Florida Senate - 2025 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1404
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/25/2025 .
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The Committee on Regulated Industries (Bradley) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 99 and 100
4 insert:
5 Section 2. Present subsections (8) and (9) of section
6 546.10, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (9)
7 and (10), respectively, and a new subsection (8) is added to
8 that section, to read:
9 546.10 Amusement games or machines.—
10 (8)(a)1. Before purchasing or installing a game or machine
11 on the premises of any veterans’ service organization granted a
12 federal charter under Title 36, U.S.C., or a division, a
13 department, a post, or a chapter of such organization, for which
14 an alcoholic beverage license has been issued, and the veterans’
15 service organization is in doubt about whether a machine meets
16 the definition of an amusement machine under this section, the
17 organization may petition the Florida Gaming Control Commission
18 for a declaratory statement under s. 120.565 on whether the
19 operation of the game or machine would be authorized under this
20 section or would be a violation of this section or chapter 849.
21 A game or machine awaiting a declaratory statement from the
22 commission may not be purchased or installed until the
23 declaratory statement is issued.
24 2. If there is a game or machine currently on the premises
25 of any veterans’ service organization granted a federal charter
26 under Title 36, U.S.C., or a division, a department, a post, or
27 a chapter of such organization, for which an alcoholic beverage
28 license has been issued and the veterans’ service organization
29 is in doubt about whether a machine meets the definition of an
30 amusement machine under this section, the organization may
31 petition the commission for a declaratory statement pursuant to
32 s. 120.565 on whether the operation of the game or machine would
33 be authorized under this section or would be a violation of this
34 section or chapter 849. If the game, machine, premises, or
35 organization is the subject of an ongoing criminal
36 investigation, the organization may not petition the commission
37 for a declaratory statement under this subsection.
38 3. The commission shall issue a declaratory statement
39 pursuant to this subsection within 60 days after receiving a
40 petition requesting such statement. The commission may not deny
41 a petition that is validly requested pursuant to this subsection
42 and 120.565.
43 (b) A petition made under this subsection must provide
44 enough information for the commission to issue the declaratory
45 statement and must be accompanied by the exact specifications
46 for the type of game or machine that the organization will
47 purchase or install or currently has on the premises. The
48 declaratory statement is valid only for the game or machine for
49 which it is requested and is invalid if the specifications for
50 the game or the machine have been changed.
51 (c) The declaratory statement is binding on the commission
52 and may be introduced in any subsequent proceedings as evidence
53 of a good faith effort to comply with this section or chapter
54 849.
55 (d) This subsection does not prevent the commission or any
56 other criminal justice agency as defined in s. 943.045 from
57 detecting, apprehending, and arresting a person for any alleged
58 violation of chapter 24, part II of chapter 285, this chapter,
59 chapter 550, chapter 551, or chapter 849, or any rule adopted
60 pursuant thereto, or of any law of this state.
61 (e) This subsection does not require an owner or an
62 operator of an amusement game or machine under this section to
63 request or obtain a declaratory statement in order to operate
64 pursuant to this section.
65
66 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
67 And the title is amended as follows:
68 Delete line 5
69 and insert:
70 the Florida Gaming Control Commission; amending s.
71 546.10, F.S.; authorizing certain organizations to
72 petition the petition before purchasing, installing,
73 or operating a game or machine on its premises before
74 petitioning for and being issued a specified
75 declaratory statement from the Florida Gaming Control
76 Commission if the organization is unsure if such game
77 or machine is an amusement machine; prohibiting such
78 organizations from purchasing or installing a game or
79 machine until an outstanding declaratory statement is
80 issued; prohibiting such organizations from seeking a
81 declaratory statement if the game or machine in
82 question is the subject of a criminal investigation;
83 requiring the commission to issue a declaratory
84 statement within a specified timeframe; prohibiting
85 the commission from denying a petition if it was
86 validly requested; specifying what information must be
87 included in a request for a declaratory statement;
88 providing that the declaratory statement is valid only
89 for the game or machine for which it is requested;
90 providing that the declaratory statement is invalid if
91 the specifications for the game or machine have been
92 changed; providing that the declaratory statement is
93 binding on the commission and may be introduced as
94 evidence in subsequent proceedings; providing
95 construction; amending s.