By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 2204
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the conduct of charitable bingo.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 2001.002(19), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (19)  "Nonprofit organization" means an unincorporated
  association or a corporation that is incorporated or holds a
  certificate of authority under Chapter 22, Business Organizations
  Code [the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et
  seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)]. The organization:
                     (A)  may not distribute any of its income to its
  members, officers, or governing body, other than as reasonable
  compensation for services; and
                     (B)  must have obtained tax exempt status under
  Section 501(c), Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
         SECTION 2.  Section 2001.103, Occupations Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (f-1) and (i) to
  read as follows:
         (e)  Notwithstanding Subsection (c), an authorized
  organization that holds an annual license to conduct bingo may
  receive not more than 48 [24] temporary licenses during the
  12-month period following the issuance or renewal of the license.
  The holder of a license that is effective for two years may receive
  not more than 48 [24] temporary licenses for each 12-month period
  that ends on an anniversary of the date the license was issued or
  renewed.
         (f-1)  The commission shall provide for the on-demand
  electronic issuance of a temporary license requested under this
  section by the holder of a regular license.
         (i)  The notice requirements of Sections 2001.305(b) and (c)
  do not apply to a temporary license issued to the holder of a
  regular license.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 2001.305(b) and (c), Occupations Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Section 2001.103(i), immediately
  [Immediately] after issuing a license, the commission shall send a
  copy of the license to the appropriate governing body. The
  governing body shall file the copy of the license in a central file
  containing licenses issued under this chapter.
         (c)  Except as provided by Section 2001.103(i), not [Not]
  later than the 10th day after the date a license is issued, the
  commission shall give written notice of the issuance of the license
  to:
               (1)  the police department of the municipality in which
  bingo will be conducted, if bingo is to be conducted in a
  municipality; or
               (2)  the sheriff of the county in which bingo will be
  conducted, if bingo is to be conducted outside a municipality.
         SECTION 4.  Section 2001.413, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2001.413.  PAYMENT [ADMISSION CHARGE] REQUIRED. Except
  as provided by Section 2001.4155, a licensed authorized
  organization may not offer or provide to a person the opportunity to
  play bingo without payment [charge].
         SECTION 5.  Section 2001.416, Occupations Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), a [A]
  game of chance other than bingo or a raffle conducted under Chapter
  2002 may not be conducted or allowed during a bingo occasion.
         (e)  This section does not prohibit:
               (1)  the lawful conduct during a bingo occasion of a
  game of chance other than bingo or a raffle conducted under Chapter
  2002, if the exhibition and play of that game is authorized under
  state law and the conduct of the game during a bingo occasion or at a
  premises where bingo occasions are conducted does not violate that
  state law; or
               (2)  a person participating in a bingo game from
  simultaneously lawfully participating through the person's mobile
  device in a game of chance authorized under state law.
         SECTION 6.  Section 2001.420(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A person may not offer or award on a single bingo
  occasion prizes with an aggregate value of more than $3,500
  [$2,500] for all bingo games other than:
               (1)  pull-tab bingo; or
               (2)  bingo games that award individual prizes of $50 or
  less.
         SECTION 7.  Section 2001.435(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Each member of a unit shall deposit into the unit's
  bingo account all funds derived from the conduct of bingo, less the
  amount awarded as cash prizes under Section 2001.420(b) [Sections
  2001.420(a) and (b)]. The deposit shall be made not later than the
  third [second] business day after the day of the bingo occasion on
  which the receipts were obtained.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 2001.451(b), (g), and (i), Occupations
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Section 2001.502(a), a licensed
  authorized organization shall deposit in the bingo account all
  funds derived from the conduct of bingo, less the amount awarded as
  cash prizes under Section 2001.420(b) [Sections 2001.420(a) and
  (b)]. Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a deposit must be
  made not later than the third business day after the day of the
  bingo occasion on which the receipts were obtained.
         (g)  The bingo operations of a licensed authorized
  organization must[:
               [(1)  result in net proceeds over the organization's
  license period; or
               [(2)  if the organization has a two-year license,]
  result in net proceeds over each 24-month [12-month] period that
  ends on the second [an] anniversary of the date the [two-year]
  license was issued.
         (i)  Prize fees [held in escrow for remittance to the
  commission] are not included in the calculation of operating
  capital under Subsection (h) if the prize fees are:
               (1)  held in escrow for remittance to:
                     (A)  the commission; or
                     (B)  a local government; or
               (2)  retained by a licensed authorized organization.
         SECTION 9.  Sections 2001.502(b) and (c), Occupations Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), each quarter, a
  licensed authorized organization or unit that collects a prize fee
  under Subsection (a) for a bingo game conducted in a county or
  municipality that was entitled to receive a portion of a bingo prize
  fee as of January 1, 2019, shall remit 50 percent of the amount
  collected as the prize fee to the commission and shall remit or
  deposit the remainder of the amount collected as the prize fee as
  follows:
               (1)  if the county [or municipality] in which the bingo
  game is conducted voted before November 1, 2019, to impose the prize
  fee and[, remit 50 percent of the amount collected as the prize fee
  to:
                     [(A)  the county that voted to impose the fee by
  that date, provided] the location at which the bingo game is
  conducted:
                     (A)  is not within the boundaries of a
  municipality, remit 50 percent of the amount collected as the prize
  fee to the county [that voted to impose the prize fee by that date];
  or
                     (B)  is within the boundaries of a [the]
  municipality that:
                           (i)  voted before November 1, 2019, to
  impose the prize fee, remit 50 percent of the amount collected as
  the prize fee in equal shares to the county and municipality [by
  that date, provided the county in which the bingo game is conducted
  did not vote to impose the fee by that date]; or
                           (ii)  did not vote before November 1, 2019,
  to impose the prize fee, remit 25 percent of the amount collected as
  the prize fee to the county and deposit the remaining amount in the
  manner described by Subdivision (3);
                     [(C)  in equal shares, the county and the
  municipality, provided each voted to impose the fee before that
  date; or]
               (2)  if the county in which the bingo game is conducted
  did not vote before November 1, 2019, to impose the prize fee and
  the location at which the bingo game is conducted is within the
  boundaries of a municipality that voted before November 1, 2019, to
  impose the prize fee:
                     (A)  remit 25 percent of the amount collected as
  the prize fee to the municipality; and
                     (B)  deposit the remaining amount in the manner
  described by Subdivision (3); and
               (3)  if neither the county or municipality in which the
  bingo game is conducted voted before November 1, 2019, to impose the
  prize fee, deposit the remainder of the amount collected as the
  prize fee in the general charitable fund of the organization or on a
  pro rata basis to the general funds of the organizations comprising
  the unit, as applicable, to be used for the charitable purposes of
  the organization or organizations.
         (c)  The governing body of a county or municipality that
  voted to impose a prize fee under Subsection (b) [(b)(1)] may at any
  time vote to discontinue the imposition of the fee. If a county or
  municipality votes on or after November 1, 2019, to discontinue the
  fee, the fees to which the county or municipality, as applicable,
  was entitled before the vote shall be collected by the licensed
  authorized organization or unit as defined by Section 2001.431 and
  deposited as provided by Subsection (b)(3) [(b)(2)].
         SECTION 10.  Section 2001.513(a), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  At any time within three years after a person is
  delinquent in the payment of an amount of the fee on prizes due to
  the commission, the commission may collect the amount under this
  section.
         SECTION 11.  Section 2001.514(a), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  To secure payment of the fee on prizes due to the
  commission imposed under this subchapter, each license holder shall
  furnish to the commission:
               (1)  a cash bond;
               (2)  a bond from a surety company chartered or
  authorized to do business in this state;
               (3)  certificates of deposit;
               (4)  certificates of savings;
               (5)  United States treasury bonds;
               (6)  subject to the approval of the commission, an
  assignment of negotiable stocks or bonds; or
               (7)  other security as the commission considers
  sufficient.
         SECTION 12.  Section 2001.515, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2001.515.  COMMISSION'S DUTIES. The commission shall
  perform all functions incident to the administration, collection,
  enforcement, and operation of the fee on prizes due to the
  commission imposed under this subchapter, including any necessary
  reconciliation of a prize fee held by the commission that is due to
  a municipality or county.
         SECTION 13.  Sections 2001.420(a) and 2001.459(b),
  Occupations Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 14.  Notwithstanding any other law, if an executive
  order issued by the governor before the effective date of this Act
  had the effect of prohibiting the conduct of bingo occasions under
  Chapter 2001, Occupations Code, the payment by a licensed
  authorized organization to a licensed commercial lessor of rent
  charges that were incurred and paid during the period in which the
  conduct of bingo was prohibited are not subject to:
               (1)  the limits on rent charged provided by Section
  2001.406(a), Occupations Code; or
               (2)  the requirement that an item of expense for the
  conduct of bingo be reasonable or necessary provided by Section
  2001.458(a), Occupations Code.
         SECTION 15.  Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas
  Lottery Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement the
  changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 2001, Occupations Code.
         SECTION 16.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.