Oregon Private Taxpaying Casino Authorization and Tax Amendment Initiative (2020)
| Oregon Private Taxpaying Casino Authorization and Tax Amendment Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Gambling and Taxes | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Oregon Private Taxpaying Casino Authorization and Tax Amendment Initiative was not on the ballot in Oregon as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The measure would have amended Section 4 of Article XV of the Oregon Constitution to allow private casinos authorized by ballot initiative to operate and be taxed at a rate of 25% of its gross revenues.[1][2]
This measure was filed with the Oregon Tax on Private Casinos for Schools and Homelessness Initiative, which would have established the Oregon Taxpaying Casino Fund where revenues from the tax would be allocated.
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the measure can be found here.[1]
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XV, Oregon Constitution
The measure would have amended section 4 of Article XV of the state constitution. The following underlined text would be added, and struck-through text would be deleted:[1]
Text of Section 4: Regulation of Lotteries; State Lottery; Use of Net Proceeds from State Lottery (1) Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), (4), (8) and (9) of this section, lotteries and the sale of lottery tickets, for any purpose whatever, are prohibited, and the Legislative Assembly shall prevent the same by penal laws. (2)(a) The Legislative Assembly may provide for the establishment, operation, and regulation of raffles and the lottery commonly known as bingo or lotto by charitable, fraternal, or religious organizations. As used in this section, charitable, fraternal or religious organization means such organizations or foundations as defined by law because of their charitable, fraternal, or religious purposes. The regulations shall define eligible organizations or foundations, and may prescribe the frequency of raffles, bingo or lotto, set a maximum monetary limit for prizes and require a statement of the odds on winning a prize. The Legislative Assembly shall vest the regulatory authority in any appropriate state agency. (b) As used in this section: (A) "Adjusted gross revenues" means the total of amount Of cash and property, except nonredeemable credits, received from games at the taxpaying casino, less the amount of cash, cash equivalents, credits and prizes paid to patrons of the games. (B) "Charitable, fraternal or religious organization" means such organizations or foundations as defined by law because of their charitable, fraternal, or religious purposes. (C) "Net proceeds Of the State Lottery" means the net proceeds from the sale Of tickets or shares to the public and the revenues received from a taxpaying casino permitted under subsection (11) of this section, after paying prizes and expenses as described in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of this section. (3) There is hereby created the State Lottery Commission which shall establish and operate a State Lottery. All proceeds from the State Lottery, including interest, but excluding costs of administration and payment of prizes, shall be used for any of the following purposes: creating jobs, furthering economic development, financing public education in Oregon or restoring and protecting Oregon’s parks, beaches, watersheds and native fish and wildlife. (4)(a) The State Lottery Commission shall be comprised of five members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. At least one of the Commissioners shall have a minimum of five years experience in law enforcement and at least one of the Commissioners shall be a certified public accountant. The Commission is empowered to promulgate rules related to the procedures of the Commission and the operation of the State Lottery. Such rules and any statutes enacted to further implement this article shall insure the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of the Lottery. The Commission shall have such additional powers and duties as may be provided by law. (b) The Governor shall appoint a Director subject to confirmation by the Senate who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Director shall be qualified by training and experience to direct the operations of a state-operated lottery. The Director shall be responsible for managing the affairs of the Commission. The Director may appoint and prescribe the duties of no more than four Assistant Directors as the Director deems necessary. One of the Assistant Directors shall be responsible for a security division to assure security, integrity, honesty, and fairness in the operations and administration of the State Lottery. To fulfill these responsibilities, the Assistant Director for security shall be qualified by training and experience, including at least five years of law enforcement experience, and knowledge and experience in computer security. (c) The Director shall implement and operate a State Lottery pursuant to the rules, and under the guidance, of the Commission. The State Lottery may operate any game procedure authorized by the commission, except parimutuel racing, social games, and the games commonly known in Oregon as bingo or lotto, whereby prizes are distributed using any existing or future methods among adult persons who have paid for tickets or shares in that game; provided that, in lottery games utilizing computer terminals or other devices, no coins or currency shall ever be dispensed directly to players from such computer terminals or devices.The limitations on game procedures and prohibition of dispensing coins and currency described in this paragraph do not apply to a taxpaying casino operating as permitted under subsection (11) of this section. (d)(A) There is hereby created within the General Fund the Oregon State Lottery Fund which is continuously appropriated for the purpose of administering and operating the Commission and the State Lottery. (B)The State Lottery shall operate as a self-supporting revenue-raising agency of state government , except as provided in subsection (11) of this section, and no appropriations, loans, or other transfers of state funds shall be made to it. (C)The State Lottery shall pay all prizes (E) The State Lottery shall (F) Of the 25% of adjusted gross revenues paid by the taxpaying casino to the State of Oregon pursuant to subsection 11(e) of this section, the casino shall pay: (i) 50% into the Oregon State Lottery Fund; and (ii) 50% into a fund to be created by law. (5) Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of this section, the amount in the education stability fund created under paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of this section may not exceed an amount that is equal to five percent of the amount that was accrued as revenues in the state’s General Fund during the prior biennium. If the amount in the education stability fund exceeds five percent of the amount that was accrued as revenues in the state’s General Fund during the prior biennium: (a) Additional net proceeds from the State Lottery may not be deposited in the education stability fund until the amount in the education stability fund is reduced to less than five percent of the amount that was accrued as revenues in the state’s General Fund during the prior biennium; and (b) Fifteen percent of the net proceeds from the State Lottery shall be deposited into the school capital matching fund created under section 4, Article XI-P of this Constitution. (6) The Legislative Assembly may by law appropriate, allocate or transfer any portion of the principal of the education stability fund created under paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of this section for expenditure on public education if: (a) The proposed appropriation, allocation or transfer is approved by three-fifths of the members serving in each house of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly finds one of the following: (A) That the last quarterly economic and revenue forecast for a biennium indicates that moneys available to the state’s General Fund for the next biennium will be at least three percent less than appropriations from the state’s General Fund for the current biennium; (B) That there has been a decline for two or more consecutive quarters in the last 12 months in seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment; or (C) That a quarterly economic and revenue forecast projects that revenues in the state’s General Fund in the current biennium will be at least two percent below what the revenues were projected to be in the revenue forecast on which the legislatively adopted budget for the current biennium was based; or (b) The proposed appropriation, allocation or transfer is approved by three-fifths of the members serving in each house of the Legislative Assembly and the Governor declares an emergency. (7) The Legislative Assembly may by law prescribe the procedures to be used and identify the persons required to make the forecasts described in subsection (6) of this section. (8) Effective July 1, 1999, 15% of the net proceeds from the State Lottery shall be deposited in a parks and natural resources fund created by the Legislative Assembly. Of the moneys in the parks and natural resources fund, 50% shall be deposited in a parks subaccount and distributed for the public purposes of financing the protection, repair, operation, and creation of state, regional and local public parks, ocean shore and public beach access areas, historic sites and recreation areas, and 50% shall be deposited in a natural resources subaccount and distributed for the public purposes of financing the restoration and protection of native fish and wildlife, watersheds and water quality in Oregon. The Legislative Assembly shall not limit expenditures from the parks and natural resources fund, or from the parks or natural resources subaccounts. The Legislative Assembly may appropriate other moneys or revenue to the parks and natural resources fund. (9) Only one State Lottery operation shall be permitted in the State. (10) The Legislative Assembly has no power to authorize, and except as provided in subsection (11) of this section, shall prohibit, casinos from operation in the State of Oregon. (11) The State Lottery Commission shall permit the operation of a taxpaying casino in this state if, and ONLY if: (a) The people of the State of Oregon authorize the operation of the taxpaying casino by law through an initiative law; (b) The taxpaying casino is to be sited in an incorporated city, and the electors of the incorporated city approve the development of the casino on the site; (c) The taxpaying casino is owned and operated by a taxpaying corporation that is incorporated under the laws of the State of Oregon; (d) The taxpaying casino will pay 25% of the casino’s adjusted gross revenues to the State of Oregon for the purposes of fostering job growth, educational achievement, funding for homelessness, vibrant local communities, protecting and improving of the natural environment and supporting all federally recognized Indian tribes in Oregon.[3] |
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Oregon, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signatures for Oregon initiatives must be submitted four months prior to the next regular general election. State law also requires paid signature gatherers to submit any signatures they gather every month.
Moreover, Oregon is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany an initiative petition application. The signatures of at least 1,000 electors are required to trigger a review by state officials, a period of public commentary, and the drafting of a ballot title. Prior to gathering these initial 1,000 signatures, petitioners must submit the text of the measure, a form disclosing their planned use of paid circulators, and a form designating up to three chief petitioners.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 149,360 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 2, 2020.
In Oregon, signatures are verified using a random sample method. If a first round of signatures is submitted at least 165 days before an election and contains raw, unverified signatures at least equal to the minimum requirement, but verification shows that not enough of the submitted signatures are valid, additional signatures can be submitted prior to the final deadline.
Details about this initiative
- Bruce Studer and Matt Rossman filed the initiative on January 30, 2020.[2]
- The initiative was not cleared for circulation.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oregon Secretary of State, "Complete Text of Initiative #65," accessed January 31, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Oregon Secretary of State, "Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division Initiative, Referendum, and Referral Search for 2020," accessed January 31, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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