Bill Text: NY S06594 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Eases certain restrictions on the conducting of bingo games for charitable purposes; authorizes the payment, out of the net proceeds of bingo games, of reimbursement for reasonable expenses of volunteers working at the games; expands the frequency upon which bingo games may be held; increases the maximum amount of a bingo prize from $1,000 to $1,500 and the aggregate prizes from $3,000 to $4,000; authorizes auxiliary members of authorized organizations to conduct bingo games; authorizes persons convicted of crimes to conduct bingo games when participating in a rehabilitation program; authorizes the conducting of bingo games on Sundays; expands advertising of bingo games.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-01 - REFERRED TO RACING, GAMING AND WAGERING [S06594 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-S06594-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 6594 I N S E N A T E March 1, 2012 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KLEIN, CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the conducting of bingo by certain organizations THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 2, 7, 9, 10 and 11-a of section 476 of the 2 general municipal law, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 46 of the 3 laws of 1977, subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 438 of the laws of 4 1962, subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 1057 of the laws of 1965, 5 paragraph (a) of subdivision 9 as amended by section 16 of part LL of 6 chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, subdivision 10 as amended by chapter 364 7 of the laws of 1968 and subdivision 11-a as added by chapter 160 of the 8 laws of 1994, are amended and two new subdivisions 4-a and 13 are added 9 to read as follows: 10 2. ["Control commission" or "commission"] "BOARD" shall mean the state 11 racing and wagering board. 12 4-A. "AUXILIARY MEMBER" SHALL MEAN A BONA FIDE MEMBER OF AN ORGANIZA- 13 TION OR ASSOCIATION WHICH IS AUXILIARY TO AN AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATION 14 LICENSED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE; OR A BONA FIDE MEMBER OF AN ORGANIZA- 15 TION OR ASSOCIATION OF WHICH AN AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATION LICENSED PURSU- 16 ANT TO THIS ARTICLE IS AN AUXILIARY; OR A BONA FIDE MEMBER OF AN ORGAN- 17 IZATION OR ASSOCIATION WHICH IS AFFILIATED WITH AN AUTHORIZED 18 ORGANIZATION LICENSED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE BY BEING, WITH IT, AUXIL- 19 IARY TO ANOTHER ORGANIZATION OR ASSOCIATION. 20 7. "Net proceeds" shall mean (a) in relation to the gross receipts 21 from one or more occasions of bingo, the amount that shall remain after 22 deducting the reasonable sums necessarily and actually expended for 23 CONDUCTING BINGO GAMES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, bingo supplies and 24 equipment, prizes, stated rental if any, bookkeeping or accounting 25 services according to a schedule of compensation prescribed by the 26 [commission] BOARD, janitorial services and utility supplies if any, 27 license fees, and [the cost of bus transportation] REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14715-02-2 S. 6594 2 1 REASONABLE EXPENSES INCURRED BY VOLUNTEERS WHO DONATE THEIR TIME TO 2 HOLD, OPERATE OR CONDUCT, OR ASSIST IN THE CONDUCT OF SUCH GAMES, [if] 3 AS authorized by the [control commission] BOARD, and (b) in relation to 4 the gross rent received by an organization licensed to conduct bingo for 5 the use of its premises by another licensee, the amount that shall 6 remain after deducting the reasonable sums necessarily and actually 7 expended for janitorial services and utility supplies directly attribut- 8 able thereto if any. 9 9. "Authorized commercial lessor" shall mean a person, firm or corpo- 10 ration other than a licensee to conduct bingo under the provisions of 11 this article, who or which shall own or be a net lessee of premises and 12 offer the same for leasing by him, HER or it to an authorized organiza- 13 tion for any consideration whatsoever, direct or indirect, for the 14 purpose of conducting bingo therein, provided that he, SHE or it, as the 15 case may be, shall not be 16 (a) a person convicted of a crime who has not received a pardon or a 17 certificate of good conduct or a certificate of relief from disabilities 18 pursuant to article twenty-three of the correction law; 19 (b) a person who is or has been a professional gambler or gambling 20 promoter or who for other reasons is not of good moral character; 21 (c) a public officer who receives any consideration, direct or indi- 22 rect, as owner or lessor of premises offered for the purpose of conduct- 23 ing bingo therein; 24 (d) a firm or corporation in which a person defined in [subdivision] 25 PARAGRAPH (a), (b) or (c) [above] OF THIS SUBDIVISION or a person 26 married [or related in the first degree] to such a person has greater 27 than a ten [percentum] PER CENTUM (10%) proprietary, equitable or credit 28 interest or in which such a person is active or employed[.]; OR 29 (E) A FIRM OR CORPORATION IN WHICH A PERSON RELATED TO A PERSON, 30 DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH (A), (B) OR (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, HAS GREATER 31 THAN TWENTY PER CENTUM (20%) PROPRIETARY, EQUITABLE OR CREDIT INTEREST 32 OR IN WHICH SUCH A RELATED PERSON IS ACTIVE OR EMPLOYED. 33 Nothing contained in this subdivision shall be construed to bar any 34 firm or corporation which is not organized for pecuniary profit and no 35 part of the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any individ- 36 ual, member, or shareholder, from being an authorized commercial lessor 37 solely because a public officer, or a person married or related in the 38 first degree to a public officer, is a member of, active in or employed 39 by such firm or corporation. 40 10. "Limited period bingo" shall mean the conduct of bingo by a 41 licensed authorized organization, for a period of not more than [seven] 42 TEN of [twelve] FOURTEEN consecutive days in any one year, at a 43 festival, bazaar, carnival or similar function conducted by such 44 licensed authorized organization. No authorized organization licensed to 45 conduct limited period bingo shall be otherwise eligible to conduct 46 bingo pursuant to this article in the same year. 47 11-a. "Early bird" shall mean a bingo game which is played as a 48 special game, conducted not more than [twice] THREE TIMES during a bingo 49 occasion, in which prizes are awarded based upon a percentage not to 50 exceed seventy-five percent of the sum of money received from the sale 51 of the early bird cards and which is neither subject to the prize limits 52 imposed by subdivisions five and six of section four hundred seventy- 53 nine and paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred eight- 54 y-one, nor the special game opportunity charge limit imposed by section 55 four hundred eighty-nine of this article. The percentage shall be speci- 56 fied both in the application for bingo license and the license. Not more S. 6594 3 1 than one dollar shall be charged per card with the total amount 2 collected from the sale of the early bird cards and the prize for each 3 game to be announced before the commencement of each game. 4 13. "REASONABLE EXPENSES INCURRED BY A VOLUNTEER" SHALL INCLUDE, BUT 5 NOT BE LIMITED TO, CHILD CARE EXPENSES, TRANSPORTATION EXPENSES, MEALS 6 AND OTHER EXPENSES, AS DETERMINED AND REGULATED BY THE BOARD. 7 S 2. Subdivisions 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of section 479 of the general 8 municipal law, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 337 of the laws of 9 1998, subdivisions 5 and 6 as amended by chapter 328 of the laws of 10 1994, and subdivisions 7 and 8 as amended by chapter 814 of the laws of 11 1964, are amended to read as follows: 12 3. No authorized organization licensed under the provisions of this 13 article shall purchase, lease, or receive any supplies or equipment 14 specifically designed or adapted for use in the conduct of bingo games 15 from other than a supplier licensed under [the bingo control law] ARTI- 16 CLE NINETEEN-B OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW or from another authorized organiza- 17 tion. 18 5. No prize shall exceed the sum or value of one thousand FIVE HUNDRED 19 dollars in any single game of bingo. 20 6. No series of prizes on any one bingo occasion shall aggregate more 21 than [three] FOUR thousand dollars. 22 7. No person except a bona fide member OR AUXILIARY MEMBER of any such 23 organization shall participate in the management or operation of such 24 game. 25 8. No person shall receive any remuneration for participating in the 26 management or operation of any game of bingo; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT A 27 PERSON MAY ACCEPT REIMBURSEMENT OF REASONABLE EXPENSES INCURRED TO 28 MANAGE, HOLD, OPERATE OR CONDUCT SUCH GAMES. 29 S 3. Subparagraph 6 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 480 30 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 611 of the laws of 31 1963, is amended to read as follows: 32 (6) the specific purposes to which the entire net proceeds of such 33 games are to be devoted and in what manner; that no commission, salary, 34 compensation[,] OR reward [or recompense] will be paid to any person for 35 conducting such bingo game or games or for assisting therein except as 36 in this article otherwise provided; and such other information as shall 37 be prescribed by such rules and regulations. 38 S 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 and subdivision 3 of section 481 39 of the general municipal law, paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as amended 40 by section 17 of part LL of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010 and subdivi- 41 sion 3 as amended by chapter 284 of the laws of 1969, are amended to 42 read as follows: 43 (a) Issuance of licenses to conduct bingo. If the governing body of 44 the municipality shall determine that the applicant is duly qualified to 45 be licensed to conduct bingo under this article; that the member or 46 members of the applicant designated in the application to conduct bingo 47 are bona fide active members of the applicant and are persons of good 48 moral character and have never been convicted of a crime or, if 49 convicted, have received a pardon or a certificate of good conduct or a 50 certificate of relief from disabilities pursuant to article twenty-three 51 of the correction law, OR, IF CONVICTED, THE MEMBER OR MEMBERS ARE 52 PARTICIPATING IN A REHABILITATION PROGRAM LICENSED OR CERTIFIED BY A 53 STATE AGENCY AND OPERATED BY THE APPLICANT OR AN AUXILIARY THEREOF; that 54 such games are to be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this 55 article and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the [commis- 56 sion] BOARD, and that the proceeds thereof are to be disposed of as S. 6594 4 1 provided by this article, and if the governing body is satisfied that no 2 commission, salary, compensation[,] OR reward [or recompense] whatever 3 will be paid or given to any person holding, operating or conducting or 4 assisting in the holding, operation and conduct of any such games except 5 as [in this article] otherwise provided IN THIS ARTICLE, INCLUDING 6 REIMBURSEMENT OF REASONABLE EXPENSES INCURRED BY VOLUNTEERS WHO DONATE 7 THEIR TIME TO HOLD, OPERATE OR CONDUCT, OR ASSIST IN THE CONDUCT OF SUCH 8 GAMES; and that no prize will be offered and given in excess of the sum 9 or value of one thousand FIVE HUNDRED dollars in any single game and 10 that the aggregate of all prizes offered and given in all of such games 11 conducted on a single occasion, under said license shall not exceed the 12 sum or value of [three] FOUR thousand dollars, it shall issue a license 13 to the applicant for the conduct of bingo upon payment of a license fee 14 of eighteen dollars [and seventy-five cents] for each bingo occasion; 15 provided, however, that the governing body shall refuse to issue a 16 license to an applicant seeking to conduct bingo in premises of a 17 licensed commercial lessor where it determines that the premises pres- 18 ently owned or occupied by said applicant are in every respect adequate 19 and suitable for conducting bingo games. 20 3. No license shall be issued under this article which shall be effec- 21 tive for a period of more than one year. In the case of limited period 22 bingo, no license shall be issued authorizing the conduct of such games 23 on more than [two] THREE occasions in any one day nor shall any license 24 be issued under this article which shall be effective for a period of 25 more than [seven] TEN of [twelve] FOURTEEN consecutive days in any one 26 year. No license for the conduct of limited period bingo shall be issued 27 in cities having a population of one million or more. 28 S 5. Section 483 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 29 438 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows: 30 S 483. Form and contents of license; display of license. 1. [Eeach] 31 EACH license to conduct bingo shall be in such form as shall be 32 prescribed in the rules and regulations promulgated by the [control 33 commission] BOARD, and shall contain a statement of the name and address 34 of the licensee, of the names and addresses of the member or members of 35 the licensee under whom the games will be conducted, of the place or 36 places where and the date or dates and time or times when such games are 37 to be conducted and of the specific purposes to which the entire net 38 proceeds of such games are to be devoted; if any prize or prizes are to 39 be offered and given in cash, a statement of the amounts of the prizes 40 authorized so to be offered and given; and any other information which 41 may be required by said rules and regulations to be contained therein, 42 and each license issued for the conduct of any game shall be conspicu- 43 ously displayed at the place where same is to be conducted at all times 44 during the conduct thereof. 45 2. Each license to lease premises for conducting bingo shall be in 46 such form as shall be prescribed in the rules and regulations of the 47 [control commission] BOARD and shall contain a statement of the name and 48 address of the licensee and the address of the leased premises, the 49 amount of permissible rent and any other information which may be 50 required by said rules and regulations to be contained therein, and each 51 such license shall be conspicuously displayed upon such premises at all 52 times during the conduct of bingo. 53 S 6. Section 484 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 54 900 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows: 55 S 484. Control and supervision; suspension of licenses; inspection of 56 premises. 1. The governing body of any municipality issuing any license S. 6594 5 1 under this article shall have and exercise rigid control and close 2 supervision over all games of bingo conducted under such license, to the 3 end that the same are fairly conducted in accordance with the provisions 4 of such license, the provisions of the rules and regulations promulgated 5 by the [control commission] BOARD and the provisions of this article and 6 such governing body and the [control commission] BOARD shall have the 7 power and the authority to suspend any license issued by such governing 8 body and to revoke the same, and, additionally, in the case of an 9 authorized commercial lessor, to impose a fine in an amount not exceed- 10 ing one thousand dollars, after notice and hearing, for violation of any 11 such provisions, and shall have the right of entry, by their respective 12 officers and agents, at all times into any premises where any game of 13 bingo is being conducted or where it is intended that any such game 14 shall be conducted, or where any equipment being used or intended to be 15 used in the conduct thereof is found, for the purpose of inspecting the 16 same. 17 2. In addition to the authority granted pursuant to subdivision one of 18 this section, the governing body and the [control commission] BOARD, in 19 a city having a population of one million or more, may impose a fine in 20 an amount not exceeding one thousand dollars, after notice and hearing, 21 on any licensee under this article for violation of any provision of 22 such license, this article or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant 23 thereto. 24 S 7. Section 485 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 25 438 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows: 26 S 485. Sunday; conduct of games on. [No games] GAMES of bingo [shall] 27 MAY be conducted under any license issued under this article on the 28 first day of the week, commonly known as [designated as] Sunday, unless 29 it shall be otherwise provided in the license issued for the holding, 30 operating and conducting thereof, pursuant to the provisions of a local 31 law or an ordinance duly adopted by the governing body of the munici- 32 pality issuing the license, [authorizing] PROHIBITING the conduct of 33 bingo under this article on that day. 34 S 8. Section 486 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 35 438 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows: 36 S 486. Participation by persons under eighteen. No person under the 37 age of eighteen years shall be permitted to play any game or games of 38 bingo conducted pursuant to any license issued under this article unless 39 accompanied by an adult. No person under the age of eighteen years shall 40 be permitted to conduct or assist in the conduct of any game of bingo 41 conducted pursuant to any license issued under this article; PROVIDED, 42 HOWEVER, THAT A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN YEARS AND WHO IS 43 FIFTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER SHALL BE PERMITTED TO ASSIST IN THE 44 CONDUCT OF ANY GAME OF BINGO IF ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT. 45 S 9. Section 487 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 46 72 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows: 47 S 487. Frequency of game; sale of alcoholic beverages. No game or 48 games of bingo, except limited period bingo, shall be conducted under 49 any license issued under this article more often than on [eighteen] 50 TWENTY-SEVEN days in any three successive calendar months. No game or 51 games of limited period bingo shall be conducted between the hours of 52 twelve midnight postmeridian and noon, and no more than sixty games may 53 be conducted on any single occasion of limited period bingo. No game or 54 games of bingo shall be conducted in any room or outdoor area where 55 alcoholic beverages are sold, served or consumed during the progress of 56 the game or games. S. 6594 6 1 S 10. Subdivision 1 of section 488 of the general municipal law, as 2 amended by chapter 337 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. No person shall hold, operate or conduct any game of bingo under 5 any license issued under this article except a bona fide member OR 6 AUXILIARY MEMBER of the authorized organization to which the license is 7 issued[, and]. FURTHERMORE, no person shall assist in the holding, oper- 8 ating or conducting of any game of bingo under such license except such 9 a bona fide member or [a bona fide] AUXILIARY member [of an organization 10 or association which is an auxiliary to the licensee or a bona fide 11 member of an organization or association of which such licensee is an 12 auxiliary or a bona fide member of an organization or association which 13 is affiliated with the licensee by being, with it, auxiliary to another 14 organization or association and except bookkeepers or accountants as 15 hereinafter provided]. Provided, however, any person may assist the 16 licensed organization in any activity related to the game of bingo which 17 does not actually involve the holding, conducting, managing or operating 18 of such game of bingo. No game of bingo shall be conducted with any 19 equipment except such as shall be owned absolutely or leased by the 20 authorized organization so licensed or used without payment of any 21 compensation therefor by the licensee. Lease terms and conditions shall 22 be subject to rules and regulations promulgated by the board. This arti- 23 cle shall not be construed to authorize or permit an authorized organ- 24 ization to engage in the business of leasing bingo supplies or equip- 25 ment. No items of expense shall be incurred or paid in connection with 26 the conducting of any game of bingo pursuant to any license issued under 27 this article, except those that are reasonable and are necessarily 28 expended for bingo supplies and equipment, prizes, stated rental if any, 29 bookkeeping or accounting services according to a schedule of compen- 30 sation prescribed by the [commission] BOARD, janitorial services and 31 utility supplies if any, and license fees, REIMBURSEMENT OF REASONABLE 32 EXPENSES INCURRED BY VOLUNTEERS WHO DONATE THEIR TIME TO HOLD, OPERATE 33 OR CONDUCT OR ASSIST IN THE CONDUCT OF SUCH GAMES, and the cost of bus 34 transportation, if authorized by the [control commission] BOARD. 35 S 11. Section 490 of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 36 99 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows: 37 S 490. Advertising of bingo games. A licensee may advertise the 38 conduct of an occasion of bingo to the general public by means of news- 39 paper, radio, circular, handbill [and], poster, ELECTRONIC MAIL, ELEC- 40 TRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND GOVERNMENT ACCESS TELEVISION BROADCASTS, and 41 by one sign not exceeding sixty square feet in area, which may be 42 displayed on or adjacent to the premises owned or occupied by a licensed 43 authorized organization, and when an organization is licensed to conduct 44 bingo occasions on the premises of another licensed authorized organiza- 45 tion or of a licensed commercial lessor, one additional such sign may be 46 displayed on or adjacent to the premises in which the occasions are to 47 be conducted. Additional signs may be displayed upon any firefighting 48 equipment belonging to any licensed authorized organization which is a 49 volunteer fire company, or upon any equipment of a first aid or rescue 50 squad, OR VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE COMPANY in and throughout the community 51 served by such volunteer fire company or such first aid or rescue squad, 52 OR VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE COMPANY, as the case may be. All advertisements 53 shall be limited to the description of such event as "bingo", the name 54 of the licensed authorized organization conducting such occasions, the 55 license number of the authorized organization as assigned by the clerk 56 and the date, location and time of the bingo occasion. S. 6594 7 1 S 12. Subdivision 1 of section 491 of the general municipal law, as 2 amended by chapter 667 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. Within [seven] TEN days after the conclusion of any occasion of 5 bingo, the authorized organization which conducted the same, and its 6 members who were in charge thereof, and when applicable the authorized 7 organization which rented its premises therefor, shall each furnish to 8 the clerk of the municipality a statement subscribed by the member in 9 charge and affirmed by him OR HER as true, under the penalties of perju- 10 ry, showing the amount of the gross receipts derived therefrom and each 11 item of expense incurred, or paid, and each item of expenditure made or 12 to be made, the name and address of each person to whom each such item 13 has been paid, or is to be paid, with a detailed description of the 14 merchandise purchased or the services rendered therefor, the net 15 proceeds derived from such game or rental, as the case may be, and the 16 use to which such proceeds have been or are to be applied and a list of 17 prizes offered and given, with the respective values thereof, and it 18 shall be the duty of each licensee to maintain and keep such books and 19 records as may be necessary to substantiate the particulars of each such 20 statement and within fifteen days after the end of each calendar quarter 21 during which there has been any occasion of bingo, a summary statement 22 of such information, in form prescribed by the state, shall be furnished 23 in the same manner to the [state racing and wagering] board. 24 S 13. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 25 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.