South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 2085


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               2085
Ratification Number:       291
Act Number                 202
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Bingo license fees, admissions taxes, and
                           the disposition of the revenue therefrom
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A202, R291, H2085)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 12-21-2590, 12-21-2600, AND 12-21-2620, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING RESPECTIVELY TO BINGO LICENSE FEES, ADMISSIONS TAXES, AND THE DISPOSITION OF THE REVENUE THEREFROM, SO AS TO INCREASE THE FEES AND APPLICABLE ADMISSIONS TAX FOR CLASS A AND B LICENSES AND TO ESTABLISH A CLASS AA LICENSE AT A FEE OF FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR OPERATORS OF BINGO GAMES WITH PRIZES IN EXCESS OF THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS A SESSION AND TO PROVIDE FOR AN ADMISSIONS TAX OF EIGHT DOLLARS A BINGO PLAYER A SESSION FOR ADMISSION TO BINGO GAMES CONDUCTED BY THE HOLDERS OF AA LICENSES, TO PROVIDE THAT FIFTY PERCENT OF BINGO LICENSE AND ADMISSIONS TAX REVENUES MUST BE DEPOSITED IN THE GENERAL FUND OF THE STATE, THIRTY-SEVEN AND ONE-HALF PERCENT TO THE CREDIT OF A SEPARATE PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT FUND AND TWELVE AND ONE-HALF PERCENT TO THE CREDIT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA COMMISSION ON AGING, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE REVENUES CREDITED TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA COMMISSION ON AGING AND FOR THE OPERATION OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION FUND, TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING CHAPTER 23 TO TITLE 51 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A NONCOMPETITIVE PROGRAM OF GRANTS FOR LOCAL PARKS AND RECREATION DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDE DEFINITIONS, AND ESTABLISH A DISTRIBUTION FORMULA, TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 52-17-70 SO AS TO REQUIRE ANY PERSON LICENSED TO CONDUCT THE GAME OF BINGO TO FILE MONTHLY REPORTS WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TO PROHIBIT THE LICENSING OF MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS, TO REQUIRE BINGO GAME PROFITS TO BE USED FOR THE CHARITABLE, RELIGIOUS, OR FRATERNAL PURPOSES OF THE SPONSORING ORGANIZATION, TO REQUIRE ALL AA, A, AND B CLASS LICENSEES TO SUBMIT AN ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT TO THE TAX COMMISSION, TO PROHIBIT ANY PERSON CONVICTED OF AN OFFENSE UNDER TITLE 16 OF THE 1976 CODE FROM HAVING A FINANCIAL INTEREST IN, BEING EMPLOYED BY, OR IN ANY WAY PARTICIPATING IN ANY BINGO GAME, AND TO PROVIDE A SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION FORMULA FOR BINGO LICENSE FEE AND ADMISSIONS TAX REVENUES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1987-88 ONLY.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Bingo license fees and admissions taxes

SECTION 1. Sections 12-21-2590 and 12-21-2600 of the 1976 Code are respectively amended to read:

"Section 12-21-2590. It is unlawful for any person or organization to conduct the game of bingo where prizes of cash or merchandise of value are awarded without first obtaining an annual license to conduct the games. This license is in addition to any other license required by law. No person or organization may be issued a license that does not meet the qualifications as set forth in Sections 52-17-10 et seq. No license may be issued unless the person or organization is in compliance with all county or municipal ordinances in regard to bingo. The license must be obtained from the South Carolina Tax Commission in accordance with the following schedule:

(1) Any person or organization operating a bingo game with prizes in excess of thirty thousand dollars a session must obtain an annual Class AA license at the cost of four thousand dollars a year. The holder of a Class AA license shall not conduct more than one bingo session a month and may not offer prizes in cash or other merchandise during any session which exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

(2) Any person or organization operating a bingo game with prizes in excess of six thousand dollars a session but not greater than thirty thousand dollars a session must obtain an annual Class A license at the cost of two thousand five hundred dollars a year. The holder of a Class A license shall not conduct more than one bingo session a month and may not offer prizes in cash or other merchandise during any session which exceed thirty thousand dollars.

(3) Any person or organization operating a game of bingo, whose prizes do not exceed six thousand dollars a session, and no more than one thousand dollars a session may be offered in the form of a jackpot, and all regular game prizes do not exceed one hundred fifty dollars shall obtain an annual Class B license from the South Carolina Tax Commission at the cost of one thousand dollars a year. The holder of a Class B license is restricted to a maximum of three sessions a week.

(4) Any person or organization operating a game of bingo and who offers merchandise prizes or cash prizes of twenty dollars or less a game, and no more than three hundred dollars a session may be offered in the form of a jackpot, must obtain a Class C license from the South Carolina Tax Commission at no cost.

(5) Any person or organization desirous of conducting the game of bingo at a recognized state or county fair which offers a prize of no more than fifty dollars in merchandise must obtain a temporary Class D license from the South Carolina Tax Commission at a cost of one hundred dollars for a period not in excess of ten days, or two hundred dollars for a period in excess of ten days.

(6) Any organization which has a game of bingo and operates exclusively by bona fide members who are residents of this State and who do so on a strictly volunteer unpaid basis and whose gross bingo proceeds do not exceed five thousand five hundred dollars a month, and where prizes do not exceed four thousand dollars a session and no more than one thousand dollars a session is offered in the form of a jackpot and all regular bingo prizes do not exceed one hundred dollars, shall obtain an annual Class E license from the South Carolina Tax Commission at the cost of five hundred dollars a year. The holder of a Class E license is restricted to a maximum of one session a week. If the gross bingo proceeds for any month do exceed five thousand five hundred dollars, the person or organization within ten days, is required to obtain a Class B license from the South Carolina Tax Commission and thereafter must comply with all requirements of a Class B license.

In addition to the qualifications listed in Sections 52-17-10 et seq., no license may be issued to any charitable, religious, or fraternal organization that has not been domiciled in South Carolina for at least three years. Any organization may apply for any of the types of licenses but cannot hold more than one license at any one time. Once issued, the organization must function under the regulations of that license for a period of not less than one year, except Class D licenses, from the date of issuance.

Section 12-21-2600. (A) The holder of a Class AA license is required to charge an admissions tax of eight dollars a bingo player a session.

(B) The holder of a Class A license is required to charge an admissions tax of four dollars a bingo player a session.

(C) The holder of a Class B license is required to charge an admissions tax of two dollars a bingo player a session.

The holder of Class AA, Class A, and Class B licenses shall issue to each bingo player a special ticket and these tickets must be approved by the South Carolina Tax Commission. The tickets must clearly state the amount of admissions tax paid. The holder of Class D and Class E licenses are subject to the admissions tax as imposed in Section 12-21-2420."

Distribution of revenue

SECTION 2. Section 12-21-2620 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 12-21-2620. (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 51-1-75(A):

(1) fifty percent of the annual revenue derived from the provisions of Sections 12-21-2590 and 12-21-2600 which are collected from bingo games within the State must be deposited with the State Treasurer and credited to the general fund.

(2) thirty-seven and one-half percent of the annual revenue derived from the provisions of Sections 12-21-2590 and 12-21-2600 which are collected from bingo games within the State must be deposited by the State Treasurer in a separate fund for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, which is hereby created, entitled the Parks and Recreation Development Fund (Fund). Interest earned by this Fund must be added to the Fund and credited to the various accounts within the Fund in the same proportion that the annual allocation to each account in the Fund bears to the total annual distribution to the Fund. Unexpended amounts in the various Fund accounts must be carried forward to succeeding fiscal years except as provided in Section 51-23-30. Fund proceeds must be distributed as provided in Chapter 23 of Title 51.

(3) twelve and one-half percent of the annual revenue derived from the provisions of Sections 12-21-2590 and 12-21-2600 which are collected from bingo games within the State must be deposited with the State Treasurer to be credited to the account of the South Carolina Commission on Aging. This amount must be allocated to each county for distribution in home community services for the elderly as follows:

(a) one-half of the funds must be equally divided among the forty-six counties;

(b) the remaining one-half must be divided based on the percentage of the county's population age sixty and above in relation to the total state population using the Report of the United States Bureau of the Census;

(c) the aging service providers receiving these funds must be agencies recognized by the South Carolina Commission on Aging and the Area Agencies on Aging."

Parks and recreation grants

SECTION 3. Title 51 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"CHAPTER 23

Grants for Parks and Recreation

Section 51-23-10. For purposes of this chapter:

(1) 'County area' means the area included within the geographical boundaries of a county.

(2) 'Eligible entity' means any local governmental entity, including a special purpose district, within a county area applying for a grant under this chapter which has provided parks or recreation services for at least twelve months prior to the date of the application.

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism shall annually determine those local units which qualify as 'eligible entities'.

Section 51-23-20. The proceeds of the Parks and Recreation Development Fund (Fund) established pursuant to Section 12-21-2620 must be allocated annually as follows:

(1) Twenty thousand dollars must be credited to the account of each county area.

(2) Seventy-five percent of the remainder of the Fund must be credited to the account of each county area on a per capita basis according to the population estimates for counties prepared annually by the Bureau of the Census and published in 'Current Population Reports'.

(3) The remainder of the Fund must be allocated to the account of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Amounts allocated to individual accounts in the Fund must be distributed as provided in Sections 51-23-30 and 51-23-40.

Section 51-23-30. The department shall devise and administer a noncompetitive program of grants to eligible entities within each county area for planning and development for new parks and recreation facilities or renovations of existing facilities. Grant funds may not be used to supplant existing funding for parks and recreation purposes nor may they be used to retire indebtedness incurred prior to July 1, 1988. Grant awards must be made by the department according to criteria and administrative guidelines it shall develop and furnish to potential grant applicants. All grants must be in the form of reimbursements and no grant may be awarded unless the grantee matches the grant in an amount equal to at least twenty percent of the grant. All grant applications must be submitted in writing and signed by a majority of the members of the legislative delegation representing the eligible entity applying for the grant. Unexpended grant funds in any account may be carried forward for not more than three succeeding fiscal years, after which any unexpended funds must be reallocated on a statewide basis in the next fiscal year as part of the distribution to the Fund for that year.

Section 51-23-40. Funds allocated to the account of the department pursuant to this chapter must be used by it for planning, development, and renovation of new state parks and recreation facilities located therein except that the department may expend an amount not to exceed five percent of its annual allotment for the expenses of administering this chapter."

Reports and requirements

SECTION 4. Chapter 17 of Title 52 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 52-17-70. (A) Every person licensed to conduct the game of bingo in this State shall file with the Secretary of State a notarized monthly report which must include the following information:

(1) the total amount of monies received from conducting the game of bingo during the reporting month;

(2) the total amount of monies paid to winners of bingo games during the reporting month;

(3) the name of the management company, if any, with whom the licensee is contracting to operate the bingo games, and a copy of the management contract except that after the initial filing of a management contract, only contract revisions, if any, must be included in the monthly report.

(B) Any management company operating a bingo game is ineligible to be licensed for the operation of bingo games under the provisions of this chapter.

(C) Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must have his license suspended for a period of two years.

(D) Any report filed under the provisions of this section is a public record."

Time effective

SECTION 5. The amendments to Sections 12-21-2590 and 12-21-2600 of the 1976 Code contained in this act are effective September 1, 1987. No grant awards pursuant to Chapter 23 of Title 51 of the 1976 Code added by this act may be made before July 1, 1988.

Use of proceeds

SECTION 6. The profits derived from the game of bingo shall be used for the charitable, religious, or fraternal purposes of the organization.

Report required

SECTION 7. All "AA", "A", and "B" class licensees must submit a yearly financial statement to the Tax Commission. The Tax Commission shall promulgate the rules and regulations for the contents of this statement.

Participation prohibited

SECTION 8. No person may have a financial interest in, be employed by, or in any way participate in the operation of any bingo game if such person has been convicted of any crime or offense defined and regulated under Title 16, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976.

Distribution of revenue

SECTION 9. For the fiscal year 1987-88 only, the annual revenue derived from the provisions of Sections 12-21-2590 and 12-21-2600 which are collected from bingo games within the State must be distributed as follows:

(a) three million five hundred thousand dollars must be deposited with the State Treasurer and credited to the general fund;

(b) of any revenue collected in excess of three million five hundred thousand dollars,

(1) seventy-five percent of the excess must be deposited with the State Treasurer and credited to the account of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to be used as provided in Section 12-21-2620 of the 1976 Code; and

(2) twenty-five percent of the excess must be deposited with the State Treasurer to be credited to the account of the South Carolina Commission on Aging to be used as provided in Section 12-21-2620 of the 1976 Code.

Time effective

SECTION 10. Except as otherwise provided herein, this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.