Amend the bill by inserting after the title the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, licensed casinos provide a draw for tourists to enter the State during the summer season, resulting in a need for increasing the number of employees; and
Whereas, an employee licensing system that allows employees to work in casinos pending license approval will allow for adequate staffing of casinos and provide needed employment opportunities; and
Whereas, in order to allow the State's casino industry to prepare for this year's summer season, this legislation must take effect within the 90-day period; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’
Amend the bill in section 10 in paragraph I by striking out all of subparagraph (2) (page 2, lines 28 to 33 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘ (2) Provide that, before making a payout of winnings in an amount equal to or greater than the amount for which the licensee is required to file a Form W-2G or substantially equivalent form with the United States Internal Revenue Service, the licensee, after any interception of winnings required by law to pay child support debt or other obligations, shall intercept money or anything of value that an excluded person is seeking to redeem as a result of wagers made by the person after that person has been excluded. The rules must offer the excluded person the right to an administrative hearing with reasonable notice to contest the interception of winnings. Winnings intercepted must be remitted by the licensee to the board or its designee for deposit in an Other Special Revenue Funds account within the office of substance abuse within the Department of Health and Human Services to address gambling addiction;
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 12 (page 3, lines 8 to 13 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 12. 8 MRSA §1006, sub-§8 is enacted to read:
Amend the bill in section 24 in paragraph G in the last line (page 6, line 12 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "weekly" and inserting the following: ' weekly quarterly'
Amend the bill by inserting at the end the following:
‘Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
summary
This amendment changes the provision in the bill that requires the Gambling Control Board to adopt rules to require that winnings from wagers due to a person who has been excluded from a casino or slot machine facility either voluntarily or involuntarily be withheld from the excluded person and remitted to an Other Special Revenue Funds account within the office of substance abuse within the Department of Health and Human Services. The amendment provides that winnings are intercepted when they are in an amount that requires reporting to the United States Internal Revenue Service and after any required child support debt or other obligations are remitted from those winnings. The amendment also requires the Gambling Control Board to allow for the excluded person to request an administrative hearing to contest the interception of winnings.
The amendment also clarifies that records obtained by the board regarding persons who seek to be voluntarily excluded from a slot machine facility or casino are confidential, as is provided by the bill, but may be made available in the form of statistical data or in a general manner that does not allow for personal identification of a voluntarily excluded person.
Finally, this amendment provides that the minimum average daily aggregate payback percentage for slot machines be calculated quarterly rather than weekly.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)