Kansas Charitable Gaming Measure, SCR 1618 (2014)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Charitable Gaming Measure
750px-Flag of Kansas.svg.png
Typelegislatively referred constitutional amendment
OriginKansas Legislature
TopicGambling
StatusApproved Approveda

The Kansas Charitable Gaming Measure, SCR 1618, was on the November 4, 2014, ballot in Kansas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure authorized the legislature to permit the conduct of charitable raffles or other forms of charitable gaming by certain nonprofit organizations.[1][2][3] The measure amended Article 15 of the Kansas Constitution by adding a new section to it.[1]

This measure was sponsored in the legislature by the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, and specifically by Sen. Caryn Tyson (R-12). It was known in the legislature as Senate Concurrent Resolution 1618.[2]

Election results

Below are the official, certified election results:

Kansas SCR 1618
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 612,582 74.5%
No208,69525.4%

Election results via: Kansas Secretary of State

Background

Prior to SCR 1618's approval, raffles were considered gambling in Kansas, which made holding raffles illegal in the state. In 2013, the legislature tried to expand the ability of charitable organizations to hold raffles, but the measure was vetoed by Gov. Sam Brownback (R) because he believed it would violate the state constitution. He said in a statement, “However, I support the Legislature’s policy goal of permitting certain limited raffles for charitable purposes," and he encouraged the legislature to instead consider a constitutional amendment.[4]

According to a summary of the measure by Senator Caryn Tyson,

“

On the November ballot, as a Kansas voter, you will be able to mark the ballot for or against a Constitutional change that would allow churches, veteran’s organizations, charities, and other nonprofits to legally hold raffles. The Constitutional Amendment would restrict the number of raffles per year and ban electronic gaming or vending machines selling raffle tickets. [5]

”
—Senator Caryn Tyson[6]

Text of measure

Kansas Constitution
Flag of Kansas.png
Articles
Ordinance • Preamble • Bill of Rights
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15

Ballot title

The official ballot text was as follows:[7]

“

Explanatory statement. The constitution currently prohibits the operation of lotteries except for specifically authorized lotteries. A raffle is a lottery and is illegal under current law.

A vote for this proposition would permit the legislature to authorize charitable raffles operated or conducted by religious, charitable, fraternal, educational and veterans nonprofit organization. The legislature would define what constitutes a charitable raffle. Nonprofit organizations would be prohibited from contracting with a professional lottery vendor to manage, operate or conduct a charitable raffle.

A vote against this proposition would continue the current prohibition against all raffles.

Shall the following be adopted?

§3d. Regulation of "raffles" authorized. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 of article 15 of the constitution of the state of Kansas, the legislature may authorize the licensing, conduct and regulation of charitable raffles by nonprofit religious, charitable, fraternal, educational and veterans organizations. A raffle means a game of chance in which each participant buys a ticket or tickets from a nonprofit organization with each ticket providing an equal chance to win a prize and the winner being determined by a random drawing. Such organizations shall not use an electronic gaming machine or vending machine to sell tickets or conduct raffles. No such nonprofit organization shall contract with a professional raffle or other lottery vendor to manage, operate or conduct any raffle. Raffles shall be licensed and regulated by the Kansas department of revenue, office of charitable gaming or successor agency.

Yes ( )

No ( )[5]

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Kansas Constitution, Article 15

The measure added the following language to Article 15 of the Kansas Constitution:[1]

§ 3d. Regulation, licensing and taxation of "raffles" authorized. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 of article 15 of the constitution of the state of Kansas, the legislature may authorize the conduct of charitable raffles, as defined by law, by nonprofit religious, charitable, fraternal, educational and veterans organizations. No such nonprofit organization shall contract with a professional raffle or other lottery vendor to manage, operate or conduct any raffle.

Support

SCR 1618 "Yes" votes

The following members of the Kansas Legislature voted in favor of putting SCR 1618 on the ballot:[2][8]

Note: A yes vote on SCR 1618 merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in SCR 1618.

House

Senate

Arguments

  • Sen. Terry Bruce (R-34) said, "We like slot machines, but evidently, the constitution is biased against quilts. It is an anomaly, and we need to fix it.”[9]

Opposition

SCR 1618 "No" votes

The following members of the Kansas Legislature voted against putting SCR 1618 on the ballot:[8][2]

Note: A no vote on SCR 1618 meant that a legislator did not want to refer the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators disapproved of the stipulations laid out in SCR 1618.

House

Senate

No state senators voted against referring SCR 1618 to the ballot.[2]

Media editorial positions

See also: Endorsements of Kansas ballot measures, 2014

Support

  • The Hutchinson News said,
“

It is time to make these fundraisers officially lawful, lest state regulators come in and start shutting down activities that, being more about fundraising than gambling, serve a worthy purpose. Besides, with the state running its own casinos, it seems hypocritical to say cheerleaders can’t be selling raffle tickets to raise money for the booster club or parent-teacher organizations for their school. [5]

”
—John D. Montgomery, Hutchinson News editorial board

[10]

  • The Wichita Eagle wrote,
“ The editorial board recommends a “yes” vote, which would amend the state constitution to allow charities to conduct raffle fundraisers legally. Many religious, charitable, fraternal, educational and veterans’ nonprofit organizations already use raffles to raise money, either because they are unaware of the prohibition or counting on lack of enforcement. A majority “yes” vote will enable the Legislature to set the framework for regulating and licensing nonprofit groups’ raffles.[5] ”
—The Wichita Eagle[11]

Polls

See also: Polls, 2014 ballot measures
Kansas SCR 1618 (2014)
Poll Support OpposeUndecidedMargin of errorSample size
USA Today/Suffolk University
9/27/2014 - 9/30/2014		 52.4%31.4%16.2%+/-4.4500
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.


Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Kansas Constitution

Either house of the Kansas State Legislature can propose an amendment to the state's constitution. Two-thirds of the members of each chamber must approve the resolution. If they do, the proposed amendment goes on either the next statewide ballot during which members of the state legislature are elected, or on a special election ballot if the legislature agrees to have a special election for this purpose.

SCR 1618 was first introduced in the Senate on February 12, 2014. On March 12, 2014, the Senate passed a substitute concurrent resolution as amended. The House adopted this same substitute on March 26, 2014. On April 4, 2014, the resolution was enrolled and presented to the secretary of state.[2]

Senate vote

March 12, 2014 Senate vote

Kansas SCR 1618 Senate Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 35 100.00%
No00.00%

House vote

March 26, 2014 House vote

Kansas SCR 1618 House Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 102 84.30%
No1915.70%

Related measures

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kansas Legislature, "Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1618 By Committee on Federal and State Affairs," accessed May 14, 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Open States, "Kansas 2013-2014 Regular Session, "SCR 1618: State constitutional amendment authorizing raffles," accessed May 14, 2014
  3. ↑ Associated Press, "Kansas voters to decide fate of charitable raffles," March 27, 2014
  4. ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Brownback vetoes bill expanding Kansas raffles," June 17, 2013
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. ↑ The Ottawa Herald, "TYSON: State Senate action touches taxes, raffles," April 14, 2014
  7. ↑ Douglas County, "Sample Ballot," accessed October 14, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 OpenStates.org, "House Vote on SCR 1618 (Mar 26, 2014)," accessed October 14, 2014
  9. ↑ Washington Times, "Fix to legalize charity raffles advances in Kansas," March 12, 2014
  10. ↑ HutchNews.com, "Legalizing raffles: Voters can make easy fix to allow raffle fundraisers for charity," March 26, 2014
  11. ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Eagle endorsements," October 30, 2014
v • e
2014 ballot measures
I&R States
BallotMeasureFinal badge.png
Non I&R States
Political topics
Other
Flag of Kansas
v • e
State of Kansas
Topeka (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Kansas_Charitable_Gaming_Measure,_SCR_1618_(2014)&oldid=9373153"