Gambling-Related Legislation Chaptered in 2011
Bingo
AB 1023 (Wagner, Chapter Number 296, Statutes of 2011) - Maintenance of the codes.
Existing law directs the Legislative Counsel to advise the Legislature from time to time as to legislation necessary to maintain the codes. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in various provisions of law to effectuate the recommendations made by the Legislative Counsel to the Legislature. The bill, in part, makes technical, non-substantive amendments to Penal Code section 326.3(b), 326.3(b)(1)(A), 326.3
(k)(1), and 326.3(o)(2), as it relates to Remote Caller Bingo games.
Effective date: January 2, 2012.
Budget
AB 115 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 38, Statutes of 2011) - Transportation.
This bill, an urgency measure, is a Budget trailer bill related to transportation. Existing law provides for the sale of specified Tribal-State Gaming Compact assets by the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, with net proceeds from the sale to be made available for various purposes, including repayment of a loan of $443,000,000 made to the General Fund from the State Highway Account through the Traffic Congestion Relief Fund. This bill would characterize the source of the revenue in the State Highway Account that was used to make the above-referenced loan as vehicle weight fee revenue. The bill, at the time the loan is repaid from the sale of specified Tribal-State Gaming Compact assets to the State Highway Account, would require the Controller to transfer the funds from the State Highway Account to the Transportation Debt Service Fund for subsequent transfer to the General Fund for debt service on general obligation transportation bonds to redeem or defease applicable bonds, or for loans to the General Fund, as specified. The bill does not directly impact the Commission.
Effective date: June 30, 2011.
SB 80 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 11, Statutes of 2011) - Budget Act of 2011: General Government provisions.
This bill implements the General Government portion of the 2011 State Budget Act. Section 6 includes language to authorize the Controller to allocate grant funds from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to four counties that did not submit mandated reports on the use of these grant funds for FY 2009-10, if reports are submitted prior to July 1, 2011. Section 15 would direct $101 million from payments made by specified Tribes with amended Tribal-State Gaming Compacts to the General Fund instead of transportation special funds, for FY 2011-12 through FY 2015-16. Under existing law, these revenues would be available for securitization with bond proceeds directed to the Special Deposit Fund and then transferred to other transportation funds to repay transportation loans. Prior legislation has enacted similar revenue shifts to the General Fund in FY 2008-09, FY 2009-10 and FY 2010-11.
Effective date: March 24, 2011.
SB 87 (Leno, Chapter Number 33, Statutes of 2011) – FY 2011-12 Budget Bill: Budget Act of 2011)
This bill, an urgency measure, makes appropriations for support of State government for FY 2011-12, including appropriations for the Commission. This bill contains other related provisions.
Effective date: June 30, 2011.
Cardrooms
AB 156 (Lara, Chapter 391, Statutes of 2011) - Gambling Control Act.
This bill makes regulatory and enforcement changes to the Gambling Control Act. Existing law prohibits a contract for the sale or lease of real or personal property that requires the approval or licensing of the transferee by the Commission from specifying a closing date earlier than 90 days after the submission of the completed application for approval or licensing to the commission. This bill instead prohibits a contract for the sale or lease of real or personal property from specifying a closing date that is prior to the approval or licensing of the transferee by the Commission. The bill also requires a contract for the sale of a cardroom to indicated what provisions have been made for the redemption of outstanding gaming chips as of the closing date and requires the Department of Justice to determine the amount of the seller’s outstanding gaming chip liability, as specified. In addition, the bill provides that a cardroom that conducts play of a controlled game that has been approved by the Department, but is later found to be unlawful, has an absolute defense to any criminal, administrative, or civil action, under specified conditions. The bill makes other related changes to the Gambling Control Act.
Effective date: January 1, 2012.
AB 241 (Hall, Chapter 316, Statutes of 2011) Gambling: moratorium.
This bill makes substantive changes to the Gambling Control Act, as it relates to the moratorium on gambling expansion. Specifically, this bill extends the gambling expansion moratorium on cardrooms from 2015 to 2020, as it relates to the expansion of gambling on existing cardrooms and the issuance of new State cardroom licenses.
Effective date: January 1, 2012
SB 374 (Strickland, Chapter 263, Statutes of 2011) - Gambling control: key employee licenses.
This bill makes substantive changes to the Gambling Control Act, as it relates to key employees that work in cardrooms. Specifically, the bill creates an exception to the requirement that a key employee must terminate employment with one cardroom before commencing work for another, and authorizes a key employee with a valid portable personal key employee license to work as a key employee in any key employee position in more than one cardroom.
Effective date: January 1, 2012.
Horse Racing
AB 270 (Perea, Chapter 393, Statutes of 2011) Satellite wagering.
Existing law requires that every person who participates in, or has anything to do with, the racing of horses and every employee of a parimutuel department be licensed by the California Horse Racing Board. Existing law requires the board to set forth requirements for the position of satellite facility supervisor for all satellite wagering facilities operated by the State or on public land. The supervisor is required to monitor the performance of licensees at the facilities. This bill creates an exception from that provision by authorizing a fair satellite facility generating less than $10,000,000 annually in total handle to elect not to be subject to the requirements related to a satellite facility supervisor if the board of directors of the fair satellite facility, after a public hearing, deems those requirements to be not economically feasible, under specified conditions. Those conditions include a requirement that the fair board notify the California Horse Racing Board in writing of its intention to take that action 30 days prior to the public hearing, and that notice of the fair board's action be provided to the California Horse Racing Board within 10 days of approval by the fair board. The bill requires the fair satellite facility to continue to abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to the operation of a satellite facility, including the responsibilities of the position of satellite
facility supervisor. The bill also requires that notice of the fair board's action include the name and contact information of the individual or individuals assuming the responsibilities of the satellite facility supervisor position.
Effective date: January 1, 2012.
AB 280 (Silva, Chapter 98, Statutes of 2011) - Horse racing: California-bred horses and parimutuel tickets.
This bill revises the definition of a California-bred standardbred horse to delete the requirement that the standardbred foal be conceived in California. The bill also deletes the requirement that base purses for each set of races be equal for all 2-year-old and 3-year-old races regardless of sex and gait, including the exception described above requiring a minimum base purse of 75% of the original base purse if divisions are raced, and instead require that all base purses for each set of races conducted during any given year at any race meeting be determined by the committee. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Effective date: January 1, 2012.
AB 707 (Garrick, Chapter 84, Statutes of 2011) - Horse racing: thoroughbred races.
Existing law authorizes a thoroughbred racing association or fair to distribute the
audiovisual signal and accept wagers on the results of out-of-state thoroughbred races conducted in the United States during the calendar period the association or fair is conducting a race meeting, as specified, without the consent of the organization that represents horsemen participating in the race meeting and without regard to the amount of purses. Existing law prohibits the total number of thoroughbred races imported by associations or fairs on a statewide basis, as specified, from exceeding 32 per day on days when live thoroughbred or fair racing is being conducted in the state. Certain well-known races are excluded from this limitation, including the Kentucky Derby and the
Belmont Stakes. This bill increases that limit on the total number of races from 32 to 50. This bill contains other related provisions.
Effective date: July 15, 2011.
AB 897 (Hall, Chapter Number 225, Statutes of 2011) - Horse racing: quarter horse racing.
Existing law vests jurisdiction and supervision over horse racing in this state in the
California Horse Racing Board. Existing law permits the board to authorize a licensed quarter horse racing association that is conducting a live racing meeting to accept wagers on certain races conducted by the racing association that conducts the American Quarter Horse Racing Challenge, if the races are conducted on the same day as the American Quarter Horse Racing Challenge, as specified. This bill additionally permits the board to authorize a licensed quarter horse racing association that is conducting a live racing meeting to accept wagers on the full card of races conducted by another racing association on the day that other association conducts the Texas Classic Futurity and Remington Park Futurity, as specified.
Effective date: January 1, 2012
SB 305 (Calderon, Chapter Number 334, Statutes of 2011) - Satellite wagering: minisatellite facilities.
Existing law authorizes the California Horse Racing Board to authorize certain fairs and racing associations to operate satellite wagering facilities. Existing law authorizes the board to approve minisatellite wagering sites, as defined, under specified conditions. Existing law directs the board to license a minisatellite wagering facility for a period of 2 years. This bill instead directs the board to license a minisatellite wagering facility for a period of up to 5 years. The bill also makes other technical changes.
Effective date: January 1, 2012
SB 732 (Wyland, Chapter 156, Statutes of 2011) - Horse racing: northern zone: vanning of starters.
Existing law requires the California Horse Racing Board to determine the number of usable stalls that each association or fair is required to make available and maintain in order to conduct a racing meeting. Existing law divides the state into 3 geographical zones for purposes of regulating horse racing, including the northern zone, as specified, and, with respect to racing meetings conducted in the northern zone, requires the association or fair conducting the meeting to provide all stabling required by the board without cost to participating horsemen. Existing law requires, with respect to northern zone thoroughbred meetings only, the association conducting the meeting to
provide, at the option of the horse owner, vanning of participating racehorses from any boardapproved offsite stabling facility in the northern zone. This bill would delete the latter requirement and instead authorize with respect to the northern zone and subject to the availability of the specified funds, at the option of the horse owner, vanning of participating racehorses from any board-approved
offsite stabling facility.
Effective date: January 1, 2012
Lottery
AB 363 (Hayashi, Chapter 56, Statutes of 2011) - California State Lottery.
The California State Lottery Act of 1984, enacted by initiative, authorizes a California State Lottery and provides for its operation and administration by the California State Lottery Commission and the Director of the California State Lottery, with certain limitations. Existing law requires the Commission to establish the percentage of total annual revenues of the State Lottery to be allocated to the benefit of public education at a level that maximizes the total net revenues allocated for the benefit of public education. Existing law requires the Controller, by September 1 of each fiscal year for
5 years following the enactment of this provision, to report to the Legislature whether specified events relating to the total net revenues allocated to the benefit of public education have occurred and, if so, to notify the Legislature and the Governor. Existing law further requires the Controller to convene a lottery review group to report to the Legislature, no later than December 31 following the final fiscal year of that 5-year period, on whether certain provisions have furthered the purposes of the California State Lottery Act of 1984. Under existing law, those provisions shall remain in effect only until December 31 of the year of notification from the Controller to the Legislature and the Governor that those specified events relating to the total net revenues allocated to the benefit of public education have occurred, and the prior law will be restored at that time. This bill would instead require the Controller to make those reports by December 31 and March 31, respectively. The bill also would extend the operation of the provisions described above until April 1 of the year following notification of the Legislature and the Governor by the Controller that the specified events have occurred. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Effective date: January 1, 2012
Tribal
AB 1020 (Chesbro, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2011) - Tribal gaming: Tribal-State Gaming Compact ratification
Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, provides for the negotiation and execution of Tribal-State Gaming Compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude Compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law ratified the Compact entered into between the State of California and the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, executed on September 2, 2009, but that Compact was later rejected by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. This bill would repeal the ratification of the Compact entered into between the State of California and the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, executed on September 2, 2009, and would ratify a new Compact entered into between the State of California and the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, executed on March 17, 2011. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Effective date: June 13, 2011
AB 1417 (Hall, Chapter 736, Statutes of 2011) Tribal gaming: local agencies.
Existing law creates in the State Treasury the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys received by the State from certain Indian Tribes pursuant to the terms of Tribal-State Gaming Compacts entered into with the State. Existing law authorizes moneys in that fund to be used for specified purposes, including for grants for the support of state and local government agencies impacted by Tribal government gaming. This bill would appropriate $9,100,000 from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to the California Gambling Control Commission to provide
grants to local agencies.
Effective date: January 1, 2012
AB 1418 (Hall, Chapter 412, Statutes of 2011) Tribal gaming: Tribal-State Gaming Compact ratification.
Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, provides for the negotiation and
execution of Tribal-State Gaming Compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude Compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of Compacts, and amendments of Compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian Tribes. Existing law ratifies the Compact entered into between the State of California and the Pinoleville Pomo Nation executed on March 9, 2009. This bill would repeal those provisions ratifying the Compact entered into between the State of California and Pinoleville Pomo Nation, executed on March 9, 2009. The bill would instead ratify the Compact entered into between the State of California and the Pinoleville Pomo Nation, executed on August 8, 2011. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Effective date: October 2, 2011
