ENGROSSED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 51

(By Senator Fanning)

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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;

reported February 21, 2003.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact sections eleven and twenty-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 sections four and twenty-one, article twenty-one of said chapter, all relating to charitable bingo and charitable raffles; allowing game proceeds to be transferred, by check, between raffle and bingo accounts to offset losses; and permitting that members of licensee organization who live in a county of another state, under certain circumstances, may be eligible to conduct bingo and raffle games.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eleven and twenty-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 sections four and twenty-one, article twenty-one of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20. CHARITABLE BINGO.

§47-20-11. Operator of bingo games and related concessions.
Except as provided in sections thirteen and twenty-two of this article, only persons, as defined in section two of this article, who are residents of this state and who are active members of the licensee organization or its authorized auxiliary organization and who have been active members in good standing of the licensee organization or its authorized auxiliary for at least two years prior to the date of filing of the application for a charitable bingo license or the most recent filing of an application for renewal of the license may participate in any manner in the conduct of any bingo game or operate any concession in conjunction with a bingo occasion: Provided, That a member of licensee organization who is a resident of an adjoining state and a county thereof which also adjoins the venue county of licensee may participate in a bingo game or other concession if that member is otherwise qualified to do so pursuant to the provisions of this article: Provided, however, That notwithstanding anything contained in this article to the contrary, no individual under the age of eighteen years may directly or indirectly participate in the conduct of a bingo game except for junior firefighters, in accordance with the provisions of this article.
§47-20-23. Administration; rules.

(a) The tax commissioner shall administer the provisions of this article in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) The commissioner shall deny an application for a license if he or she finds that the issuance thereof would be in violation of the provisions of this article.
(c) The commissioner may revoke, suspend or refuse to renew a license if the licensee or any member of a licensee organization has been convicted pursuant to section eighteen or nineteen of this article and the commissioner finds that it would be in the public interest to do so; or if the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this article: Provided, That before revoking or suspending a license issued under the authority of this article, the commissioner shall give at least ten days', or three days for a limited occasion or state fair license, notice to the licensee. Notice shall must be in writing, shall must state the reason for revocation or suspension and shall must designate a time and place when the licensee may show cause why the license should not be revoked or suspended. Notice shall must be sent by certified mail to the address of the licensee or served by certified mail or by personal or substituted service on the person who applied for the license on behalf of the licensee. The licensee may, at the time designated for the hearing, produce evidence in its behalf and be represented by counsel. A decision of the commissioner revoking or suspending a license is subject to judicial review upon the appeal of a licensee.
(d) The commissioner may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew any license issued hereunder for a material failure to maintain the records or file the reports required by this article if the commissioner finds that said failure will substantially impair the commissioner's ability to administer the provisions of this article with regard to said the licensee.
(e) The commissioner shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations necessary to the administration of this article.
(f) The provisions of article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code apply to the denial, revocation, suspension of or refusal to renew a license hereunder.
(g) The burden of proof in any administrative or court proceeding is on the applicant to show cause why a bingo license should be issued or renewed and on the licensee to show cause why its license should not be revoked or suspended.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the commissioner may issue an emergency order suspending a bingo license in the following manner:
(1) An emergency order may be issued only when the commissioner believes that:
(A) There has been a criminal violation of this article;
(B) Such The action is necessary to prevent a criminal violation of this article; or
(C) Such The action is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, morals, good order or general welfare.
(2) The emergency order shall must set forth the grounds upon which it is issued, including a statement of facts constituting the alleged emergency necessitating such the action. This order shall must be served by personal or substituted service on the licensee or the person who applied for the license on behalf of the licensee.
(3) The emergency order is effective immediately upon issuance and service upon the licensee.
(4) Within five days after issuance of an emergency order, the commissioner shall set a time and place for a hearing wherein the licensee may appear and show cause why its license should not be revoked.
(i) Nothing in this article shall be construed to restrict a licensee organization from transferring game proceeds by sequentially numbered checks from the same account between a licensee's bingo and raffle accounts in an amount not to exceed the amount of actual loss of the game fund receiving the transfer.
ARTICLE 21. CHARITABLE RAFFLES.

§47-21-4. Who may hold raffles; application for license; licenses not transferable.

(a) Except as provided in section three of this article, only persons, as defined in section two of this article, who are residents of this state and who are active members of any charitable or public service organization which has been in existence in this state for at least two years prior to filing an application for a raffle license issued pursuant to section five or six of this article may hold raffle occasions in accordance with the provisions of this article during the time it holds a valid license: Provided, That a member of licensee who is a resident of an adjoining state and a county thereof which also adjoins the venue county of licensee may participate in conducting a raffle or other concession if that member is otherwise qualified to do so pursuant to the provisions of this article.
(b) Application for a raffle license shall must be made to the tax commissioner and shall must be on a form supplied by him or her. The application shall must contain the information required by section eight of this article and any other information which the commissioner considers necessary. No raffle may be held and no tickets may be sold pursuant to this article until the raffle application has been approved by the tax commissioner and the license has been received by the applicant: Provided, That no raffle occasion may be held and no raffle tickets may be sold until a sixty-day filing period, which is that time period between the receipt of that application by the tax commissioner and the first raffle occasion, has expired: Provided, however, That the tax commissioner shall send the applicant its license within five days after the application is approved. If the sixty-day filing period has expired and the application has not been denied and the raffle license has not been received by the applicant, the applicant may consider the application approved and begin to sell tickets for the raffle or hold the raffle occasion. The tax commissioner shall send the applicant its license within five days after the expiration of the filing period if the application has not been otherwise denied.
(c) For purposes of this article, any application for an annual license or a limited occasion license received prior to the effective date of this article is considered filed on the effective date.
(d) No raffle license issued pursuant to this article may be transferred.
§47-21-21. Administration; rules.

(a) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to administer the provisions of this article in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) The commissioner shall deny an application for a license or modification thereof if he or she finds that the issuance thereof would be in violation of the provisions of this article.
(c) The commissioner may revoke, suspend or refuse to renew a license if the licensee or any member of a licensee organization has been convicted pursuant to section eighteen or nineteen of this article and the commissioner finds that it would be in the public interest to do so; or if the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this article: Provided, That before revoking or suspending a license issued under the authority of this article, the commissioner shall give at least ten days, or three days for a limited occasion license, notice to the licensee. Notice shall be in writing, state the reason for revocation or suspension and designate a time and place when the licensee may show cause why the license should not be revoked or suspended. The notice required by this section shall be by personal or substituted service, in accordance with the West Virginia rules of civil procedure for trial courts of record, on the person who applied for the license on behalf of the licensee. The licensee may, at the time designated for the hearing, present evidence in its behalf and be represented by counsel. A decision of the commissioner revoking or suspending a license is subject to judicial review upon the appeal of a licensee. Such decision shall be subject to judicial review in the same manner as other decisions of the commissioner.
(d) The commissioner may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew any license issued hereunder for a material failure to maintain the records or file the reports required by this article if the commissioner finds that such failure will substantially impair the commissioner's ability to administer the provisions of this article with regard to such licensee.
(e) The commissioner shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations necessary to the administration of this article.
(f) The provisions of article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code apply to the denial, revocation, suspension of or refusal to renew a license hereunder.
(g) The burden of proof in any administrative or court proceeding is on the applicant to show cause why a raffle license should be issued or renewed and on the licensee to show cause why its license should not be revoked or suspended.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the commissioner may issue an emergency order suspending a raffle license under the following circumstances and in the following manner:
(1) An emergency order may be issued only when the commissioner believes that:
(i) There has been a criminal violation of this article;
(ii) Such The action is necessary to prevent a criminal violation of this article; or
(iii) Such The action is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, morals, good order or general welfare.
(2) The emergency order shall must set forth the grounds upon which it is issued, including a statement of facts constituting the alleged emergency necessitating such action. This order shall must be served by personal or substituted service on the licensee or the person who applied for the license on behalf of the licensee.
(3) The emergency order is effective immediately upon issuance and service upon the licensee.
(4) Within five days after issuance of an emergency order, the commissioner shall set a time and place for a hearing wherein the licensee may appear and show cause why its license should not be revoked.
(i) Nothing in this article shall be construed to restrict a licensee organization from transferring game proceeds by sequentially numbered checks from the same account between a licensee's bingo and raffle accounts in an amount not to exceed the amount of actual loss of the game fund receiving the transfer.