117583-1:n:02/02/2010:JRC/ll LRS2010-826
| SYNOPSIS: | This bill proposes a general law that will relieve non-Indian operators of bingo and operators of maritime gaming on cruise ships docking in the City of Mobile from certain legal disabilities that do not apply to Indian tribes conducting bingo under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. |
To recognize that Indian tribes may conduct bingo games using electronic bingo equipment under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ("IGRA") free of certain legal burdens that potentially encumber (i) the operators of maritime gaming on cruise ships docking at saltwater ports in the state and (ii) the non-Indian operators of bingo games in the state that are equivalent to the bingo games conducted by Indian tribes; to relieve certain qualified persons engaged in maritime gaming and federally recognized bingo from legal burdens that are not applicable to Indian tribes conducting competitive bingo games; to define terms that include or are relevant to substantive provisions of this act, including Class II gaming under IGRA, federally recognized bingo, maritime gaming, and any qualified person to be relieved of legal burdens under this act; to provide limitations on the scope of this act; to provide that no criminal prosecution under any provision of Title 13A, Chapter 12, Article 2, Code of Alabama 1975, shall be brought or maintained against any qualified person for engaging in maritime gaming or federally recognized bingo; to provide that bingo equipment permitted to be used in Class II gaming under IGRA shall not constitute, or be deemed to be, a "gambling device" or "slot machine" within the meaning of Section 13A-12-20(5) and (10), Code of Alabama 1975, if such bingo equipment is used by a qualified person engaged in federally recognized bingo; to preclude the forfeiture by any qualified person of real or personal property used or involved in maritime gaming or federally recognized bingo; to declare that certain "gambling devices" as defined by federal law may be transported into or out of the state without violating federal law; to provide that the provisions of this act shall be severable; and to specify the effective date of this act and to provide for a termination date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Definitions.
The following words and phrases used in this act shall have the following respective meanings:
(1) BINGO EQUIPMENT. Any electronic or mechanical equipment, machine or device that is permitted to be used in Class II gaming by IGRA or federal law enforcement practices with respect to Indian gaming in the state, including, without limitation thereto, electronic player terminals, central computer servers containing processing capabilities for remote player terminals, video consoles capable of providing game results in different display modes, telephones and telephone circuits, televisions, cables and other telecommunication circuits, and satellites and related transmitting and receiving equipment.
(2) CLASS II GAMING. The game of bingo as authorized by IGRA to be conducted for the general public by an Indian tribe in the state without the necessity of a tribal-state compact applicable to such game of bingo. With respect to the interpretation and application of this act, Class II gaming shall be deemed to refer only to the nature of the game of bingo itself that is conducted by the Indian tribe, including the playing of such game with bingo equipment, and any condition imposed by IGRA on Class II gaming related to the use of tribal lands or matters of tribal governance, such as the adoption of a tribal ordinance concerning Class II gaming, the approval of such ordinance by the Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission or the issuance of a tribal license for Class II gaming, shall not be relevant in determining whether federally recognized bingo is conducted in the same manner, to the same extent, and under the same conditions as Class II gaming. Further, for purposes of determining the equivalence between Class II gaming and federally recognized bingo, the nature, conditions and limits of Class II gaming shall not be based upon any theoretical interpretation of IGRA but on the actual game of bingo, including the use of bingo equipment in playing such game, that is conducted by the Indian tribe offering such game to the general public as allowed by the regulations and practices of the National Indian Gaming Commission and as enforced by federal officials pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1166.
(3) IGRA. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act enacted by the Congress of the United States, 25 U.S.C. §§2701-2721, including all amendments thereof and supplements thereto at any time enacted and the regulations promulgated thereunder and maintained in effect by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
(4) FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED BINGO. The game of bingo, including the use of bingo equipment in the playing of such game, that, insofar as the nature of the game itself is concerned, is conducted for the general public on land that is not Indian tribal lands by a person or persons other than an Indian tribe in the same manner, to the same extent, and under the same conditions (excluding regulation and supervision by the National Indian Gaming Commission) as Class II gaming conducted in the state by an Indian tribe. The ineligibility of a person under IGRA to receive a tribal license to conduct Class II gaming on Indian lands shall not be relevant in determining whether such person is engaged in federally recognized bingo at any other location in the state. Federally recognized bingo shall never be allowed to be different in nature or scope from Class II gaming, and if changes in IGRA, whether due to Congressional enactment, an effective federal court decision, or changes in the regulations or practices of the National Indian Gaming Commission, should change the nature or reduce the scope of Class II gaming or modify the conditions thereof, the nature, scope or conditions of federally recognized bingo shall ipso facto be changed, reduced or modified, as the case may be, to correspond with the altered Class II gaming.
(5) MARITIME GAMING. When used with reference to cruise ships that embark and disembark passengers and take on supplies at saltwater ports in the state, the term "maritime gaming" means casino gaming conducted for profit on such ships while cruising or anchored on the high seas beyond the territorial jurisdiction of Alabama law. Maritime gaming includes, without limitation thereto, all banked card and table games and games played with "gambling devices" or "slot machines" within the meaning of Section 13A-12-20(5) and (10), Code of Alabama 1975, provided, however, maritime gaming shall not be deemed to include any activities or relationships that are unlawful under any federal or state law other than the provisions of Title 13A, Chapter 12, Article 2, Code of Alabama 1975, or any other state law intended to prohibit or restrict gambling.
(6) QUALIFIED PERSON. Any person that conducted federally recognized bingo at any location in the state on or before December 1, 2009, and that since such date has continued to engage in federally recognized bingo at such location, or, alternatively, any person that engaged in maritime gaming on or before December 1, 2009, with ships embarking or disembarking passengers or taking on supplies at any saltwater port in the state, and that since such date has continued to engage in maritime gaming with ships embarking or disembarking passengers or taking on supplies at any such port. To be a qualified person with respect to federally recognized bingo, such person is not required to have operated the same bingo equipment continuously at the same location during the period for which such person is to be deemed a qualified person under this act, provided that such person did engage in federally recognized bingo with bingo equipment at such location in the state on or before December 1, 2009. A qualified person may also be a person licensed by a regulatory authority to conduct federally recognized bingo even though not yet operating in any regulatory jurisdiction where federally recognized bingo was engaged in before December 1, 2009, or after December 1, 2009.
(7) PERSON. Any natural person, corporation or limited liability company, whether or not operated for profit, partnership, association or other legal entity capable of being sued or made subject to a criminal prosecution.
Section 2. Scope of Act.
(a) Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize any form of gambling in this state that would expand Class II gaming now permitted to Indian tribes by IGRA or that would obligate the state to negotiate a tribal-state compact under IGRA with respect to Class III gaming.
(b) This act effectuates purposes unrelated to the meaning or implementation of any amendment to the Constitution of Alabama that authorizes games denominated as bingo in a particular county or municipality, and this act shall be interpreted and applied without regard to the meaning of any such local constitutional amendment. Nothing contained in this act shall be construed as attempting to supersede, modify or affect the interpretation of any such local amendment to the Constitution of Alabama.
(c) Nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize lotteries or gift enterprises for any purpose in contravention of Section 65 of the Constitution of Alabama.
Section 3. Certain Criminal Provisions Not to Apply to Qualified Persons Engaged in Federally Recognized Bingo or Maritime Gaming.
(a) No qualified person conducting federally recognized bingo or maritime gaming shall be subject to criminal prosecution under any provisions of Title 13A, Chapter 12, Article 2, Code of Alabama 1975, and no real or personal property, including, but without limitation thereto, cash, financial assets, and bingo equipment, used or involved in conducting federally recognized bingo or maritime gaming by any qualified person shall be forfeited to the state pursuant to any provision of Title 13A, Chapter 12, Article 2, Code of Alabama 1975.
(b) Bingo equipment used by a qualified person engaged in federally recognized bingo shall not constitute, or be deemed to be, a "gambling device" or "slot machine" within the meaning of Section 13A-12-20(5) and (10), Code of Alabama 1975.
Section 4. Transportation of Certain Gambling Devices Is Exempt from Federal Law.
The State of Alabama, acting by and through the enactment of this act, and in accordance with the provisions of 15 U.S.C. §1172, does hereby declare that the transportation into or out of the state of any and all "gambling devices" as defined in 15 U.S.C. §1171 is exempt from the provisions of said §1172 and that such gambling devices may be transported into or out of the state without violating said §1172, or any other applicable federal law, if such gambling devices are used, or are to be used, or have been used (i) by qualified persons to conduct federally recognized bingo or (ii) to conduct maritime gaming.
Section 5. The provisions of this act shall be deemed to be severable expressions of the will of the Legislature with respect to the matters respectively addressed in such provisions, and any final adjudication of the constitutional invalidity of any particular provision of this act shall not impair or invalidate any other provisions hereof, it being the express will of the Legislature that no provision of this act be held invalid because of its connection with any other provision of this act, but that the separate and independent objective of the Legislature be recognized with respect to the constitutionality of each provision of this act.
Section 6. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law and shall terminate on November 2, 2010, irrespective of whether any constitutional amendment concerning federally recognized bingo or maritime gaming is favorably voted upon by the electorate of this state on November 2, 2010.