Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 1628	House Author:  Johnson et al.
Effective:  Vetoed	Senate Sponsor:  Rodríguez et al.

            House Bill 1628 amends the Business & Commerce Code, Finance Code, Occupations Code, and Penal Code to establish the Texas Savings Promotion Act to authorize a credit union or financial institution to conduct a savings promotion raffle in which the sole action required for a chance of winning a designated prize is the deposit of at least a specified amount of money in a savings account or other savings program offered by the credit union or financial institution.

 

Reason Given for Veto: "The Texas Constitution authorizes raffles to be conducted only for charitable purposes. When non-charitable businesses conduct drawings, they typically allow entry with "no purchase necessary," which generally exempts the drawing from the constitutional restrictions on raffles or lotteries. House Bill 1628 authorizes banks and credit unions to conduct raffles in which raffle tickets are offered only in exchange for opening a savings account. Opening an account and paying any customary fees associated with the account amounts to consideration paid for the raffle ticket and places such a raffle squarely within the gambling prohibitions of the Texas Constitution and Penal Code. The bill would therefore require a conforming constitutional amendment in order to be effective. No such constitutional amendment was proposed by the Legislature."