H. B. 2454
(By Delegates Cann and Perdue)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §7-1-3oo; to amend
said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§8-12-5e; and to amend and reenact §29-22B-1201 and
§29-22B-1202 of said code, all relating to video lottery
terminals generally; and providing for the adoption of
ordinances by counties and municipalities to regulate the
location of businesses providing video lottery games or other
gambling games.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §7-1-3oo; that said
code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
§8-12-5e; and that §29-22B-1201 and §29-22B-1202 of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3oo. Authority to enact ordinance regulating limited video
lottery businesses.
In the event a county has not created or designated a planning
commission in accordance with the provisions of article twenty-four
of this chapter, a county commission may, notwithstanding the
provisions of chapter sixty of this code with respect to the powers
and authority of the Commissioner of the Alcohol Beverage Control
Commission to regulate the location of licensees under that chapter
and in addition to all other powers of counties, adopt an ordinance
that regulates the areas of the county in which a business may
install video lottery terminals and other gambling games or
devices, including, but not limited to, regulating the location of
and size of the area where video lottery terminals or other
gambling games or devices may be located in a building or structure
and providing minimum distances from other similar businesses,
residential neighborhoods, churches, schools, day care centers,
libraries, parks and any other social, cultural or historic
building or facility.
A county ordinance provided in this section is generally
subject to the provisions of section fifty, article twenty-four,
chapter eight of this code:
Provided, That in the event of the
partial or total loss of any existing business structure due to fire, flood, accident or any other unforeseen act, that business
structure may be repaired or replaced and the business use of that
structure may continue notwithstanding the existence of any
ordinance authorized by this section. Any repair or replacement
will be limited to restoring or replacing the damaged or lost
structure with one reasonably similar, or smaller, in size as
measured in square footage, and any enlargement of the business
structure will subject the structure to any existing ordinance
authorized by this section.
CHAPTER 8. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 12. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC POWERS, DUTIES AND ALLIED
RELATIONS OF MUNICIPALITIES, GOVERNING BODIES AND
MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; SUITS AGAINST
MUNICIPALITIES.
§8-12-5e. Authority to enact ordinance regulating limited video
lottery businesses.
In the event a municipality has not created or designated a
planning commission in accordance with the provisions of article
twenty-four of this chapter, every municipality and the governing
body of the municipality may, notwithstanding the provisions of
chapter sixty of this code with respect to the powers and authority
of the Commissioner of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission to
regulate the location of licensees under that chapter and in
addition to all other powers of municipalities, adopt an ordinance that regulates the areas of the municipality in which a business
may install video lottery terminals and other gambling games or
devices, including, but not limited to, regulating the location of
and size of the area where video lottery terminals or other
gambling games or devices may be located in a building or
structure and providing minimum distances from other similar
businesses, residential neighborhoods, churches, schools, day care
centers, libraries, parks and any other social, cultural or
historic building or facility.
A municipal ordinance provided in this section is generally
subject to the provisions of section fifty, article twenty-four,
chapter eight of this code:
Provided, That in the event of the
partial or total loss of any existing business structure due to
fire, flood, accident or any other unforeseen act, that business
structure may be repaired or replaced and the business use of that
structure may continue notwithstanding the existence of any
ordinance authorized by this section. Any repair or replacement
will be limited to restoring or replacing the damaged or lost
structure with one reasonably similar, or smaller, in size as
measured in square footage, and any enlargement of the business
structure will subject the structure to any existing ordinance
authorized by this section.
CHAPTER 29. MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 22B. LIMITED VIDEO LOTTERY.
PART 12. PLACEMENT AND TRANSPORTATION OF
VIDEO LOTTERY TERMINALS.
§29-22B-1201. Placement of video lottery terminals.
(a) Video lottery terminals allowed by this article may be
placed only in licensed limited video lottery locations approved by
the commission.
(b) All video lottery terminals in approved locations shall be
physically located as follows:
(1) The video lottery terminals shall be continuously
monitored through the use of a closed circuit television system
capable of identifying players and terminal faces and of recording
activity for a continuous twenty-four hour period. All video tapes
or other recording medium approved in writing by the commission
shall be retained for a period of at least sixty days and be
available for viewing by an authorized representative of the
commission or the Commissioner of Alcohol Beverage Control. The
cost of monitoring shall be paid by the limited video lottery
retailer;
(2) Access to video lottery terminal locations shall be
restricted to persons legally entitled by age to play video lottery
games;
(3) The permittee shall submit for commission approval a floor
plan of the area or areas where video lottery terminals are to be
operated showing terminal locations and security camera mount location; and
(4) No video lottery terminal or video lottery camera may be
relocated without prior written approval from the commission.
(c) Personnel of the limited video lottery retailer shall be
present during all hours of operation at each video lottery
terminal location. These personnel shall make periodic inspections
of the restricted access adult-only facility in order to provide
for the safe and approved operation of the video lottery terminals
and the safety and well-being of the players.
(d) Security personnel of the commission and investigators of
the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner shall have unrestricted
access to video lottery terminal locations.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the
contrary, the commission may not approve the placement of a video
lottery terminal in a state park
or in any area of a municipality
or county which would violate a municipal or county ordinance
restricting the location of video lottery machines or other
gambling games or devices.
§29-22B-1202. No limited video lottery retailer license for
premises within 150 feet of another licensed
premises; no two license retailer locations
within a common structure.
(a) A limited video lottery retailer license may not be
granted for operation of video lottery terminals on a premises if, at the time of application for the license, the applicant's
premises are within one hundred fifty feet of, or has an external
structural connection not amounting to a common internal wall to,
a premises that already has a license for video lottery terminals.
(1) A measurement of the distance between two premises must be
taken between the nearest exterior wall of each premises.
(2) When determining common ownership, the commission shall
consider direct as well as indirect ownership.
(b) A premises for which a private club license to dispense
alcoholic liquors, under provisions of article seven, chapter sixty
of this code, or a Class A nonintoxicating beer license, under the
provisions of article sixteen, chapter eleven of this code, was
granted, was applied for, or the transfer of which was validly
contracted for prior to the first day of January, two thousand one,
is not subject to
subsection subsections (a) and (c) of this
section.
(c) No more than one restricted access adult-only facility
shall hold a limited video lottery retailer license to offer video
lottery terminals in any single structure under one roof.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, if a
different more strict provision regarding the location of video
lottery premises is provided by a municipal or county ordinance
restricting the location of video lottery machines or other
gambling devices, the municipal or county ordinance applies.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize counties and
municipalities to enact ordinances regulating the locations of
limited video lottery machines and other gambling games and devices
including the size, type and location of the building in which the
limited video lottery business is located notwithstanding the
authority of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§7-1-3oo and §8-12-5e are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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