By Lucio S.B. No. 1504
77R6460 GJH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the regulation of bingo.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Sections 2001.002(6) and (11), Occupations Code,
1-5 are amended to read as follows:
1-6 (6) "Bingo occasion" means the period during which
1-7 bingo games are conducted beginning when the first number or symbol
1-8 is selected or the first pull-tab ticket is sold, whichever occurs
1-9 first [all activities incident to the conduct of a series of bingo
1-10 games by a licensed authorized organization, including the
1-11 organization's licensed times and any preparatory or concluding
1-12 activities incident to the conduct of bingo].
1-13 (11) "Fraternal organization" means[:]
1-14 [(A)] a nonprofit organization organized to
1-15 perform and engaged primarily in performing charitable, benevolent,
1-16 patriotic, employment-related, or educational functions that meet
1-17 the other requirements of this chapter[; or]
1-18 [(B) a nonprofit National Historical District
1-19 Association representing the owners and lessees of a majority of
1-20 the real property located in a National Historical District
1-21 designated for not less than five years by the National Register of
1-22 Historic Places, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of
1-23 the United States Department of the Interior, if the association's
1-24 net proceeds are used for restoration, construction, maintenance,
2-1 and security in the district]. The term "fraternal organization"
2-2 does not include an organization whose members are predominantly
2-3 veterans or dependents of veterans of the armed services of the
2-4 United States.
2-5 SECTION 2. Section 2001.106, Occupations Code, is amended to
2-6 read as follows:
2-7 Sec. 2001.106. FORM AND CONTENTS OF LICENSE. A license to
2-8 conduct bingo must include:
2-9 (1) the name and address of the license holder;
2-10 (2) the names and addresses of the member or members
2-11 of the license holder under whom the bingo will be conducted; and
2-12 (3) an indication of the premises where and the time
2-13 when bingo is to be conducted[;]
2-14 [(4) the specific purposes to which the net proceeds
2-15 of bingo are to be devoted; and]
2-16 [(5) a statement of whether a prize is to be offered
2-17 and the amount of any authorized prize].
2-18 SECTION 3. Section 2001.154(a), Occupations Code, is amended
2-19 to read as follows:
2-20 (a) The commission may not issue a commercial lessor license
2-21 to or renew a commercial lessor license of:
2-22 (1) a person convicted of a felony, criminal fraud, a
2-23 gambling or gambling-related offense, or a crime of moral turpitude
2-24 if less than 10 years has elapsed since termination of a sentence,
2-25 parole, mandatory supervision, or community supervision served for
2-26 the offense;
2-27 (2) a public officer who receives any consideration,
3-1 direct or indirect, as owner or lessor of premises offered for
3-2 conducting bingo;
3-3 (3) a person who extends credit to, loans money to, or
3-4 pays or provides for the payment of license fees for an authorized
3-5 organization;
3-6 (4) a distributor or manufacturer; or
3-7 (5) a person in which a person covered by Subdivision
3-8 (1), (2), (3), or (4) or a person married or related in the first
3-9 degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter
3-10 573, Government Code, to one of those persons has greater than a 10
3-11 percent proprietary, equitable, or credit interest or in which one
3-12 of those persons is active or employed[;]
3-13 [(6) a foreign corporation or other foreign legal
3-14 entity;]
3-15 [(7) an individual who is not a resident of this
3-16 state;]
3-17 [(8) a corporation or other legal entity owned or
3-18 controlled by:]
3-19 [(A) a foreign corporation; or]
3-20 [(B) an individual who is not a resident of this
3-21 state; or]
3-22 [(9) a corporation or other legal entity:]
3-23 [(A) whose shares are publicly traded; or]
3-24 [(B) owned or controlled by a corporation whose
3-25 shares are publicly traded].
3-26 SECTION 4. Section 2001.161(a), Occupations Code, is amended
3-27 to read as follows:
4-1 (a) An authorized organization that holds a commercial
4-2 lessor license to lease a premises on which bingo is conducted may
4-3 [must] hold a license to conduct bingo at the same premises.
4-4 SECTION 5. Section 2001.409, Occupations Code, is amended to
4-5 read as follows:
4-6 Sec. 2001.409. CARD-MINDING DEVICES. [(a)] A person may not
4-7 use a card-minding device:
4-8 (1) to generate or determine the random letters,
4-9 numbers, or other symbols used in playing the bingo card played
4-10 with the device's assistance;
4-11 (2) as a receptacle for the deposit of tokens or money
4-12 in payment for playing the bingo card played with the device's
4-13 assistance; or
4-14 (3) as a dispenser for the payment of a bingo prize,
4-15 including coins, paper currency, or a thing of value for the bingo
4-16 card played with the device's assistance.
4-17 [(b) Not more than 40 percent of the individuals attending a
4-18 bingo occasion, based on the average of two previously submitted
4-19 quarterly reports, may use electronic or mechanical card-minding
4-20 devices. This subsection does not apply to pull-tab bingo.]
4-21 SECTION 6. Section 2001.414(b), Occupations Code, is amended
4-22 to read as follows:
4-23 (b) An organization conducting bingo must record [on a cash
4-24 register] all transactions for which it receives bingo gross
4-25 receipts in conformance with commission rules relating to
4-26 transaction recording specifications.
4-27 SECTION 7. Sections 2001.419(a) and (e), Occupations Code,
5-1 are amended to read as follows:
5-2 (a) A bingo occasion may not occur at any time other than
5-3 the time permitted in the commission's records [begins when the
5-4 premises are opened to the public].
5-5 (e) If two licensed authorized organizations are authorized
5-6 to conduct bingo at the same premises on the same day, [the bingo
5-7 occasion of one organization may overlap with the bingo occasion of
5-8 the other organization, but] their games must be separated by the
5-9 intermission required under Subsection (d). In that event, the
5-10 intermission is considered part of each organization's bingo
5-11 occasion.
5-12 SECTION 8. Section 2001.458(a), Occupations Code, is amended
5-13 to read as follows:
5-14 (a) An item of expense may not be incurred or paid in
5-15 connection with the conduct of bingo except those expenses that are
5-16 reasonable and necessarily expended for:
5-17 (1) advertising;
5-18 (2) security;
5-19 (3) repairs to premises and equipment;
5-20 (4) bingo supplies and equipment;
5-21 (5) prizes;
5-22 (6) stated rental or mortgage and insurance expenses;
5-23 (7) bookkeeping, legal, or accounting services related
5-24 to bingo;
5-25 (8) fees in amounts authorized by the commission for
5-26 operators, callers, cashiers, ushers, janitorial services, and
5-27 utility supplies and services; and
6-1 (9) license fees.
6-2 SECTION 9. Section 2001.502, Occupations Code, is amended to
6-3 read as follows:
6-4 Sec. 2001.502. PRIZE FEE. A licensed authorized organization
6-5 shall collect from a person who wins a bingo prize in an amount or
6-6 with a value of at least $5 a fee in the amount of five percent of
6-7 the amount or value of the prize.
6-8 SECTION 10. Section 2001.551, Occupations Code, is amended
6-9 by amending Subsections (b) and (e) and adding Subsection (g) to
6-10 read as follows:
6-11 (b) A person conducting, promoting, or administering bingo
6-12 commits an offense if the person conducts, promotes, or administers
6-13 bingo other than:
6-14 (1) under a license issued under this chapter;
6-15 (2) within the confines of a home for purposes of
6-16 amusement or recreation when:
6-17 (A) no player or other person furnishes anything
6-18 of more than nominal value for the opportunity to participate;
6-19 (B) participation in the game does not exceed 15
6-20 players; and
6-21 (C) the prizes awarded or to be awarded are
6-22 nominal;
6-23 (3) on behalf of an organization of individuals 60
6-24 years of age or over, a senior citizens' association, a senior
6-25 citizens' community center program operated or funded by a
6-26 governmental entity, the patients in a hospital or nursing home,
6-27 residents of a retirement home, or the patients in a Veteran's
7-1 Administration medical center or a military hospital, solely for
7-2 the purpose of amusement and recreation of its members, residents,
7-3 or patients, when:
7-4 (A) no player or other person furnishes anything
7-5 of more than nominal value for the opportunity to participate; and
7-6 (B) the prizes awarded or to be awarded are
7-7 nominal; [or]
7-8 (4) on behalf of a business conducting the game for
7-9 promotional or advertising purposes if:
7-10 (A) the game is conducted by or through a
7-11 newspaper or a radio or television station;
7-12 (B) participation in the game is open to the
7-13 general public and is not limited to customers of the business;
7-14 (C) playing materials are furnished without
7-15 charge to a person on request; and
7-16 (D) no player is required to furnish anything of
7-17 value for the opportunity to participate; or
7-18 (5) on behalf of any group conducting the game only
7-19 for amusement.
7-20 (e) A game exempted under Subsection (b)(2), (3), [or] (4),
7-21 or (5) is not required to be licensed under this chapter.
7-22 (g) A game exempted under Subsection (b)(5) is subject to
7-23 the following restrictions:
7-24 (1) a participant may not be required to pay anything
7-25 of value, including money, as an admission fee;
7-26 (2) a participant may not be charged more than 25
7-27 cents to purchase a bingo card or sheet or another device used to
8-1 play bingo, including objects to cover spaces;
8-2 (3) each prize awarded must consist of tangible goods
8-3 or an entitlement to tangible goods;
8-4 (4) the total retail value of all prizes awarded
8-5 during a period of games may not exceed $100;
8-6 (5) all money charged for items described by
8-7 Subdivision (2) may be used only to provide the prizes described by
8-8 Subdivision (3) or refreshments for participants; and
8-9 (6) all persons conducting or assisting in the
8-10 conducting of the game must be volunteers.
8-11 SECTION 11. Section 2001.305, Occupations Code, is repealed.
8-12 SECTION 12. (a) This Act takes effect October 1, 2001.
8-13 (b) The change in law made by this Act does not affect an
8-14 offense committed before the effective date of this Act. An
8-15 offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
8-16 by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
8-17 law is continued in effect for that purpose.