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.