HB 0181CS

CHAMBER ACTION




1The Finance & Tax Committee recommends the following:
2
3     Council/Committee Substitute
4     Remove the entire bill and insert:
5
A bill to be entitled
6An act relating to pari-mutuel permitholders; amending s.
7550.002, F.S.; revising the definition of "full schedule
8of live racing or games" for certain jai alai
9permitholders; amending s. 550.09511, F.S.; providing for
10license fees and taxes for certain jai alai permitholders;
11assessing a fee for a jai alai permitholder who fails to
12apply for and be issued an annual license to conduct
13performances; providing for disposition of the fee by rule
14of the division; providing for escheat of the permit under
15specified circumstances; amending s. 849.086, F.S.;
16removing a prohibition on transfer of cardroom licenses;
17providing for transfer of the cardroom license when a
18permit is relocated within a county under certain
19conditions; providing an effective date.
20
21Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23     Section 1.  Subsection (11) of section 550.002, Florida
24Statutes, is amended to read:
25     550.002  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
26     (11)  "Full schedule of live racing or games" means, for a
27greyhound or jai alai permitholder, the conduct of a combination
28of at least 100 live evening or matinee performances during the
29preceding year; for a permitholder who has a converted permit or
30filed an application on or before June 1, 1990, for a converted
31permit, the conduct of a combination of at least 100 live
32evening and matinee wagering performances during either of the 2
33preceding years; for a jai alai permitholder who does not
34operate slot machines in its pari-mutuel facility, who has
35conducted at least 100 live performances per year for at least
3610 years after December 31, 1992, and whose handle on live jai
37alai games conducted at its pari-mutuel facility has been less
38than $4 million per state fiscal year for at least 2 consecutive
39years after June 30, 1992, the conduct of a combination of at
40least 40 live evening or matinee performances during the
41preceding year; for a jai alai permitholder who operates slot
42machines in its pari-mutuel facility, the conduct of a
43combination of at least 150 days of performances during the
44preceding year; for a harness permitholder, the conduct of at
45least 100 live regular wagering performances during the
46preceding year; for a quarter horse permitholder, the conduct of
47at least 40 live regular wagering performances during the
48preceding year; and for a thoroughbred permitholder, the conduct
49of at least 40 live regular wagering performances during the
50preceding year. For a permitholder which is restricted by
51statute to certain operating periods within the year when other
52members of its same class of permit are authorized to operate
53throughout the year, the specified number of live performances
54which constitute a full schedule of live racing or games shall
55be adjusted pro rata in accordance with the relationship between
56its authorized operating period and the full calendar year and
57the resulting specified number of live performances shall
58constitute the full schedule of live games for such permitholder
59and all other permitholders of the same class within 100 air
60miles of such permitholder. A live performance must consist of
61no fewer than eight races or games conducted live for each of a
62minimum of three performances each week at the permitholder's
63licensed facility under a single admission charge.
64     Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 550.09511, Florida
65Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (6), and new subsections
66(4) and (5) are added to said section to read:
67     550.09511  Jai alai taxes; abandoned interest in a permit
68for nonpayment of taxes.--
69     (4)  A jai alai permitholder conducting fewer than 100 live
70performances in any calendar year shall pay to the state the
71same aggregate amount of daily license fees on live jai alai
72games, admissions tax, and tax on live handle as that
73permitholder paid to the state during the most recent prior
74calendar year in which the jai alai permitholder conducted at
75least 100 live performances.
76     (5)  Beginning July 1, 2005, any jai alai permitholder who
77has not applied for and been issued a license pursuant to s.
78550.01215 to conduct performances during the next fiscal year
79shall be assessed a fee of $10,000 annually to be deposited into
80the Pari-mutuel Wagering Trust Fund. The division may adopt
81rules necessary for the orderly distribution of the fees. Upon
82the permitholder's failure to pay the annual fee by June 30 of
83each year, the permit shall become void and escheat to the
84state.
85     Section 3.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and paragraph
86(a) of subsection (17) of section 849.086, Florida Statutes, are
87amended to read:
88     849.086  Cardrooms authorized.--
89     (5)  LICENSE REQUIRED; APPLICATION; FEES.--No person may
90operate a cardroom in this state unless such person holds a
91valid cardroom license issued pursuant to this section.
92     (a)  Only those persons holding a valid cardroom license
93issued by the division may operate a cardroom. A cardroom
94license may only be issued to a licensed pari-mutuel
95permitholder and an authorized cardroom may only be operated at
96the same facility at which the permitholder is authorized under
97its valid pari-mutuel wagering permit to conduct pari-mutuel
98wagering activities. Cardroom licenses are not transferable.
99     (17)  CHANGE OF LOCATION; REFERENDUM.--
100     (a)  Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, no
101cardroom gaming license issued under this section shall be
102transferred, or reissued when such reissuance is in the nature
103of a transfer, so as to permit or authorize a licensee to change
104the location of the cardroom except upon proof in such form as
105the division may prescribe that a referendum election has been
106held:
107     1.  If the proposed new location is within the same county
108as the already licensed location, in the county where the
109licensee desires to conduct cardroom gaming and that a majority
110of the electors voting on the question in such election voted in
111favor of the transfer of such license. However, the division
112shall transfer, without requirement of a referendum election,
113the cardroom license of any permitholder that relocated its
114permit pursuant to s. 550.0555.
115     2.  If the proposed new location is not within the same
116county as the already licensed location, in the county where the
117licensee desires to conduct cardroom gaming and that a majority
118of the electors voting on that question in each such election
119voted in favor of the transfer of such license.
120     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.