California Proposition 17, Private Nonprofit Raffles Amendment (March 2000)
| California Proposition 17 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Gambling policy |
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| Status |
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| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
California Proposition 17 was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment in California on March 7, 2000. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to permit private nonprofits to conduct raffles with at least 90% of the raffle's gross receipts dedicated to charitable purposes. |
A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to permit private nonprofits to conduct raffles with at least 90% of the raffle's gross receipts dedicated to charitable purposes. |
Election results
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California Proposition 17 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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4,112,490 | 58.67% | ||
| No | 2,897,099 | 41.33% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposition 17 was as follows:
| “ | Lotteries. Charitable Raffles. Legislative Constitutional Amendment. | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
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• Modifies current constitutional prohibition against private lotteries to permit legislative authorization of raffles conducted by eligible private nonprofit organizations for the purpose of funding beneficial and charitable works. • Requires at least 90% of a raffle’s gross receipts to go directly to beneficial or charitable purposes in California, but permits this percentage to be later amended by statute passed by two-thirds vote of each house without voter approval. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Constitutional changes
| California Constitution |
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Proposition 17 amended Section 19 of Article IV by adding a new paragraph (f). The text of Section 19 follows with the part added by Proposition 17 printed in italic type.
| Section 19:
(a) The Legislature has no power to authorize lotteries and shall prohibit the sale of lottery tickets in the State. (b) The Legislature may provide for the regulation of horse races and horse race meetings and wagering on the results. (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Legislature by statute may authorize cities and counties to provide for bingo games, but only for charitable purposes. (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), there is authorized the establishment of a California State Lottery. (e) The Legislature has no power to authorize, and shall prohibit, casinos of the type currently operating in Nevada and New Jersey. (f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Legislature may authorize private, nonprofit, eligible organizations, as defined by the Legislature, to conduct raffles as a funding mechanism to provide support for their own or another private, nonprofit, eligible organization's beneficial and charitable works, provided that (1) at least 90 percent of the gross receipts from the raffle go directly to beneficial or charitable purposes in California, and (2) any person who receives compensation in connection with the operation of a raffle is an employee of the private nonprofit organization that is conducting the raffle. The Legislature, two-thirds of the membership of each house concurring, may amend the percentage of gross receipts required by this subdivision to be dedicated to beneficial or charitable purposes by means of a statute that is signed by the Governor. |
Fiscal impact
- See also: Fiscal impact statement
The California Legislative Analyst's Office provided an estimate of net state and local government fiscal impact for Proposition 17. That estimate was:[1]
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Support
Official arguments
The official arguments in support of Proposition 17 were signed by Bruce McPherson, State Senator, 15th District; Dean D. Flippo, District Attorney, County of Monterey; and Florence L. Green, Executive Director, California Association of Nonprofits:[1]
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Most Californians are familiar with raffles. Our children sell tickets to raise money for sports leagues, historical societies raffle items to preserve historically significant sites, churches raffle prizes to support their congregations, parent groups hold raffles to support their children’s schools. Many of these harmless activities violate the California Penal Code and State Constitution prohibition on raffles. In fact, any person or organization that conducts a traditional raffle commits a misdemeanor crime, punishable by up to six months in jail. Only the State of California raffle, which is better known as the State Lottery, is exempt from the ban. When local police or prosecutors have knowledge of a charitable raffle, they are placed in the position of either shutting down a legitimate, albeit illegal fundraiser, or 'looking the other way' and not enforcing the criminal law. This is an unworkable and unfair situation, which hurts legitimate charities and invites law enforcement to play favorites. Both of these concerns will be corrected by Proposition 17. If a majority of the voters approve Proposition 17, the ban on raffles by charitable nonprofit organizations will be removed from the State Constitution. Once that happens, the State Legislature will be able to change the Penal Code so that charitable nonprofit organizations will be able to legally conduct a fundraising raffle. The legislation to remove the charitable raffle ban from the Penal Code and regulate their conduct (Senate Bill 639) has been introduced and is being held in the State Legislature pending this vote by the People. Only charitable non-profits will be able to use raffles as a legal fundraiser if Proposition 17 passes. The types of charities that will benefit from this proposition include those that raise money for scholarships, medicine and health, parks and wildlife preserves, libraries, food banks, religious organizations, and art. No commercial raffling would be allowed. Major non-profit organizations in California, as well as law enforcement leaders and organizations back Proposition 17. Some of those groups include the California Association of Nonprofits, the California Broadcasters Association, the California District Attorneys Association, California Literacy, the California State Sheriffs Association, the John XXIII AIDS Ministry, and the State Humane Association of California. The time has come to legalize well-meaning charitable raffles for California non-profit organizations. Vote 'yes' on Proposition 17.[2] |
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Opposition
Official arguments
The official arguments in opposition to Proposition 17 were signed by State Senator Dick Mountjoy and Art Croney, executive director, Committee on Moral Concerns:[1]
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Proposition 17 would allow professional gambling organizations to run private raffles and lotteries. Don’t fall for the line that charitable raffles are presently illegal. Our Constitution and the courts have spelled out how to conduct legal charitable raffles. Raffles and casino nights have been legally used by legitimate charities for raising funds for decades. The existing law is over 100 years old. No one has been prosecuted for this beneficial, entertaining method of raising funds to help children, hospitals, libraries, or a multitude of other legitimate charities. Without limits and regulations, Proposition 17 will create the biggest gambling headache Californians have ever seen. What is now a harmless social activity will be taken over by professional gambling operators.
Under Proposition 17, unscrupulous persons will move in to create PHONY charities, market tickets statewide for their own personal gain, with only a trickle of money ever reaching legitimate charities. Remember this. There is NO NEED for Proposition 17. Existing raffles are harmless fund-raisers for legitimate charities. They do not cause crime. The purchase of raffle tickets for local charities does not cause gambling addiction. If Proposition 17 sponsors really cared about legitimate charities, they wouldn’t have cleverly written this measure without regulations to prohibit phony charities and scam artists from lining their pockets with donations. Proposition 17 creates problems and solves none. Proposition 17 is a bad bet for California. DON’T BE FOOLED BY PROFESSIONAL GAMBLING OPERATORS. VOTE 'NO' ON PROPOSITION 17.[2] |
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Path to the ballot
Proposition 17 was referred to the ballot by the California State Legislature with the passage of Senate Constitutional Amendment 4 of the 1999-2000 Regular Session (Resolution Chapter 123, Statutes of 1999).
| Votes in legislature to refer to ballot | ||
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| Chamber | Ayes | Noes |
| Assembly | 62 | 10 |
| Senate | 31 | 3 |
See also
External links
- Official Voter Guide
- Full text of Proposition 17
- Official declaration of the March 7, 2000 vote
- Smart Voter on Proposition 17
- Cal Voter on Prop 17
- Top Ten contributors
Footnotes
