amendment takes effect July 1, 2010, and existing
Section 6 of Article XV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio
is repealed from that effective date. |
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