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79S10017 YDB-F
By: Flores H.J.R. No. 18
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to
operate video lottery games at certain racetracks and on Indian
lands to provide additional money to fund public education and
other governmental programs.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 47(a), Article III, Texas Constitution,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting lotteries
and gift enterprises in this State other than those authorized by
Subsections (b), (d), and (e) of this section and Section 47-a of
this article.
SECTION 2. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 47-a to read as follows:
Sec. 47-a. (a) The Legislature by general law in accordance
with this section may authorize this state to control and operate a
video lottery system under which individuals may play lottery games
of chance on video lottery terminals owned and operated by persons
licensed or otherwise authorized by this state at locations
determined as provided by this subsection in order to generate
revenue to provide additional money to fund public education and
other governmental programs. The law authorizing a video lottery
system must:
(1) except as otherwise provided by this section,
require this state to continually monitor the activity of each
video lottery terminal and remotely terminate the operation of a
terminal as necessary to protect the public health, welfare, or
safety or the integrity of the state lottery or to prevent financial
loss to this state;
(2) include a comprehensive registration program to
govern a person that manufactures, distributes, sells, or leases
video lottery terminals for use or play in this state and a process
to approve terminals for use in the video lottery system in
accordance with technical standards established by this state;
(3) provide for a comprehensive licensing program to
govern a person that owns, manages, or maintains video lottery
terminals operated in this state;
(4) limit the operation of video lottery games on
behalf of this state to only the following legal entities:
(A) a person that is licensed in this state to
operate a racetrack that was licensed to conduct wagering on a horse
race or greyhound race on June 1, 2005, or for which a person on or
before that date had applied for a license to conduct wagering on a
horse race or greyhound race at the racetrack, provided that the
person may be licensed to conduct video lottery games only at the
location licensed for conducting wagering on horse races or
greyhound races; or
(B) a federally recognized Indian tribe that,
under an agreement with this state in the form prescribed by general
law or negotiated by the governor in accordance with general law or
under a license granted by this state in accordance with general
law, may conduct the games only on land over which the tribe
exercises governmental power and:
(i) that is held in trust by the United
States on January 1, 1998, for the tribe or an individual member of
the tribe pursuant to federal law and designated by the tribe for
video lottery activity; or
(ii) on which Class III gaming is permitted
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (18 U.S.C. Section 1166 et
seq. and 25 U.S.C. Section 2701 et seq.) and designated by the tribe
for video lottery activity;
(5) authorize this state to impose and collect state
taxes on the purchase, use, or other consumption of a good or
service at a video lottery facility on tribal land by a person who
is not a member of the Indian tribe operating the facility;
(6) prohibit and impose criminal penalties for the
possession and operation of all electronic and mechanical gaming
devices other than video lottery terminals operated in connection
with the video lottery system or a gaming device expressly
authorized under other state law;
(7) prohibit the operation or possession of a video
lottery terminal that is not subject to this state's measures for
monitoring and terminating operation of the terminal required by
this subsection and does not generate revenue for this state,
except that the law may provide for limited storage or transport of
video lottery terminals as authorized by this state and for
possession of video lottery terminals by this state for testing and
evaluation; and
(8) provide that, unless otherwise provided by law:
(A) net revenue generated from video lottery
terminals located at a racetrack shall be distributed as follows:
(i) 65 percent to the racetrack; and
(ii) 35 percent to this state; and
(B) net revenue generated from video lottery
terminals operated by an Indian tribe on Indian lands shall be
distributed as set forth in the agreement authorizing the tribe to
operate video lottery games or as provided by general law if the
tribe operates video lottery games under a license.
(b) In the absence of enabling legislation to implement
Subsection (a) of this section, the authority of this state to
operate lotteries under Section 47(e) of this article includes the
authority of the state agency that operates state lotteries to
adopt rules to implement video lottery in accordance with
Subsection (a) of this section as part of the state lottery.
(c) The Legislature may authorize a portion of the revenue
received by this state from the operation of video lottery
terminals and other forms of gaming to:
(1) be distributed to counties and municipalities
impacted by those activities; or
(2) be used to support purses at horse and greyhound
racetracks.
(d) All shipments of video lottery terminals or gaming
devices into, out of, or within this state authorized under this
section or a law enacted under this section are legal shipments of
the devices and are exempt from the provisions of 15 U.S.C. Sections
1171-1178, prohibiting the transportation of gambling devices.
(e) A person may not conduct or promote gambling or wagering
using any electronic gaming device in this state unless the device
is authorized under this section or under a law enacted under this
section or Section 47 of this article. Any exception or defense
provided by general law to an offense relating to illegal gambling
that permits the operation or possession of electronic gaming
devices based on the limited value of a prize that a player of the
device may receive constitutes an exception to the prohibition
provided by this subsection if the defense or exception does not
allow the player to receive a prize consisting of money, a check or
other negotiable instrument or cash equivalent, or a certificate or
other item that entitles the bearer to receive any thing of value on
premises other than the premises where the device is operated. A
county or district attorney or the attorney general may enjoin a
violation of this subsection.
(f) The governing body of a political subdivision of this
state may not take any action regarding the repeal or revocation of
a previous authorization by the voters of the political subdivision
to approve the legalization or conduct of pari-mutuel wagering on
horse races or greyhound races at a racetrack in that political
subdivision if the racetrack may be authorized under this section
to operate video lottery games on behalf of this state.
(g) An applicant for a license, registration, or other
affirmative regulatory approval under a law enacted under this
section does not have any right to the license, registration, or
approval. A license or registration issued or other approval
granted to a person in accordance with a law enacted under this
section is a revocable privilege, and the person does not acquire
any vested right in or under the privilege. The courts of this
state do not have jurisdiction to review a decision to deny, limit,
or condition a license, registration, or request for approval
unless the judicial review is sought on the ground that the denial,
limitation, or condition is based on a suspect classification, such
as race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, in violation of
the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United States Constitution. The court must affirm the denial,
limitation, or condition unless the violation is proven by clear
and convincing evidence.
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2005.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment authorizing a state
video lottery system to operate video lottery games at certain
horse and greyhound racetracks and on certain Indian lands to
provide additional money to fund public education and other
governmental programs."