| 1 | The Finance & Tax Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to pari-mutuel permitholders; amending s. |
| 7 | 550.002, F.S.; revising the definition of "full schedule |
| 8 | of live racing or games" for certain jai alai |
| 9 | permitholders; amending s. 550.09511, F.S.; providing for |
| 10 | license fees and taxes for certain jai alai permitholders; |
| 11 | assessing a fee for a jai alai permitholder who fails to |
| 12 | apply for and be issued an annual license to conduct |
| 13 | performances; providing for disposition of the fee by rule |
| 14 | of the division; providing for escheat of the permit under |
| 15 | specified circumstances; amending s. 849.086, F.S.; |
| 16 | removing a prohibition on transfer of cardroom licenses; |
| 17 | providing for transfer of the cardroom license when a |
| 18 | permit is relocated within a county under certain |
| 19 | conditions; providing an effective date. |
| 20 |
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| 21 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Section 1. Subsection (11) of section 550.002, Florida |
| 24 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 25 | 550.002 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term: |
| 26 | (11) "Full schedule of live racing or games" means, for a |
| 27 | greyhound or jai alai permitholder, the conduct of a combination |
| 28 | of at least 100 live evening or matinee performances during the |
| 29 | preceding year; for a permitholder who has a converted permit or |
| 30 | filed an application on or before June 1, 1990, for a converted |
| 31 | permit, the conduct of a combination of at least 100 live |
| 32 | evening and matinee wagering performances during either of the 2 |
| 33 | preceding years; for a jai alai permitholder who does not |
| 34 | operate slot machines in its pari-mutuel facility, who has |
| 35 | conducted at least 100 live performances per year for at least |
| 36 | 10 years after December 31, 1992, and whose handle on live jai |
| 37 | alai games conducted at its pari-mutuel facility has been less |
| 38 | than $4 million per state fiscal year for at least 2 consecutive |
| 39 | years after June 30, 1992, the conduct of a combination of at |
| 40 | least 40 live evening or matinee performances during the |
| 41 | preceding year; for a jai alai permitholder who operates slot |
| 42 | machines in its pari-mutuel facility, the conduct of a |
| 43 | combination of at least 150 days of performances during the |
| 44 | preceding year; for a harness permitholder, the conduct of at |
| 45 | least 100 live regular wagering performances during the |
| 46 | preceding year; for a quarter horse permitholder, the conduct of |
| 47 | at least 40 live regular wagering performances during the |
| 48 | preceding year; and for a thoroughbred permitholder, the conduct |
| 49 | of at least 40 live regular wagering performances during the |
| 50 | preceding year. For a permitholder which is restricted by |
| 51 | statute to certain operating periods within the year when other |
| 52 | members of its same class of permit are authorized to operate |
| 53 | throughout the year, the specified number of live performances |
| 54 | which constitute a full schedule of live racing or games shall |
| 55 | be adjusted pro rata in accordance with the relationship between |
| 56 | its authorized operating period and the full calendar year and |
| 57 | the resulting specified number of live performances shall |
| 58 | constitute the full schedule of live games for such permitholder |
| 59 | and all other permitholders of the same class within 100 air |
| 60 | miles of such permitholder. A live performance must consist of |
| 61 | no fewer than eight races or games conducted live for each of a |
| 62 | minimum of three performances each week at the permitholder's |
| 63 | licensed facility under a single admission charge. |
| 64 | Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 550.09511, Florida |
| 65 | Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (6), and new subsections |
| 66 | (4) and (5) are added to said section to read: |
| 67 | 550.09511 Jai alai taxes; abandoned interest in a permit |
| 68 | for nonpayment of taxes.-- |
| 69 | (4) A jai alai permitholder conducting fewer than 100 live |
| 70 | performances in any calendar year shall pay to the state the |
| 71 | same aggregate amount of daily license fees on live jai alai |
| 72 | games, admissions tax, and tax on live handle as that |
| 73 | permitholder paid to the state during the most recent prior |
| 74 | calendar year in which the jai alai permitholder conducted at |
| 75 | least 100 live performances. |
| 76 | (5) Beginning July 1, 2005, any jai alai permitholder who |
| 77 | has not applied for and been issued a license pursuant to s. |
| 78 | 550.01215 to conduct performances during the next fiscal year |
| 79 | shall be assessed a fee of $10,000 annually to be deposited into |
| 80 | the Pari-mutuel Wagering Trust Fund. The division may adopt |
| 81 | rules necessary for the orderly distribution of the fees. Upon |
| 82 | the permitholder's failure to pay the annual fee by June 30 of |
| 83 | each year, the permit shall become void and escheat to the |
| 84 | state. |
| 85 | Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) and paragraph |
| 86 | (a) of subsection (17) of section 849.086, Florida Statutes, are |
| 87 | amended to read: |
| 88 | 849.086 Cardrooms authorized.-- |
| 89 | (5) LICENSE REQUIRED; APPLICATION; FEES.--No person may |
| 90 | operate a cardroom in this state unless such person holds a |
| 91 | valid cardroom license issued pursuant to this section. |
| 92 | (a) Only those persons holding a valid cardroom license |
| 93 | issued by the division may operate a cardroom. A cardroom |
| 94 | license may only be issued to a licensed pari-mutuel |
| 95 | permitholder and an authorized cardroom may only be operated at |
| 96 | the same facility at which the permitholder is authorized under |
| 97 | its valid pari-mutuel wagering permit to conduct pari-mutuel |
| 98 | wagering activities. Cardroom licenses are not transferable. |
| 99 | (17) CHANGE OF LOCATION; REFERENDUM.-- |
| 100 | (a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, no |
| 101 | cardroom gaming license issued under this section shall be |
| 102 | transferred, or reissued when such reissuance is in the nature |
| 103 | of a transfer, so as to permit or authorize a licensee to change |
| 104 | the location of the cardroom except upon proof in such form as |
| 105 | the division may prescribe that a referendum election has been |
| 106 | held: |
| 107 | 1. If the proposed new location is within the same county |
| 108 | as the already licensed location, in the county where the |
| 109 | licensee desires to conduct cardroom gaming and that a majority |
| 110 | of the electors voting on the question in such election voted in |
| 111 | favor of the transfer of such license. However, the division |
| 112 | shall transfer, without requirement of a referendum election, |
| 113 | the cardroom license of any permitholder that relocated its |
| 114 | permit pursuant to s. 550.0555. |
| 115 | 2. If the proposed new location is not within the same |
| 116 | county as the already licensed location, in the county where the |
| 117 | licensee desires to conduct cardroom gaming and that a majority |
| 118 | of the electors voting on that question in each such election |
| 119 | voted in favor of the transfer of such license. |
| 120 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |