Bill Text: OH HJR10 | 2009-2010 | 128th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: To amend Section 6 of Article XV of the Constitution
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-11-30 - Introduced to House [HJR10 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2009-HJR10-Introduced.html
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Representatives Grossman, Bacon
| To amend Section 6 of Article XV of the Constitution | 1 |
| of the State of Ohio to require the General | 2 |
| Assembly to enact laws that authorize the | 3 |
| submission of a question to the electors of a | 4 |
| county on whether to approve the operation of | 5 |
| casino gaming within the county before casino | 6 |
| gaming may be conducted in that county. | 7 |
| Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, | 8 |
| three-fifths of the members elected to each house concurring | 9 |
| herein, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the | 10 |
| state, in the manner prescribed by law at the special election to | 11 |
| be held on May 3, 2010, a proposal to amend Section 6 of Article | 12 |
| XV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio to read as follows: | 13 |
| 6. Except as otherwise provided in this section, | 14 |
| lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, for any purpose | 15 |
| whatever, shall forever be prohibited in this State. | 16 |
| (A) The General Assembly may authorize an agency of the state | 17 |
| to conduct lotteries, to sell rights to participate therein, and | 18 |
| to award prizes by chance to participants, provided that the | 19 |
| entire net proceeds of any such lottery are paid into a fund of | 20 |
| the state treasury that shall consist solely of such proceeds and | 21 |
| shall be used solely for the support of elementary, secondary, | 22 |
| vocational, and special education programs as determined in | 23 |
| appropriations made by the General Assembly. | 24 |
| (B) The General Assembly may authorize and regulate the | 25 |
| operation of bingo to be conducted by charitable organizations for | 26 |
| charitable purposes. | 27 |
| (C)(1) Casino gaming shall be authorized as provided in | 28 |
| division (C)(1) of this section at four casino facilities (a | 29 |
| single casino at a designated location within each of the cities | 30 |
| of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo) to create new | 31 |
| funding for cities, counties, public school districts, law | 32 |
| enforcement, the horse racing industry and job training for Ohio's | 33 |
| workforce. | 34 |
| The General Assembly shall enact laws that authorize the | 35 |
| submission of a question to the electors of a county on whether to | 36 |
| approve the operation of casino gaming within the county before | 37 |
| casino gaming may be conducted in that county. | 38 |
| (2) A thirty-three percent tax shall be levied and collected | 39 |
| by the state on all gross casino revenue received by each casino | 40 |
| operator of these four casino facilities. In addition, casino | 41 |
| operators, their operations, their owners, and their property | 42 |
| shall be subject to all customary non-discriminatory fees, taxes, | 43 |
| and other charges that are applied to, levied against, or | 44 |
| otherwise imposed generally upon other Ohio businesses, their | 45 |
| gross or net revenues, their operations, their owners, and their | 46 |
| property. Except as otherwise provided in section 6(C), no other | 47 |
| casino gaming-related state or local fees, taxes, or other charges | 48 |
| (however measured, calculated, or otherwise derived) may be, | 49 |
| directly or indirectly, applied to, levied against, or otherwise | 50 |
| imposed upon gross casino revenue, casino operators, their | 51 |
| operations, their owners, or their property. | 52 |
| (3) The proceeds of the tax on gross casino revenue collected | 53 |
| by the state shall be distributed as follows: | 54 |
| (a) Fifty-one percent of the tax on gross casino revenue | 55 |
| shall be distributed among all eighty-eight counties in proportion | 56 |
| to such counties' respective populations at the time of such | 57 |
| distribution. If a county's most populated city, as of the 2000 | 58 |
| United States census bureau census, had a population greater than | 59 |
| 80,000, then fifty percent of that county's distribution will go | 60 |
| to said city. | 61 |
| (b) Thirty-four percent of the tax on gross casino revenue | 62 |
| shall be distributed among all eighty-eight counties in proportion | 63 |
| to such counties' respective public school district student | 64 |
| populations at the time of such distribution. Each such | 65 |
| distribution received by a county shall be distributed among all | 66 |
| public school districts located (in whole or in part) within such | 67 |
| county in proportion to each school district's respective student | 68 |
| population who are residents of such county at the time of such | 69 |
| distribution to the school districts. Each public school district | 70 |
| shall determine how its distributions are appropriated, but all | 71 |
| distributions shall only be used to support primary and secondary | 72 |
| education. | 73 |
| (c) Five percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be | 74 |
| distributed to the host city where the casino facility that | 75 |
| generated such gross casino revenue is located. | 76 |
| (d) Three percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be | 77 |
| distributed to fund the Ohio casino control commission. | 78 |
| (e) Three percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be | 79 |
| distributed to an Ohio state racing commission fund to support | 80 |
| purses, breeding programs, and operations at all existing | 81 |
| commercial horse racetracks permitted as of January 1, 2009. | 82 |
| However, no funding under this division shall be distributed to | 83 |
| operations of an Ohio commercial horse racetrack if an owner or | 84 |
| operator of the racetrack holds a majority interest in an Ohio | 85 |
| casino facility or in an Ohio casino license. | 86 |
| (f) Two percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be | 87 |
| distributed to a state law enforcement training fund to enhance | 88 |
| public safety by providing additional training opportunities to | 89 |
| the law enforcement community. | 90 |
| (g) Two percent of the tax on gross casino revenue shall be | 91 |
| distributed to a state problem gambling and addictions fund which | 92 |
| shall be used for the treatment of problem gambling and substance | 93 |
| abuse, and related research. | 94 |
| Tax collection, and distributions to public school districts | 95 |
| and local governments, under sections 6(C)(2) and (3), are | 96 |
| intended to supplement, not supplant, any funding obligations of | 97 |
| the state. Accordingly, all such distributions shall be | 98 |
| disregarded for purposes of determining whether funding | 99 |
| obligations imposed by other sections of this Constitution are | 100 |
| met. | 101 |
| (4) There is hereby created the Ohio casino control | 102 |
| commission which shall license and regulate casino operators, | 103 |
| management companies retained by such casino operators, key | 104 |
| employees of such casino operators and such management companies, | 105 |
| gaming-related vendors, and all gaming authorized by section 6(C), | 106 |
| to ensure the integrity of casino gaming. | 107 |
| Said commission shall determine all voting issues by majority | 108 |
| vote and shall consist of seven members appointed by the governor | 109 |
| with the advice and consent of the senate. Each member of the | 110 |
| commission must be a resident of Ohio. At least one member of the | 111 |
| commission must be experienced in law enforcement and criminal | 112 |
| investigation. At least one member of the commission must be a | 113 |
| certified public accountant experienced in accounting and | 114 |
| auditing. At least one member of the commission must be an | 115 |
| attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio. At least one | 116 |
| member of the commission must be a resident of a county where one | 117 |
| of the casino facilities is located. Not more than four members | 118 |
| may be affiliated with the same political party. No commission | 119 |
| member may have any affiliation with an Ohio casino operator or | 120 |
| facility. | 121 |
| Said commission shall require each initial licensed casino | 122 |
| operator of each of the four casino facilities to pay an upfront | 123 |
| license fee of fifty million dollars ($50,OOO,OOO) per casino | 124 |
| facility for the benefit of the state, for a total of two hundred | 125 |
| million dollars ($200,OOO,OOO). The upfront license fee shall be | 126 |
| used to fund state economic development programs which support | 127 |
| regional job training efforts to equip Ohio's workforce with | 128 |
| additional skills to grow the economy. | 129 |
| To carry out the tax provisions of section 6(C), and in | 130 |
| addition to any other enforcement powers provided under Ohio law, | 131 |
| the tax commissioner of the State and the Ohio casino control | 132 |
| commission, or any person employed by the tax commissioner or said | 133 |
| commission for that purpose, upon demand, may inspect books, | 134 |
| accounts, records, and memoranda of any person subject to such | 135 |
| provisions, and may examine under oath any officer, agent, or | 136 |
| employee of that person. | 137 |
| (5) Each initial licensed casino operator of each of the four | 138 |
| casino facilities shall make an initial investment of at least two | 139 |
| hundred fifty mi1lion dollars ($250,000,000) for the development | 140 |
| of each casino facility for a total minimum investment of one | 141 |
| billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) statewide. A casino operator: (a) | 142 |
| may not hold a majority interest in more than two of the four | 143 |
| licenses allocated to the casino facilities at any one time; and | 144 |
| (b) may not hold a majority interest in more than two of the four | 145 |
| casino facilities at any one time. | 146 |
| (6) Casino gaming authorized in section 6(C) shall be | 147 |
| conducted only by licensed casino operators of the four casino | 148 |
| facilities or by licensed management companies retained by such | 149 |
| casino operators. At the discretion of each licensed casino | 150 |
| operator of a casino facility: (a) casino gaming may be conducted | 151 |
| twenty-four hours each day; and (b) a maximum of five thousand | 152 |
| slot machines may be operated at such casino facility. | 153 |
| (7) Each of the four casino facilities shall be subject to | 154 |
| all applicable state laws and local ordinances related to health | 155 |
| and building codes, or any related requirements and provisions. | 156 |
| Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local zoning, land use laws, | 157 |
| subdivision regulations or similar provisions shall prohibit the | 158 |
| development or operation of the four casino facilities set forth | 159 |
| herein, provided that no casino facility shall be located in a | 160 |
| district zoned exclusively residential as of January 1, 2009. | 161 |
| (8) Notwithstanding any provision of the Constitution, | 162 |
| statutes of Ohio, or a local charter and ordinance, only one | 163 |
| casino facility shall be operated in each of the cities of | 164 |
| Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. | 165 |
| (9) For purposes of this section 6(C), the following | 166 |
| definitions shall be applied: | 167 |
| "Casino facility" means all or any part of any one or more of | 168 |
| the following properties (together with all improvements situated | 169 |
| thereon) in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo: | 170 |
| (a) Cleveland: | 171 |
| Being an approximate 61 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 172 |
| as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as | 173 |
| tax parcel numbers 004-28-001, 004-29-004A, 004-29-005, | 174 |
| 004-29-008, 004-29-009, 004-29-010, 004-29-012, 004-29-013, | 175 |
| 004-29-014, 004-29-020, 004-29-018, 004-29-017, 004-29-016, | 176 |
| 004-29-021, 004-29-025, 004-29-027, 004-29-026, 004-28-008, | 177 |
| 004-28-004, 004-28-003, 004-28-002, 004-28-010, 004-29-001, | 178 |
| 004-29-007 and 004-04-017 and all lands and air rights lying | 179 |
| within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent to such | 180 |
| parcels. | 181 |
| Being an approximate 8.66 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 182 |
| being that parcel identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of | 183 |
| 02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-21-002 and all lands and air | 184 |
| rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent | 185 |
| to such parcel. | 186 |
| Being an approximate 2.56 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 187 |
| being that parcel identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of | 188 |
| 02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-21-OO2 and all lands and air | 189 |
| rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent | 190 |
| to such parcel. | 191 |
| Being an approximate 7.91 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 192 |
| being that parcel identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of | 193 |
| 02/27/09, as tax parcel number 101-23-050A and all lands and air | 194 |
| rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent | 195 |
| to such parcel. | 196 |
| All air rights above the parcel located in Cuyahoga County, | 197 |
| Ohio identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as | 198 |
| tax parcel number 101-22-003. | 199 |
| Being an approximate 1.55 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 200 |
| as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as | 201 |
| tax parcel numbers 122-18-010, 122-18-0ll and 122-18-012 and all | 202 |
| lands and air rights lying within and/or above the public rights | 203 |
| of way adjacent to such parcels. | 204 |
| Being an approximate 1.83 acre area in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, | 205 |
| as identified by the Cuyahoga County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, as | 206 |
| tax parcel numbers 101-30-002 and 101-30-003 and all lands and air | 207 |
| rights lying within and/or above the public rights of way adjacent | 208 |
| to such parcels. | 209 |
| Consisting of floors one through four, mezzanine, basement, | 210 |
| sub-basement, Parcel No. 36-2, Item III, Parcels First and Second, | 211 |
| Item V, Parcel A, and Item VI, Parcel One of the Higbee Building | 212 |
| in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, as identified by the Cuyahoga County | 213 |
| Auditor, as of 2/29/09, as tax parcel numbers 101-23-002 and | 214 |
| 101-23-050F and all lands and air rights lying within and/or above | 215 |
| the public rights of way adjacent to such parcels. | 216 |
| (b) Columbus: | 217 |
| Being an approximate 18.312 acre area in the City of | 218 |
| Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, as identified by the Franklin | 219 |
| County Auditor, as of 03/05/09, as tax parcel numbers | 220 |
| 010-005518-80, 010-005518-90, 010-020215-80, 010-020215-90, | 221 |
| 010-008443-80 and 010-008443-90. | 222 |
| (c) Cincinnati; | 223 |
| Being an approximate 20.4 acre area in Hamilton County, Ohio, | 224 |
| being identified by the Hamilton County Auditor, as of 02/27/09, | 225 |
| as tax parcel numbers 074-0002-0009-00, 074-0001-0001-00, | 226 |
| 074-0001-0002-00, 074-0001-0003-00, 074-0001-0004-00, | 227 |
| 074-0001-0006-00, 074-0001-0008-00, 074-0001-0014-00, | 228 |
| 074-0001-0016-00, 074-0001-0031-00, 074-0001-0039-00, | 229 |
| 074-0001-0041-00, 074-0001-0042-00, 074-0001-0043-00, | 230 |
| 074-0002-0001-00, 074-0004-0001-00, 074-0004-0002-00, | 231 |
| 074-0004-0003-00 and 074-0005-0003-00. | 232 |
| (d) Toledo: | 233 |
| Being an approximate 44.24 acre area in the City of Toledo, | 234 |
| Lucas County, Ohio, as identified by the Lucas County Auditor, as | 235 |
| of 03/05/09, as tax parcel numbers 18-76138 and 18-76515. | 236 |
| "Casino gaming" means any type of slot machine or table game | 237 |
| wagering, using money, casino credit, or any representative of | 238 |
| value, authorized in any of the states of Indiana, Michigan, | 239 |
| Pennsylvania and West Virginia as of January 1, 2009, and shall | 240 |
| include slot machine and table game wagering subsequently | 241 |
| authorized by, but shall not be limited by subsequent restrictions | 242 |
| placed on such wagering in, such states. Notwithstanding the | 243 |
| aforementioned definition, "casino gaming" does not include bingo, | 244 |
| as authorized in article XV, section 6 of the Ohio Constitution | 245 |
| and conducted as of January 1, 2009, or horse racing where the | 246 |
| pari-mutuel system of wagering is conducted, as authorized under | 247 |
| the laws of Ohio as of January 1, 2009. | 248 |
| "Casino operator" means any person, trust, corporation, | 249 |
| partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability | 250 |
| company or other business enterprise that directly holds an | 251 |
| ownership or leasehold interest in a casino facility. "Casino | 252 |
| operator" does not include an agency of the state, any political | 253 |
| subdivision of the state, or any person, trust, corporation, | 254 |
| partnership, limited partnership, association, limited liability | 255 |
| company or other business enterprise that may have an interest in | 256 |
| a casino facility, but who is legally or contractually restricted | 257 |
| from conducting casino gaming. | 258 |
| "Gross casino revenue" means the total amount of money | 259 |
| exchanged for the purchase of chips, tokens, tickets, electronic | 260 |
| cards, or similar objects by casino patrons, less winnings paid to | 261 |
| wagerers. | 262 |
| "Majority interest" in a license or in a casino facility (as | 263 |
| the case may be) means beneficial ownership of more than fifty | 264 |
| percent (50%) of the total fair market value of such license or | 265 |
| casino facility (as the case may be). For purposes of the | 266 |
| foregoing, whether a majority interest is held in a license or in | 267 |
| a casino facility (as the case may be) shall be determined in | 268 |
| accordance with the rules for constructive ownership of stock | 269 |
| provided in Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-3(i)(5)(iii) as in effect on | 270 |
| January 1, 2009. | 271 |
| "Slot machines" shall include any mechanical, electrical, or | 272 |
| other device or machine which, upon insertion of a coin, token, | 273 |
| ticket, or similar object, or upon payment of any consideration, | 274 |
| is available to play or operate, the play or operation of which, | 275 |
| whether by reason of the skill of the operator or application of | 276 |
| the element of chance, or both, makes individual prize | 277 |
| determinations for individual participants in cash, premiums, | 278 |
| merchandise, tokens, or any thing of value, whether the payoff is | 279 |
| made automatically from the machine or in any other manner. | 280 |
| "Table game" means any game played with cards, dice, or any | 281 |
| mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device or machine for | 282 |
| money, casino credit, or any representative of value. | 283 |
| (10) The General Assembly shall pass laws within six months | 284 |
| of the effective date of section 6(C) to facilitate the operation | 285 |
| of section 6(C). | 286 |
| (11) Each provision of section 6(C) is intended to be | 287 |
| independent and severable, and if any provision of section 6(C) is | 288 |
| held to be invalid, either on its face or as applied to any person | 289 |
| or circumstance, the remaining provisions of section 6(C), and the | 290 |
| application thereof to any person or circumstance other than those | 291 |
| to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby. In any | 292 |
| case of a conflict between any provision of section 6(C) and any | 293 |
| other provision contained in this Constitution, the provisions of | 294 |
| section 6(C) shall control. | 295 |
| (12) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6(C)(11), | 296 |
| nothing in this section 6(C) (including, without limitation, the | 297 |
| provisions of sections 6(C)(6) and 6(C)(8))shall restrict or in | 298 |
| any way limit lotteries authorized under section 6(A) of this | 299 |
| article or bingo authorized under section 6(B) of this article. | 300 |
| The provisions of this section 6(C) shall have no effect upon | 301 |
| activities authorized under sections 6(A) and/or (6)(B) of this | 302 |
| article. | 303 |
| 304 | |
| If adopted by a majority of the electors voting on this | 305 |
| proposal, the amendment takes effect on June 1, 2010, and existing | 306 |
| Section 6 of Article XV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio | 307 |
| is repealed from that effective date. | 308 |
