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By: Flores H.J.R. No. 5
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to
operate video lottery games and the operation of other games of
chance to supplement the video lottery games at certain horse and
greyhound racetracks and on Indian lands.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 47, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (f) and
(g) 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), and (f) of this section. This
section does not authorize any entity to operate a casino gaming
operation in this state or a gaming operation substantially similar
to a casino and does not authorize the Legislature to enact a law
allowing the operation of casino gaming.
(f) 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, and may authorize
other games of chance to be conducted to supplement lottery games at
licensed or authorized locations, in order to generate revenue for
public purposes. 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 on
June 1, 2005, to conduct wagering on a horse race or greyhound race
or that has previously submitted a application that is pending on
that date to be licensed by this state to conduct wagering on a
horse race or greyhound race, provided that the person may be
licensed to conduct video lottery games only at a location licensed
for conducting horse races or greyhound races; or
(B) a federally recognized Indian tribe, which,
under an agreement with this state in the form prescribed by general
law or negotiated by the governor and ratified by the Legislature,
may conduct the games only on land:
(i) held in trust by the United States for
the tribe pursuant to federal law and designated by the applicable
tribe for video lottery activity; or
(ii) held in trust by the United States for
the benefit of the tribe on which Class III gaming is permitted
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-497,
codified at 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) prescribe the method for allocating video lottery
terminals that may be operated by an entity listed under
Subdivision (4) of this subsection, which method must include
consideration of demographics, public health and safety, and
optimization of state revenue;
(6) 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;
(7) 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 gaming devices authorized by a law
enacted under this section;
(8) prohibit the operation 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 permit possession of video lottery terminals as authorized and
supervised by this state; and
(9) provide that:
(A) net revenue generated from video lottery
terminals located at a racetrack shall be distributed as follows:
(i) 70 percent to the racetrack; and
(ii) 30 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.
(g) An applicant for a license, registration, or other
affirmative regulatory approval under a law enacted under
Subsection (f) of 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 Subsection (f) of 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 2. 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 Indian lands."