State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ Legislation ]
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]


[ Engrossed ][ Senate Amendment 001 ]

91_SB0032

 
                                               LRB9101544LDmb

 1        AN ACT to amend the Bingo License and Tax Act by changing
 2    Section 1.

 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section 5.  The Bingo License and Tax Act is  amended  by
 6    changing Section 1 as follows:

 7        (230 ILCS 25/1) (from Ch. 120, par. 1101)
 8        Sec.   1.    The   Department   of  Revenue  shall,  upon
 9    application therefor on forms prescribed by such  Department,
10    and  upon  the  payment  of an annual fee of $200, and upon a
11    determination by the Department that the applicant meets  all
12    of  the  qualifications  specified  in  this Section, issue a
13    license  for  the  conducting  of  bingo  to  any  bona  fide
14    religious,  charitable,  labor,  fraternal,  youth  athletic,
15    senior  citizen,  educational   or   veterans'   organization
16    organized  in  Illinois  which operates without profit to its
17    members, which has been in existence in Illinois continuously
18    for a period of 5 years immediately before making application
19    for a license and which has had during  that  entire  5  year
20    period  a  bona  fide membership engaged in carrying  out its
21    objects.  However, the 5 year requirement shall be reduced to
22    2  years,  as  applied  to  a  local  organization  which  is
23    affiliated with and  chartered  by  a  national  organization
24    which  meets the 5 year requirement.  Each license expires at
25    midnight, June 30 following  its  date  of  issuance,  except
26    that, beginning with applicants whose licenses expire on June
27    30,  1983,  the  Department  shall stagger license expiration
28    dates by dividing the applicants  into  4  groups  which  are
29    substantially  equal  in number.  Licenses issued and license
30    fees  charged  to  applicants  in  each  group  shall  be  in
31    accordance with the following schedule:
 
                            -2-                LRB9101544LDmb
 1    Group No.          License Expiration Date                Fee
 2      1                December 31, 1983                     $100
 3      2                March 31, 1984                        $150
 4      3                June 30, 1984                         $200
 5      4                September 30, 1984                    $250
 6    Following  expiration  under  this  schedule,  each   renewed
 7    license  shall  be  in  effect  for one year from its date of
 8    issuance unless suspended or  revoked  by  Department  action
 9    before  that  date.   After  June 30, 1983, every new license
10    shall expire one  year  from  the  date  of  issuance  unless
11    suspended  or  revoked.  A licensee may hold only one license
12    and that license is valid for only one location.
13        For purposes  of  this  Act,  the  following  definitions
14    apply:  "Organization":  A  corporation, agency, partnership,
15    association, firm, or other entity consisting of  2  or  more
16    persons  joined by a common interest or purpose.  "Non-profit
17    organization": An organization or institution  organized  and
18    conducted  on  a not-for-profit basis with no personal profit
19    inuring to any one as a result of the operation.  "Charitable
20    organization": An organization or institution  organized  and
21    operated  to  benefit  an  indefinite  number  of the public.
22    "Educational organization": An  organization  or  institution
23    organized  and  operated to provide systematic instruction in
24    useful branches of learning by methods common to schools  and
25    institutions  of  learning  which  compare favorably in their
26    scope and intensity with the course  of  study  presented  in
27    tax-supported  schools. "Religious organization": Any church,
28    congregation,  society,  or  organization  founded  for   the
29    purpose  of  religious worship.  "Fraternal organization": An
30    organization of persons, including but not limited to  ethnic
31    organizations,   having  a  common  interest,  organized  and
32    operated exclusively to promote the welfare  of  its  members
33    and  to  benefit  the  general  public  on  a  continuing and
34    consistent basis. "Veterans  organization":  An  organization
 
                            -3-                LRB9101544LDmb
 1    comprised   of   members   of  which  substantially  all  are
 2    individuals who are veterans or spouses, widows, or  widowers
 3    of  veterans,  the primary purpose of which is to promote the
 4    welfare of its members  and  to  provide  assistance  to  the
 5    general  public  in such a way as to confer a public benefit.
 6    "Labor  organization":  An  organization  composed  of  labor
 7    unions or workers organized with the objective of  betterment
 8    of  the  conditions  of those engaged in such pursuit and the
 9    development  of  a  higher  degree  of  efficiency  in  their
10    respective occupations.  "Youth  athletic  organization":  An
11    organization  having  as  its exclusive purpose the promotion
12    and provision of athletic activities for youth  aged  18  and
13    under.   "Senior  citizens  organization": An organization or
14    association comprised of members of which  substantially  all
15    are  individuals  who  are  senior  citizens,  as  defined in
16    Section 3.05 of the Illinois Act on the  Aging,  the  primary
17    purpose of which is to promote the welfare of its members.
18        Licensing  for  the conducting of bingo is subject to the
19    following restrictions:
20             (1)  The license application, when submitted to  the
21        Department  of  Revenue,  must  contain a sworn statement
22        attesting  to  the  not-for-profit   character   of   the
23        prospective   licensee   organization,   signed   by  the
24        presiding officer and the secretary of that organization.
25             (2)  The application for license shall  be  prepared
26        in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  Department  of
27        Revenue.
28             (3)  Each  license shall state which day of the week
29        and at what location the licensee is permitted to conduct
30        bingo.  The Department may, on special  application  made
31        by  any  organization  having  a  bingo  license, issue a
32        special operator's permit for conducting bingo  at  other
33        premises  and  on  other days not exceeding 7 consecutive
34        days, except that a licensee may  conduct  bingo  at  the
 
                            -4-                LRB9101544LDmb
 1        Illinois  State  Fair or any county fair held in Illinois
 2        during each day that the fair is in  effect;  such  bingo
 3        games  conducted  at  the Illinois State Fair or a county
 4        fair shall not require a special operator's permit.    No
 5        more  than  2 special operator's permits may be issued in
 6        one year to  any  one  organization.   Any  organization,
 7        qualified  for  a  license  but  not  holding  one,  upon
 8        application  and  payment  of  a  $50  fee  may receive a
 9        limited license to conduct bingo at no more than 2 indoor
10        or outdoor festivals in a year for a maximum of 5 days on
11        each occasion.  Such limited license shall be prominently
12        displayed at the site of the bingo games.
13             (4)  The licensee  shall  display  a  license  in  a
14        prominent place in the area where it is to conduct bingo.
15             (5)  The  proceeds  from  the license fee imposed by
16        this Act shall be paid into the General Revenue  Fund  of
17        the State Treasury.
18             (6)  A  license  authorizes  the licensee to conduct
19        the game commonly known as bingo,  in  which  prizes  are
20        awarded  on the basis of designated numbers or symbols on
21        a card conforming  to  numbers  or  symbols  selected  at
22        random.
23             (7)  The  Director  has  the  power  to  issue or to
24        refuse to issue a license permitting a  person,  firm  or
25        corporation to provide premises for the conduct of bingo;
26        provided,  however,  that a municipality or park district
27        shall not be required to obtain a license to provide such
28        premises.  The fee for such providers' license is $200. A
29        person, firm or corporation holding such  a  license  may
30        receive  reasonable  expenses  for providing premises for
31        conducting bingo.  Reasonable expenses shall include only
32        those expenses defined as reasonable by rules promulgated
33        by the Department.
34             (8)  The Department may issue restricted licenses to
 
                            -5-                LRB9101544LDmb
 1        senior citizens organizations.  The fee for a  restricted
 2        license  is  $10  per year.  Restricted licenses shall be
 3        subject to the following conditions:
 4                  (A)  Bingo  shall  be  conducted  only   at   a
 5             facility   which   is  owned  by  a  unit  of  local
 6             government to which the corporate  authorities  have
 7             given  their  approval  and which is used to provide
 8             social  services  or  a  meeting  place  to   senior
 9             citizens, or in common areas in multi-unit federally
10             assisted  rental  housing  maintained solely for the
11             elderly and handicapped;
12                  (B)  The price paid for a single card shall not
13             exceed 5 cents;
14                  (C)  The aggregate retail value of  all  prizes
15             or  merchandise  awarded  in  any  one game of bingo
16             shall not exceed $1;
17                  (D)  No   person    or    organization    shall
18             participate  in the management or operation of bingo
19             under  a  restricted  license  if  the   person   or
20             organization would be ineligible for a license under
21             this Section;
22                  (E)  No license is required to provide premises
23             for bingo conducted under a restricted license; and
24                  (F)  The   Department   may,  by  rule,  exempt
25             restricted licensees from such requirements of  this
26             Act as the Department may deem appropriate.
27        The  Director has the power to issue a license permitting
28    an Illinois person, firm or corporation  to  sell,  lease  or
29    distribute  to  any  organization  licensed  to conduct bingo
30    games or to any licensed bingo supplier  all  cards,  boards,
31    sheets,  markers,  pads  and  all other supplies, devices and
32    equipment designed for use in the play of bingo.  No  person,
33    firm  or  corporation  shall  sell, lease or distribute bingo
34    supplies or equipment without having first obtained a license
 
                            -6-                LRB9101544LDmb
 1    therefor upon written application made,  verified  and  filed
 2    with  the  Department in the form prescribed by the rules and
 3    regulations of the Department. The fee for  such  license  is
 4    $200.
 5        Applications for providers' and suppliers' licenses shall
 6    be  made in writing in accordance with Department rules. Each
 7    providers' or suppliers' license is valid for one  year  from
 8    date  of  issuance, unless suspended or revoked by Department
 9    action before that date.
10        The following are ineligible for any license  under  this
11    Act:
12             (a)  any person who has been convicted of a felony;
13             (b)  any   person   who  has  been  convicted  of  a
14        violation of Article 28 of the "Criminal Code of 1961";
15             (c)  any person  found  gambling,  participating  in
16        gambling  or  knowingly  permitting  gambling on premises
17        where bingo is being conducted;
18             (d)  any firm  or  corporation  in  which  a  person
19        defined  in  (a), (b) or (c) has a proprietary, equitable
20        or credit interest, or in which such person is active  or
21        employed;
22             (e)  any  organization  in which a person defined in
23        (a), (b) or (c) is an  officer,  director,  or  employee,
24        whether compensated or not;
25             (f)  any  organization  in which a person defined in
26        (a), (b) or (c) is to participate in  the  management  or
27        operation of a bingo game.
28    (Source: P.A. 87-758.)

[ Top ]