H. B. 4527
(By Delegates Stephens, Hubbard,
R. Thompson and Perdue)
[Introduced
February 18, 2002
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article twenty, chapter
forty-seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section three, article twenty-one of said chapter, all
relating to permitting churches, branches, chapters and lodges
of nationally organized charitable and public service
organizations to hold bingo games and conduct raffles without
having been in existence for two years in this state prior to
application.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article twenty, chapter forty-seven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section three, article twenty-one of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 20. CHARITABLE BINGO.
§47-20-3. Who may hold bingo games; application for license;
licenses not transferable.
Except for churches, branches, chapters and lodges of
nationally organized charitable and public service organizations,
which shall only be required to be in existence at the time of
filing, any charitable or public service organization which has
been in existence in this state two years prior to filing an
application for a bingo license issued pursuant to section four or
five of this article may hold bingo occasions in accordance with
the provisions of this article during the time it holds a valid
license.
Application for a bingo license shall be made to the tax
commissioner and shall be on a form which shall be supplied by him
or her. The application shall contain the information required by
section seven of this article and any other information which the
commissioner considers necessary. An application shall be filed
not less than sixty days before the date when the applicant intends
to hold its first bingo occasion.
No bingo occasion may be held
until an application filed in accordance with this article has been approved by the tax commissioner, and the bingo license has been
received:
Provided, That under no circumstances may a licensee
organization conduct a bingo occasion before the sixty-day filing
period between the filing of the application and date of the first
bingo occasion has elapsed:
Provided, however, That the date the
application is received by the tax commissioner shall begin the
sixty-day filing period. The tax commissioner shall send the
applicant its license within five days after approval of the bingo
application. If the filing period has elapsed, and the application
has not been denied by the tax commissioner, and the license has
not been received by the applicant, the applicant may consider the
application approved and begin to hold bingo occasions. The tax
commissioner shall send a bingo license to the applicant within
five days after the expiration of the filing period if the
application has not been otherwise denied.
No bingo license issued pursuant to this article may be
transferred.
ARTICLE 21. CHARITABLE RAFFLES.
§47-21-3. Authorizing the conduct of certain raffles without a
license.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary, any charitable or public service organization which has
been in existence in this state for at least one year or, in the
case of any church, branch, chapter or lodge of a nationally
organized charitable or public service organization, regardless of
the period of existence in this state, is hereby authorized to
conduct raffles without compliance with the licensing provisions of
this article: Provided, That any prize awarded in any single
raffle at a raffle occasion may not exceed in value the sum of one
thousand dollars: Provided, however, That the cumulative gross
proceeds derived from the conduct of raffle occasions by any such
charitable or public service organization shall not exceed seven
thousand five hundred dollars during any calendar year: Provided
further, That any such organization shall not be subject to the
record keeping provisions of section sixteen of this article but
shall maintain a separate accounting for the operation of raffles.
All records required by this section shall be maintained for at
least three calendar years and shall be available for reasonable
inspection by the commissioner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove an unnecessary
impediment to activating the philanthropic activities of nationally
organized and recognized charitable and public service organizations, such as the Moose, Elks, American Legion, VFW, etc.,
by waving the "two-year existence" requirement for bingo and raffle
licenses.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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