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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.3 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19990112 Primary Sponsor:Rankin All Sponsors:Rankin, Elliott, Moore, Drummond, Holland, Saleeby, J. Verne Smith, Land, Setzler, Leventis, Bryan, Matthews, Patterson, McGill, O'Dell, Passailaigue, Washington, Reese, Ford, Glover, Jackson, Lander, Short, Hutto, Anderson, Elliott, Ryberg, Giese, Wilson, Fair, Hayes, Leatherman, Russell Drafted Document Number:l:\s-res\lar\001casi.jjj.doc Residing Body:Senate Date of Last Amendment:19990602 Subject:Gambling on boats, watercraft; operation on state waters prohibited; Crimes and Offenses History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 20000531 Debate interrupted Senate 20000530 Debate interrupted Senate 20000420 Debate interrupted by adjournment Senate 20000419 Debate interrupted by adjournment Senate 20000411 Made Special Order Senate 19990602 Amended, read second time, ordered to third reading with notice of general amendments Senate 19990325 Debate adjourned Senate 19990325 Committee amendment amended and adopted Senate 19990317 Made Special Order Senate 19990303 Committee report: Favorable with 11 SJ amendment Senate 19990114 Recommitted to Committee, 11 SJ retaining its place on the Calendar Senate 19990113 Recalled from Committee, 11 SJ placed on the Calendar Senate 19990112 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ referred to Committee Senate 19981118 Prefiled, referred to Committee 11 SJ Versions of This Bill Revised on January 13, 1999 - Word format Revised on March 3, 1999 - Word format Revised on March 25, 1999 - Word format Revised on June 2, 1999 - Word format
AMENDED
June 2, 1999
S. 3
Introduced by Senators Rankin, Elliott, Moore, Drummond, Holland, Saleeby, J. Verne Smith, Land, Setzler, Leventis, Bryan, Matthews, Patterson, McGill, O'Dell, Passailaigue, Washington, Reese, Ford, Glover, Jackson, Lander, Short, Hutto, Anderson, Elliott, Ryberg, Giese, Wilson, Fair, Hayes, Leatherman and Russell
S. Printed 6/2/99--S.
Read the first time January 12, 1999.
TO AMEND CHAPTER 19, TITLE 16, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CRIMES AND OFFENSES, BY ADDING SECTION 16-19-180 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE OPERATION OF CASINO GAMBLING ON BOATS, SHIPS, OR OTHER WATERCRAFT WHICH EMBARK, SAIL, AND DISEMBARK WITHIN SOUTH CAROLINA'S BORDERS.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Gambling activities prohibited by statutory laws and by the Constitution of this State are prohibited on vessels where voyages begin and end in waters of this State, consistent with the standards specified in 15 U.S.C. 1175, commonly referred to as the Johnson Act. Except as otherwise provided herein, this act prohibits gambling activities on so-called "cruises to nowhere".
SECTION 2. Chapter 19 of Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-19-170. (A) As used in this section:
(1) `Vessel' means a boat, ship, casino boat, watercraft, or barge kept, operated, or maintained for the purpose of gambling, with one or more gaming establishments aboard, that carries or operates gambling devices for the use of its passengers or otherwise provides facilities for the purpose of gambling, whether within or without the jurisdiction of this State, and whether it is anchored, berthed, lying to, or navigating and the sailing, voyaging, or cruising, or any segment of the sailing, voyaging, or cruising begins and ends within this State.
(2) `Gambling' or `gambling device' means a game of chance and includes, but is not limited to, slot machines, punch boards, video poker or black jack machines, keeno, roulette, craps, or any other gaming table type gambling or poker, blackjack, or any other card gambling game.
(B) Except as provided in Section 4, it is unlawful for any person to repair or use any gambling device on a vessel that is on a voyage or segment of a voyage if:
(1) the voyage or segment begins and ends in this State; and
(2) during which the vessel does not make an intervening stop within the boundaries of another state or possession of the United States or a foreign country.
(C) The following voyages and segments are lawful if the voyage or segment includes or consists of a segment:
(1) that begins and ends in this State;
(2) that is part of a voyage to another state or possession of the United States or to a foreign country; and
(3) in which the vessel reaches the other state or foreign country within three days after leaving the state in which the segment begins."
SECTION 3. A violation of Section 16-19-170 is not a criminal offense, but is a violation for which a civil penalty, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars for each violation, may be imposed by the Department of Revenue.
SECTION 4. The provisions of this act do not apply to (1) a commercial passenger vessel which has dining facilities and sleeping or stateroom accommodations for every passenger and whose voyage extends for a period in excess of twelve hours or (2) a commercial passenger vessel which operates in international waters conducting general cruise business from ports outside the State and which sails during a twelve month period to other ports outside the State or to another country.
SECTION 5. (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16-19-170:
(1) the governing body of a coastal county by ordinance may suspend the application of the gambling prohibitions provided for in Section 16-19-170 for the unincorporated area of the county; and (2) the governing body of a municipality by ordinance may suspend the application of the gambling prohibitions provided for in Section 16-19-170 for the municipality.
(B) Except as provided in subsection (C), the county election commission or the municipal election commission, as appropriate, shall place the question contained in this subsection on the general election ballot in November 2000 in a coastal county in which the county governing body or the municipal governing body, as appropriate, has suspended application of the gambling prohibition provided for in Section 16-19-170 by ordinance within ninety days before the 2000 general election. The state election laws apply to the referendum, mutatis mutandis. The State Board of Canvassers shall publish the results of the referendum and certify them to the Secretary of State. If the result of a referendum is in favor of reinstating the gambling prohibition within the county or municipality, Section 16-19-170 applies in that county or municipality after the result of the referendum is certified to the Secretary of State.
The question put before the voters shall read:
"Shall the prohibition against gambling, however described, on a vessel that embarks and disembarks within South Carolina be reinstated in __________municipality/county?
Those voting in favor of the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'Yes', and those voting against the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'No'."
(C) In lieu of the referendum held at the time of the general election, but otherwise subject to the requirements of subsection (B), a referendum may be held at a date to be determined by the local governing body.
(D) For purposes of this section, a 'coastal county' means Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Horry, Jasper, or Georgetown County.
SECTION 6. Nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal or modify any other provision of law relating to gambling. This section does not repeal or modify any law with regard to bingo or the operation of a device or machine pursuant to Section 12-21-2720(A)(3).
SECTION 7. The General Assembly recognizes that certain "cruises to nowhere" are lawful by virtue of the application of 15 U.S.C. 1175. However, effective November 15, 2000, nothing in this act prohibits or otherwise limits a county or city by ordinance, from setting vessel weight restrictions and docking restrictions as long as these restrictions are reasonably and rationally related to public safety, navigation safety, depth of water, the preservation of historical areas, or general planning considerations pursuant to Chapter 7 of Title 6.
SECTION 8. The operator of a gambling boat vessel, the operation of which would be unlawful in this State, except for the exclusions provided in 15 U.S.C. 1175, and as otherwise provided in this act, shall comply with all of the following:
(1) the applicable provisions of Chapter 8 of Title 12;
(2) the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) standards and requirements normally applicable in international waters;
(3) the passengers must be at least twenty-one years of age.
SECTION 9. A person engaged in the business of operating gambling boat voyages must pay a tax on the business at the rate of six dollars per each passenger who embarks on a gambling boat voyage in this State. Within the first ten days of each month, the taxpayer must report to the Department of Revenue the number of passengers who embarked on the taxpayer's gambling boat voyages during the previous month and must pay the tax at the time the report is due. Twenty-five percent of any tax collected pursuant to this section must be paid to the general fund of the State. The remaining seventy-five percent must be paid to and shared equally by the county or municipality where the voyage originated.
SECTION 10. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor, such that so called "cruises to nowhere", except as authorized herein, are unlawful pursuant to Section 16-19-170(B) upon the effective date of this act and cannot be made unlawful under SECTION 4 until the results of the referendum are certified to the Secretary of State.
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