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Tennessee Charitable Gaming, Amendment 4 (2014)

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Amendment 4
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TypeConstitutional amendment
OriginTennessee State Legislature
TopicGambling
StatusApproved Approveda
2014 measures
Seal of Tennessee.jpg
November 4
Amendment 1 Approveda
Amendment 2 Approveda
Amendment 3 Approveda
Amendment 4 Approveda
Endorsements
Expenditures
Local measures

The Tennessee Charitable Gaming, Amendment 4 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in the state of Tennessee as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.

Amendment 4 empowered the state legislature to authorize lotteries via a two-thirds vote for annual events that benefit 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations.[1]

501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) organizations are both nonprofit organizations exempt from federal taxes. 501(c)(19) organizations are veterans organizations.[2]

Prior to the adoption of Amendment 4, the state legislature was able to authorize lotteries via a two-thirds vote for 501(c)(3) organizations, but not for 501(c)(19) organizations.[1]

Amendment 4 was sponsored in the Tennessee Legislature by Senator Rusty Crowe (R-3) as Senate Joint Resolution 60.[1]

In Tennessee, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment must earn a majority of those voting on the amendment and "a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for governor.”

Election results

Tennessee Amendment 4
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 903353 69.59%
No39431730.41%

Election results via: Tennessee Secretary of State Office

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot text was:[3]

“ Shall Article XI, Section 5 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by deleting the following language:
All other forms of lottery not authorized herein are expressly prohibited unless authorized by a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house of the general assembly for an annual event operated for the benefit of a 501(c)(3) organization located in this state, as defined by the 2000 United States Tax Code or as may be amended from time to time.

and by substituting instead the following language:

All other forms of lottery not authorized herein are expressly prohibited unless authorized by a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house of the general assembly for an annual event operated for the benefit of a 501(c)(3) or a 501(c)(19) organization, as defined by the 2000 United States Tax Code, located in this state.

□ Yes
□ No[4]

”

Constitutional changes

Amendment 4 amended Section 5 of Article XI of the Constitution of Tennessee. The following is the amended text, with the stricken text removed and the underlined text added:[1]

All other forms of lottery not authorized herein are expressly prohibited unless authorized by a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house of the general assembly for an annual event operated for the benefit of a 501(c)(3) or a 501(c)(19) organization located in this state, as defined by the 2000 United States Tax Code or as may be amended from time to time., located in this state.[4]

Fiscal note

The fiscal note developed by the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee was as follows:[5]

“ ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT:
Increase Local Expenditures – Up to $10,000/FY14-15*
Assumptions:
• According to the Tennessee Lottery Board, lottery sales generated by these organizations will not have a significant fiscal impact on overall lottery sales.
• The proposed constitutional amendment received the required constitutional majority vote with passage of Senate Joint Resolution 222 by the 107th General Assembly. The required publication was made on May 6, 2012.
• Following first passage by two successive General Assemblies, and pursuant to Article XI, Section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution, it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment to the people at the next general election in which a Governor is to be chosen.
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-5-211(b) requires the county election commission to publish a sample ballot in a newspaper of general circulation or mail sample ballots to registered voters at least five days prior to early voting.
• The requirement to add this constitutional amendment to the 2014 general election ballot will increase the size of the sample ballot.
• Given the size of the sample ballot will increase, and because publishing costs are generally based on the number of words published or the number of document pages printed, local government expenditures are expected to increase.
• Based on information provided by the Secretary of State, the total statewide increase in local government expenditures is reasonably estimated as an amount up to $10,000 in FY14-15.

[4]

”

Support

Supporters of Amendment 4 expressed fear that the measure would be defeated because the text of the measure did not mention "veterans organizations." Rather, the question stated, "501(c)(19) organizations," which is the tax code's label for nonprofit veterans' organizations. Sen. Rusty Crowe (R-3), an amendment supporter, said, "The way it's worded, people won't know what's going on. I think it's going to have a hard time passing. You go into a (voting) booth, and you don't know what it is."[6]

Supporters

Officials

Senate

The following state senators voted to place the measure on the ballot:[8]

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 4.
House

The following state representatives voted to place the measure on the ballot:[8]

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 4.

Arguments

  • Dean A. Tuttle, adjutant and finance officer with the American Legion Department of Tennessee, said the end of charity bingo in 1989 led to "about 80 percent of our Post homes or Legion homes" becoming "nonexistent." He argued, "It is awfully tough to go out there and make it baking cakes and washing cars." Tuttle said veterans groups would like to fund an effort pushing for Amendment 4, but "when you have no money, it makes it awfully difficult."[9]

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

Senate

The following state senators voted against placing the amendment on the ballot:[8]

House

The following state representatives voted against placing the amendment on the ballot:[8]

Arguments

  • Rep. Richard Floyd (R-27) said he is morally against gambling, stating, "In no way is it disparaging to veterans because I just vote against all gambling and alcohol bills based on my personal faith in Christ and just my core principles in life."[10] Floyd also called gaming a "tax on poor people."[9]

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Tennessee Constitution

The Tennessee General Assembly was required to approve the proposed amendment in two successive sessions. In the first session, the measure required a simple majority for approval. In the second session, the proposed amendment was required to earn a two-thirds vote for approval. SJR 60 was approved by the Tennessee House of Representatives for a second time on March 24, 2014. The measure was approved by the Tennessee Senate for a second time on March 28, 2014.[8]

House vote

March 24, 2014 House vote

Tennessee SJR 60 House Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 87 95.60%
No44.40%

Senate vote

March 28, 2014 Senate vote

Tennessee SJR 60 Senate Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 24 80.00%
No620.00%

Similar measures

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Tennessee Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 60," accessed June 12, 2014
  2. ↑ IRS, "Veterans Organizations," accessed June 12, 2014
  3. ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1 for the November 4, 2014 General Election Ballot," accessed June 12, 2014
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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
  5. ↑ Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee, "SJR 60 Fiscal Note," accessed June 12, 2014
  6. ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "Gaming fundraisers spotlighted in Amendment 4 question before voters," October 1, 2014
  7. ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "Political notebook: Alexander backs proposed amendments on Tennessee ballot," July 21, 2014 (dead link)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Tennessee Legislature, "Bill Information for SJR0060," accessed June 12, 2014
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chattanooga Times Free Press, "Tennessee veterans take a chance on Amendment 4," October 1, 2014
  10. ↑ Local Memphis, "Veterans Hope TN Voters Approve Amendment 4," October 15, 2014
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