SF 317

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime prevention and public safety; 
  1.3             gambling; legalizing the game of Texas hold'em under 
  1.4             certain conditions; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, 
  1.5             sections 349.213, subdivision 1; 609.761, subdivision 
  1.6             3. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 349.213, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [LOCAL REGULATION.] (a) A statutory or home 
  1.11  rule city or county has the authority to adopt more stringent 
  1.12  regulation of lawful gambling within its jurisdiction, including 
  1.13  the prohibition of lawful gambling, and may require a permit for 
  1.14  the conduct of gambling exempt from licensing under section 
  1.15  349.166 or social skill games under section 609.761, subdivision 
  1.16  3.  The fee for a permit issued under this subdivision may not 
  1.17  exceed $100 must be reasonably related to the cost incurred by 
  1.18  the city or county in administering and enforcing the permit.  
  1.19  An organization that wants to conduct a Texas hold'em tournament 
  1.20  or contest must obtain a permit from the city or county if the 
  1.21  city or county so requires.  
  1.22     (b) The authority granted by this subdivision does not 
  1.23  include the authority to require a license or permit to conduct 
  1.24  gambling by organizations or sales by distributors licensed by 
  1.25  the board.  The authority granted by this subdivision does not 
  1.26  include the authority to require an organization to make 
  2.1   specific expenditures of more than ten percent per year from its 
  2.2   net profits derived from lawful gambling.  For the purposes of 
  2.3   this subdivision, net profits are gross profits less amounts 
  2.4   expended for allowable expenses and paid in taxes assessed on 
  2.5   lawful gambling.  A statutory or home rule charter city or a 
  2.6   county may not require an organization conducting lawful 
  2.7   gambling within its jurisdiction to make an expenditure to the 
  2.8   city or county as a condition to operate within that city or 
  2.9   county, except as authorized under section 349.16, subdivision 
  2.10  8, or 297E.02; provided, however, that an ordinance requirement 
  2.11  that such organizations must contribute ten percent per year of 
  2.12  their net profits derived from lawful gambling conducted at 
  2.13  premises within the city's or county's jurisdiction to a fund 
  2.14  administered and regulated by the responsible local unit of 
  2.15  government without cost to such fund, for disbursement by the 
  2.16  responsible local unit of government of the receipts for (i) 
  2.17  lawful purposes, or (ii) police, fire, and other emergency or 
  2.18  public safety-related services, equipment, and training, 
  2.19  excluding pension obligations, is not considered an expenditure 
  2.20  to the city or county nor a tax under section 297E.02, and is 
  2.21  valid and lawful.  A city or county making expenditures 
  2.22  authorized under this paragraph must by March 15 of each year 
  2.23  file a report with the board, on a form the board prescribes, 
  2.24  that lists all such revenues collected and expenditures for the 
  2.25  previous calendar year. 
  2.26     (b) (c) A statutory or home rule city or county may by 
  2.27  ordinance require that a licensed organization conducting lawful 
  2.28  gambling within its jurisdiction expend all or a portion of its 
  2.29  expenditures for lawful purposes on lawful purposes conducted or 
  2.30  located within the city's or county's trade area.  Such an 
  2.31  ordinance must be limited to lawful purpose expenditures of 
  2.32  gross profits derived from lawful gambling conducted at premises 
  2.33  within the city's or county's jurisdiction, must define the 
  2.34  city's or county's trade area, and must specify the percentage 
  2.35  of lawful purpose expenditures which must be expended within the 
  2.36  trade area.  A trade area defined by a city under this 
  3.1   subdivision must include each city and township contiguous to 
  3.2   the defining city. 
  3.3      (c) (d) A more stringent regulation or prohibition of 
  3.4   lawful gambling adopted by a political subdivision under this 
  3.5   subdivision must apply equally to all forms of lawful gambling 
  3.6   within the jurisdiction of the political subdivision, except a 
  3.7   political subdivision may prohibit the use of paddlewheels. 
  3.8      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.761, 
  3.9   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.10     Subd. 3.  [SOCIAL SKILL GAME.] Sections 609.755 and 609.76 
  3.11  do not prohibit tournaments or contests that satisfy all of the 
  3.12  following requirements: 
  3.13     (1) the tournament or contest consists of the card games of 
  3.14  chance commonly known as cribbage, skat, sheephead, bridge, 
  3.15  euchre, pinochle, gin, 500, smear, Texas hold'em, or whist; 
  3.16     (2) the tournament or contest does not provide any direct 
  3.17  financial benefit to the promoter or organizer; and 
  3.18     (3) the sum of all prizes awarded for each tournament or 
  3.19  contest does not exceed $200. 
  3.20     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.21     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  3.22  enactment.  Section 2 applies to acts committed on or after the 
  3.23  enactment date.