H. B. 4747
(By Delegates Sumner and Duke)
[Introduced February 23, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §29-22A-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to establishing an annual license
fee for the privilege of holding a license to operate video
lottery terminals at racetracks; and to provide that the
moneys collected are paid to the State Teachers Retirement
System Benefit Fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29-22A-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22A. RACETRACK VIDEO LOTTERY.
§29-22A-8. Form of application; local option elections; issuance
of license; notice of incomplete application; notice
of license or permit denial, suspension or
revocation; procedure for review of license or permit
denial, suspension or revocation; fees, renewal fees and renewal dates; bonding; renewal of licenses and
permits; notice of change affecting license or
permit; license or permit not transferrable or
assignable; fees collected transferred to State
Teachers Retirement System.
(a) The commission shall determine the form of applications to
be used and
shall may not consider incomplete applications. The
commission may consider an application when the applicant has
completed and executed all forms and documents required by the
commission and all application fees and costs have been paid.
(b) The question of whether video lottery games
shall be are
permitted at pari-mutuel racetracks shall be determined by local
option election in each county in which a pari-mutuel racetrack is
located. The local option election on this question may be placed
on the ballot in each county at any general election. The county
commission of the county in which the racetrack is located shall
give notice to the public of the election by publication of the
notice as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and
the publication area for the publication shall be the county in
which the election is to be held. The date of the last publication
of the notice shall fall on a date within the period of the
fourteen consecutive days next preceding the election.
On the local option election ballot shall be printed the following:
Shall West Virginia Lottery Commission video lottery games be
permitted within an area at the [name of racetrack] in which
pari-mutuel betting is authorized by law?
[ ] Yes[ ] No
(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)
The ballots shall be counted, returns made and canvassed as in
general elections, and the results certified by the commissioners
of election to the county commission. The county commission shall,
without delay, certify the result of the election to the
commission.
(c) Upon receipt of the results of the election from the
county commission, and if a majority has voted "yes", the
commission shall issue the requested license if the applicant is
otherwise qualified for the license. If a majority has voted "no",
the commission shall notify the applicant of the results, the
application shall be denied, and another election on the issue
shall not be held for a period of two years:
Provided, That for
purposes of this section, the term "two years" means the interval
between a general election and the next general election, and in no
event shall it mean or encompass a period of time in excess of one
hundred four weeks. If a majority has voted "yes", another local
option election on the issue
shall may not be held for a period of
five years. A local option election may thereafter be held if a written petition of qualified voters residing within the county
equal to at least five percent of the number of persons who were
registered to vote in the next preceding general election is
received by the county commission of the county in which the horse
or dog racetrack is located. The petition may be in any number of
counterparts.
The petition shall be in the following form:
Petition For Local Option Election
We, the undersigned legally qualified voters, resident within
the county of __________________, do hereby petition that a special
election be held within the county of _________________ upon the
following question: Shall West Virginia Lottery Commission video
lottery games be permitted within an area at the [name of
racetrack] in which pari-mutuel betting is authorized by law?
Name Address Date
(Post office or street address)
(d) The commission may not issue any license or permit until
background investigations are concluded. The commission shall make
an affirmative determination that the applicant is qualified and
the applicable license or permit fees have been paid prior to
issuing any license or permit.
(e) The commission shall notify the applicant if an
application is incomplete and the notification shall state the
deficiencies in the application.
(f) The commission shall notify applicants in writing of the
denial, suspension or revocation of a permit or license and the
reasons for the denial, suspension or revocation in accordance with
the provisions of section fifteen of this article.
(g) An applicant may request a hearing to review a license or
permit denial, suspension or revocation in accordance with section
fifteen of this article.
(h) The following license or permit fees shall be paid
annually by each licensed racetrack, or permitted manufacturer,
service technician, floor attendant or validation manager:
(1) Racetrack: ................................. $1,000
(2) Manufacturer: ..............................$10,000
(3) Service technician: ...........................$100
(4) Validation manager: ............................$50
(5) Floor attendant: ..............................$50
The fees shall be paid to the commission at the time of
license or permit application and on or before the first day of
July of each year thereafter, at which time the license or permit
may be renewed.
(i) An applicant for a video lottery license shall, prior to
the issuance of the license, post a bond or irrevocable letter of
credit in a manner and in an amount established by the commission.
The bond shall be issued by a surety company authorized to transact
business in West Virginia and the company shall be approved by the Insurance Commissioner of this state as to solvency and
responsibility.
(j) The commission shall renew video lottery licenses and
permits annually as of the first day of July of each year, if each
person seeking license or permit renewal submits the applicable
renewal fee, completes all renewal forms provided by the
commission, and continues to meet all qualifications for a license
or permit.
(k) License and permit holders shall notify the commission of
any proposed change of ownership or control of the license or
permit holder and of all other transactions or occurrences relevant
to license or permit qualification. In order for a license or
permit to remain in effect, commission approval is required prior
to completion of any proposed change of ownership or control of a
license or permit holder.
(l) A license or permit is a privilege personal to the license
or permit holder and is not a legal right. A license or permit
granted or renewed pursuant to this article may not be transferred
or assigned to another person, nor may a license or a permit be
pledged as collateral. The purchaser or successor of any license
or permit holder shall independently qualify for a license or
permit. The sale of more than five percent of a license or permit
holder's voting stock, or more than five percent of the voting
stock of a corporation which controls the license or permit holder or the sale of a license or permit holder's assets, other than
those bought and sold in the ordinary course of business, or any
interest therein, to any person not already determined to have met
the qualifications of section seven of this article voids the
license unless the sale has been approved in advance by the
commission.
(m) In addition to the fees provided in subsection (h) of this
section for the privilege of holding a license to install and
operate video lottery terminals, the video lottery licensees shall
pay an annual fee to the commission of one thousand dollars for
each authorized video lottery terminal for which the license is
issued. This fee shall be paid to the commission at the time of
license or application and on or before the first day of July of
each year for the number of video lottery terminals a person is
authorized to own or lease. All fees imposed by this subsection
shall be transferred by the commission to the State Teachers
Retirement System Benefit Fund established by section eighteen-c,
article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add a new section to
require racetracks who are licensed to operate video lottery
terminals to pay a fee for each such machine which it is licensed
to operate; and to provide that the revenue from these fees be
transferred to the benefit fund of the State Teachers Retirement
System.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.