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South Carolina Legalization of Charitable Raffles, Amendment 1 (2014)

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Amendment 1
Flag of South Carolina.png
TypeAmendment
OriginSouth Carolina Legislature
TopicGambling on the ballot
StatusApprovedApproveda
2014 measures
Seal of South Carolina.jpg
June 10
Democratic Primary AQsApproveda
Republican Primary AQsApproveda
November 4
Amendment 1Approveda
Amendment 2Approveda
Endorsements


The South Carolina Legalization of Charitable Raffles, Amendment 1 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in South Carolina as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure permitted nonprofit organizations to conduct raffles for charitable purposes.[1]

According to Amendment 1, the profits from such raffles need to be used for "charitable, religious, fraternal, educational, or other eleemosynary purposes" in order for the raffle to be legal.[1]

The amendment was proposed in the South Carolina Legislature as Senate Bill 239 and was enrolled as Act 102.[2]

Prior to the November 4, 2014, election, South Carolina was one of four states where raffles were illegal.[3] The other three were Alabama, Hawaii and Kansas.[4] In November 2014, Kansans also voted on SCR 1618, a similar amendment to legalize charitable gambling, which voters approved.

In South Carolina, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment must be approved by the legislature, approved by voters, and then approved by the legislature again. The amendment, although approved by voters, will not become law until the legislature approves it again.

Election results

South Carolina Amendment 1
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 989,991 82.72%
No206,86217.28%

Election results via: South Carolina State Election Commission

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot text appeared as follows:[1]

“ Must Section 7, Article XVII of the Constitution of this State be amended so as to provide that a raffle is not a lottery prohibited by this section, if the raffle is conducted by a nonprofit organization for charitable, religious, fraternal, educational, or other eleemosynary purposes, and the general law defines the type of organization authorized to operate and conduct the raffles, provides standards for the operation and conduct of the raffles, provides for the use of proceeds for charitable, religious, fraternal, educational, or other eleemosynary purposes, provides penalties for violations, and provides for other laws necessary to ensure the proper functioning, honesty, and integrity of the raffles, but in the absence of any general law, then the raffle remains a prohibited lottery?

Yes [ ]
No [ ][5]

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article XVII, South Carolina Constitution

The measure amended Section 7 of Article XVII of the Constitution of South Carolina:[1]

Section 7. Only the State may conduct lotteries, and these lotteries must be conducted in the manner that the General Assembly provides by law. The revenue derived from the lotteries must first be used to pay all operating expenses and prizes for the lotteries. The remaining lottery revenues must be credited to a separate fund in the state treasury styled the 'Education Lottery Account', and the earnings on this account must be credited to it. Education Lottery Account proceeds may be used only for education purposes as the General Assembly provides by law.

The game of bingo, when conducted by charitable, religious, or fraternal organizations exempt from federal income taxation or when conducted at recognized annual state and county fairs, is not considered a lottery prohibited by this section.

A raffle, if provided for by general law and conducted by a nonprofit organization for charitable, religious, fraternal, educational, or other eleemosynary purposes is not a lottery prohibited by this section. The general law must define the type of nonprofit organization authorized to operate and conduct a raffle, provide standards for the operation and conduct of raffles, provide for the use of proceeds for religious, charitable, fraternal, educational, or other eleemosynary purposes, provide penalties for violations, and provide for other laws necessary to ensure the proper functioning, honesty, and integrity of the raffles. If no general law on the conduct and operation of a nonprofit raffle for charitable purposes, including the type of organization allowed to conduct raffles, is enacted, then the raffle is a lottery prohibited by this section.[5]

Support

Supporters

Officials

Senate

The following state senators voted to place the amendment on the ballot:[6]

Note: A yes vote on the measure merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Amendment 1.
House

The following state representatives voted to place the amendment on the ballot:[6]

Note: A yes vote on the measure merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Amendment 1.

Organizations

  • South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations[7]

Arguments

George Patrick McLeer, Executive Director of the Mauldin Cultural Center, noted that schools, nonprofits and churches utilize raffling to raise funds, despite the fact that raffling is illegal in South Carolina. He argued that charitable raffles should not be illegal, saying:

“ ...These raffles happen all the time it seems, and they're always for a good cause – help raise money for a nonprofit (church, school, organization) and maybe get something worth more than you put in. They're easy to set up, easy to understand, pretty fun, and 100% illegal in South Carolina.

Yes, that time you bought a raffle ticket for your granddaughter's school or your neighbor's hospital fundraiser, you broke the law...

And there are pretty intense penalties for any person involved in a public or private lottery/raffle not hosted by the State. Hosting a raffle? That'll be a $1,000 fine AND a year in jail. Selling tickets? You'll have to fork over up to $10,000. And were you guilted by the neighbor's 5 year old son to buy a raffle ticket for his fundraiser? BOOM - $100 please.

Kind of ridiculous right? In many states, charities can hold raffles, but in SC the answer is "no". Now, we can all agree that a privately organized, full-blown lottery like Mega Millions is not something that should be allowed; and yes, a raffle seems to have all of the components of a lottery – but there's something inherently different about a nonprofit organization hosting a raffle for charitable purposes, there is a focus on the common good. Raffles aren't about making a profit. They are meant to make money, but for a nonprofit organization, that money goes right back out to the community in the forms of education, community festivals, food and shelter for the needy, medical needs, and other charitable purposes...

Lastly, raffles – when associated with a nonprofit – are for charitable purposes. Buying a raffle ticket isn't “gambling” because even if you don't win a prize, a sick child, a student, an artist, ultimately the community wins a prize. Revenue from raffle tickets should be considered a donation – you're not losing money when you buy a raffle ticket and don't win, you're donating to a worthy cause.[5]

”
—George Patrick McLeer[8]

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

Senate

The sole state senator to vote against placing the measure on the ballot was Glenn Reese (D-11).[6]

House

The following state representatives voted against placing the measure on the ballot:[6]

Media editorial positions

See also: Endorsements of South Carolina ballot measures, 2014

Support

  • The Charleston Post and Courier said, "Buying raffle tickets has, for years, been an easy way to support charities. Easy, but illegal. That's right. The dollar you spent for a chance to win a new blender? Illegal. One of the best ways you can help nonprofits is at the polls on Nov. 4. You can vote "yes" to changing the S.C. Constitution so that raffles for charitable purposes are no longer illegal."[9]
  • The Greenville News said, "Our state’s gambling laws have been outdated for some time when it comes to the popular raffles that many organizations use to raise money so they can do much good in their communities. Much money has been raised in this community through games of chance such as 50-50 or drawings for prizes, and that money has been used to feed the hungry, help children learn to read and provide shelter for the homeless."[10]
  • Spartanburg Herald Journal said, "There’s no reason not to make this change. Nonprofit organizations across the state have been flagrantly violating the law for decades, mostly because they didn’t know what they were doing was illegal. In most instances, no one complained, and the law wasn’t enforced. It makes sense to clean up the situation by allowing these raffles for good purposes."[11]

Path to the ballot

South Carolina Constitution
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Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • VIII-A • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII
See also: Amending the South Carolina Constitution

The proposed amendment needed to be approved by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the South Carolina Legislature in order to be placed on the ballot. SB 239 was approved in the South Carolina Senate on February 14, 2013. The amendment was approved in the South Carolina House of Representatives on April 9, 2013.[6] Since Amendment 1 was approved by voters, it was sent back to the legislature for a second approval before becoming law.

Senate vote

February 14, 2013 Senate vote

South Carolina SB 239 Senate Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 38 97.44%
No12.56%

House vote

April 9, 2013 House vote

South Carolina SB 239 House Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 104 94.55%
No65.45%

Related measures

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 South Carolina Legislature, "Senate Bill 239," accessed July 15, 2014
  2. ↑ South Carolina Legislature, "Senate Bill 239 Summary," accessed July 16, 2014
  3. ↑ The Augusta Chronicle, "S.C. voters to decide in 2014 whether to legalize raffles," April 22, 2014
  4. ↑ NALS, "Is Your Fundraising Raffle Legal in Your State?" July 15, 2010
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 South Carolina Legislature, "SB 239 Vote History," accessed July 16, 2014
  7. ↑ South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations, "Status of Charitable Raffles," accessed July 16, 2014
  8. ↑ Mauldin Patch, "Ever Buy A Raffle Ticket? You Should've Been Fined $100," January 25, 2013
  9. ↑ The Charleston Post and Courier, "Vote "yes" for raffle amendment," October 19, 2014
  10. ↑ The Greenville News, "Editorial: Vote ‘yes’ for two SC amendments," October 21, 2014
  11. ↑ Spartanburg Herald Journal, "Both constitutional amendments on ballot would bring needed change," August 17, 2014
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