Senate Bill No. 666
(By Senators Bailey, Yoder, Chafin, Minard and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 14, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §47-21-15 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to permitting a fraternal
organization to use proceeds from charitable raffles in any
manner consistent with its charter and not contrary to law.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §47-21-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21. CHARITABLE RAFFLES.
§47-21-15. Payment of reasonable expenses from proceeds; net
proceeds disbursement.
(a) The reasonable, necessary and actual expenses incurred in
connection with the conduct of raffle occasions, not to exceed
twenty-five percent of the gross proceeds collected during a
license period, may be paid out of the gross proceeds of the
conduct of raffle, including, but not limited to:
(1) Rent paid for the use of the premises:
Provided, That a
copy of the rental agreement was filed with the raffle license
application with any modifications to the rental agreement to be
filed within ten days of being made:
Provided, however, That in no
event may the rent paid for the use of any premises exceed the fair
market value of rent for the premises;
(2) The cost of custodial services;
(3) The cost to the licensee organization for equipment and
supplies used to conduct the raffle occasion;
(4) The cost to the licensee organization for advertising the
raffle occasion;
(5) The cost of hiring security personnel, licensed pursuant
to the provisions of article eighteen, chapter thirty of this code;
and
(6) The cost of providing child care services to the raffle
patrons:
Provided, That any proceeds received from the provision
of child care services shall be handled the same as raffle
proceeds.
(b) The actual cost to the licensee for prizes, not to exceed
the amounts as specified in section eleven of this article, may be
paid out of the gross proceeds of the conduct of raffle.
(c) The cost of any refreshments, souvenirs or any other item
sold or otherwise provided through any concession to the patrons
may not be paid for out of the gross proceeds from the raffle
occasion. The licensee shall expend all net raffle proceeds and any interest earned on the net raffle proceeds for the charitable
or public service purposes stated in the application within one
year after the expiration of the license under which the raffle
occasions were conducted. A licensee which does not qualify as a
qualified recipient organization may apply to the commissioner at
the time it applies for a raffle license or as provided in
subsection (e) of this section for permission to apply any or all
of its net proceeds to directly support a charitable or public
service activity or endeavor which it sponsors.
(d) No gross proceeds from any raffle operation may be devoted
or in any manner used by any licensee or qualified recipient
organization for the construction, acquisition or improvement of
real or personal property except that which is used exclusively for
one or more charitable or public service purposes or as provided in
subdivision (3), subsection (a) of this section.
(e) The Tax Commissioner has the authority to disapprove any
contract for sale of goods or services to any charitable raffle
licensee for use in or with relation to any charitable raffle
operation or occasion or any lease of real or tangible personal
property to any charitable raffle licensee for use in or with
relation to any charitable raffle operation or occasion, if the
contract or lease is unreasonable or not representative of fair
market value. Disapproved contracts or leases shall be considered
to be in contravention of this article and are void. Any attempt
by any charitable raffle licensee to engage in transactions under the terms of any disapproved lease or contract is grounds for
revocation or suspension of the charitable raffle license and for
refusal by the Tax Commissioner to renew the charitable raffle
license.
(f) Any licensee which, in good faith, finds itself unable to
comply with the requirements of the subsections (a) through (e),
inclusive, of this section shall apply to the commissioner for
permission to expend its net proceeds for one or more charitable or
public service purposes other than that stated in its license
application or for permission to expend its net proceeds later than
the one-year time period specified in this section. The
application shall be on a form furnished by the commissioner and
shall include the particulars of the requested changes and the
reasons for the changes. The application shall be filed no later
than sixty days before the end of the one-year period specified in
this section. In the case of an application to extend the time in
which the net proceeds are to be expended for a charitable or
public service purpose, the licensee shall file such periodic
reports with the commissioner as the commissioner directs until the
proceeds are expended.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
contrary, gross proceeds from a raffle operation by a licensee that
is a fraternal organization may be used by the licensee in any
manner consistent with the organization's charter or by-laws and is
not contrary to the laws of this state. For purposes of this subsection only, fraternal organizations include, but are not
limited to, Loyal Order of the Moose, the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, the Grand United Order of Odd
Fellows, the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine and the Lions Clubs International.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit fraternal
organizations to use proceeds from charitable raffles in any
manner consistent with its charter and not contrary to law.
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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