September 15, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Tobocman, Sak, Condino, Coulouris, Johnson, Melton, Donigan and Constan and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
A bill to amend the Initiated Law of 1996, entitled
"Michigan gaming control and revenue act,"
by amending sections 2 and 8b (MCL 432.202 and 432.208b), section 2
as amended and section 8b as added by 1997 PA 69.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Adjusted gross receipts" means the gross receipts less
winnings paid to wagerers.
(b) "Affiliate" means a person who, directly or indirectly,
through 1 or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is
under common control with; is in a partnership or joint venture
relationship with; or is a co-shareholder of a corporation, a co-
member of a limited liability company, or co-partner in a limited
liability partnership with a person who holds or applies for a
casino license under this act.
(c) "Affiliated company" means any form of business
organization
which that controls, is controlled by or is under
common control with; is in a partnership or joint venture
relationship with; or is a co-shareholder of a corporation, a co-
member of a limited liability company, or co-partner in a limited
liability partnership with a person who holds or applies for a
casino license under this act.
(d) "Agent" means any person who is employed by any agency of
the state, other than the board, the department of state police, or
the department of attorney general, who is assigned to perform
full-time services on behalf of or for the benefit of the board
regardless of the title or position held by that person.
(e) "Applicant" means any person who applies for a license or
for
registration under this act. The term applicant As used in
sections
4a(1)(a), 5(1), 5(2) to
(4), 5(3), 5(4), 6(3) to (5) and
(9), 6(4), 6(5), 6(9), and 7a(4),
7a(5), and 7a(11) shall include
(5), and (11), applicant includes an affiliate, affiliated company,
officer, director, or managerial employee of the applicant or a
person who holds greater than 1% direct or indirect interest in the
applicant. As used in this subdivision, "affiliate" and "affiliated
company" do not include a partnership, a joint venture
relationship, a co-shareholder of a corporation, a co-member of a
limited liability company, or a co-partner in a limited liability
partnership that has less than 1% direct interest in the applicant
and is not involved in the casino or casino enterprise application
as defined in rules promulgated by the board.
(f) "Board" means the Michigan gaming control board.
(g) "Casino" means a building in which gaming is conducted.
(h) "Casino enterprise" means the buildings, facilities, or
rooms functionally or physically connected to a casino, including
but not limited to any bar, restaurant, hotel, cocktail lounge,
retail establishment, or arena or any other facility located in a
city under the control of a casino licensee or affiliated company.
(i) "Certified development agreement" means a development
agreement that has been certified by a city and submitted to the
Michigan gaming control board.
(j) "Chairperson" means the chairperson of the board.
(k)
"Cheat" means to alter the selection of criteria which
that determine the result of a gambling game or the amount or
frequency of payment in a gambling game, in violation of this act
or rules promulgated under this act.
(l) "City" means a local unit of government other than a county
which
that meets all of the following criteria:
(i) Has a population of at least 800,000 at the time a license
is issued.
(ii) Is located within 100 miles of any other state or country
in which gaming was permitted on December 5, 1996.
(iii) Had a majority of voters who expressed approval of casino
gaming in the city.
(m) "Company" means a sole proprietorship, corporation,
partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability
company, trust, association, joint stock company, joint venture,
tribal corporation, or other form of business organization.
(n) "Compensation" means any money, thing of value, or
financial benefit conferred on or received by a person in return
for services rendered, or to be rendered, whether by that person or
another.
(o) "Conflict of interest" means a situation in which the
private interest of a member, employee, or agent of the board may
influence the judgment of the member, employee, or agent in the
performance of his or her public duty under this act. A conflict of
interest includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(i) Any conduct that would lead a reasonable person, knowing
all of the circumstances, to conclude that the member, employee, or
agent of the board is biased against or in favor of an applicant.
(ii) Acceptance of any form of compensation other than from the
board for any services rendered as part of the official duties of
the member, employee, or agent for the board.
(iii) Participation in any business being transacted with or
before the board in which the member, employee, or agent of the
board or his or her parent, spouse, or child has a financial
interest.
(iv) Use of the position, title, or any related authority of
the member, employee, or agent of the board in a manner designed
for personal gain or benefit.
(v) Demonstration, through work or other action in the
performance of the official duties of the member, employee, or
agent of the board, of any preferential attitude or treatment of
any person.
(p) "Control" means having a greater than 15% direct or
indirect pecuniary interest in the casino gaming operation with
respect to which the license is sought.
(q) "Department" means the department of treasury.
(r) "Development agreement" means a written agreement between
a city and a person naming the person as the designated developer
of a casino in the city and covering certain subjects including,
but
not limited to : approval by the city of the location of the
casino; certification by the city that the applicant has sufficient
financial
resources to construct and open the casino which that it
proposes to develop; zoning and site plan requirements; utility
connection fees; infrastructure improvements; requirements to
utilize local businesses and small businesses as suppliers;
employment issues; compulsive gambling programs; insurance
requirements; conceptual design approval; reimbursement for
predevelopment and infrastructure costs, traffic engineering, and
other transportation costs; plans for completion of destination
attractions either within or outside the casino facility; and
ancillary development rights.
(s)
"Disciplinary action" is means an action by the board
suspending
or revoking a license , or
fining, excluding,
reprimanding, or otherwise penalizing a person for violating this
act or rules promulgated by the board.
(t) "Ex parte communication" means any communication, direct
or indirect, regarding a licensing application, disciplinary
action, or a contested case under this act other than communication
that takes place during a meeting or hearing conducted under this
act.
(u) "Financial interest" or "financially interested" means any
interest in investments, awarding of contracts, grants, loans,
purchases, leases, sales, or similar matters under consideration or
consummated by the board. A member, employee, or agent of the board
will
be is considered to have a financial interest in a matter
under consideration if any of the following circumstances exist:
(i) He or she owns 1% or more of any class of outstanding
securities that are issued by a party to the matter under
consideration or consummated by the board.
(ii) He or she is employed by or is an independent contractor
for a party to the matter under consideration or consummated by the
board.
(v) "Gambling game" means any game played with cards, dice,
equipment, or a machine, including any mechanical,
electromechanical, or
electronic device, which shall include
including computers and cashless wagering systems, for money,
credit, or any representative of value, including, but not limited
to, faro, monte, roulette, keno, bingo, fan tan, twenty one,
blackjack, seven and a half, klondike, craps, poker, chuck a luck,
Chinese chuck a luck (dai shu), wheel of fortune, chemin de fer,
baccarat, pai gow, beat the banker, panguingui, slot machine, any
banking or percentage game, or any other game or device approved by
the
board. , but Gambling game does not
include games played with
cards in private homes or residences in which no person makes money
for operating the game, except as a player.
(w) "Gambling operation" means the conduct of authorized
gambling games in a casino.
(x) "Gaming" means to deal, operate, carry on, conduct,
maintain, or expose or offer for play any gambling game or gambling
operation.
(y) "Gaming employee" means an individual connected directly
with the operation of gaming. Gaming employee includes all of the
following:
(i) An individual who performs accounting or internal auditing
services if the individual is directly involved in keeping or
examining records associated with revenue from gaming.
(ii) A boxman.
(iii) A cashier.
(iv) A change worker.
(v) A counting room worker.
(vi) A dealer.
(vii) A floorman.
(viii) A host or other individual empowered to extend credit or
complimentary services.
(ix) A keno runner.
(x) A keno writer.
(xi) A machine mechanic.
(xii) An odds maker or line setter.
(xiii) A security worker.
(xiv) A shift or pit boss.
(xv) A shill.
(xvi) A supervisor or manager.
(xvii) A ticket writer.
(z) (y)
"Gross receipts" means the total of all sums including
valid or invalid checks, currency, tokens, coupons, vouchers, or
instruments of monetary value whether collected or uncollected,
received by a casino licensee from gaming, including all entry fees
assessed for tournaments or other contests, less a deduction for
uncollectible gaming receivables not to exceed the uncollectible
amounts owed as a result of wagers placed at or through a gambling
game or 4% of the total gross receipts, whichever is less. The
licensee shall not receive the deduction unless the licensee
provides written proof to the state treasurer of the uncollected
gaming
receivables and had complied with all rules promulgated by
the board regarding the issuance of credit and the collection of
amounts due under a credit extension.
(aa) (z)
"Institutional investor" means any retirement fund
administered by a public agency for the exclusive benefit of
federal, state, or local public employees, an employee benefit
plan, or pension fund that is subject to the employee retirement
income
security act of 1974, as amended 29 USC 1001 to 1461, an
investment company registered under the investment company act of
1940,
title I of chapter 686, 54 Stat. 789, 15 U.S.C. 80a-1 to 80a-
3
and 80a-4 15 USC 80a-1 to 80a-64, a collective investment trust
organized by a bank under part 9 of the rules of the comptroller of
the currency, a closed end investment trust, a chartered or
licensed life insurance company or property and casualty insurance
company, a chartered or licensed financial institution, an
investment advisor registered under the investment advisers act of
1940,
title II of chapter 686, 54 Stat. 847, 15 U.S.C. USC 80b-1
to
80b-21, or any other person as the board may determine for reasons
consistent with this act.
(bb) (aa)
"Investigative hearing" means any hearing conducted
by the board or its authorized representative to investigate and
gather information or evidence regarding pending license
applications, applicants, licensees, or alleged or apparent
violations of this act or rules promulgated by the board.
(cc) (bb)
"Junket enterprise" means any person other than a
casino licensee or applicant who employs or otherwise engages in
the procurement or referral of persons who may participate in a
junket to a casino licensed under this act or casino enterprise
whether
or not those activities occur within the in this state.
(dd) (cc)
"Managerial employee" means a person who by virtue
of
the level of their his or
her remuneration or otherwise holds a
management, supervisory, or policy making position with any
licensee under this act, a vendor, or the board.
(ee) (dd)
"Member" means a board member appointed to the
Michigan
gaming control board under this
act.
(ff) (ee)
"Occupational license" means a license issued by the
board to a person to act as a gaming employee or to perform an
occupation
in a casino or casino enterprise which that the board
has
identified as requiring a license to engage in casino gaming in
Michigan
having the power to exercise
a significant influence over
the operation of gaming under this act.
(gg) (ff)
"Person" means an individual, corporation, limited
liability company, association, partnership, limited liability
partnership, trust, entity, or other legal entity.
(hh) (gg)
"Supplier" means a person who the board has
identified under rules promulgated by the board as requiring a
license to provide casino licensees or casino enterprises with
goods or services regarding the realty, construction, maintenance,
or business of a proposed or existing casino, casino enterprise, or
related facility on a regular or continuing basis, including, but
not limited to, junket enterprises, security businesses,
manufacturers, distributors, persons who service gaming devices or
equipment, garbage haulers, maintenance companies, food purveyors,
and construction companies.
(ii) (hh)
"Vendor" means a person who is not licensed under
this act who supplies any goods or services to a casino licensee or
supplier licensee.
(jj) (ii)
"Wagerer" means a person who plays a gambling game
authorized under this act.
(kk) (jj)
"Winnings" means the total cash value of all
property or sums including currency, tokens, or instruments of
monetary value paid to wagerers as a direct result of wagers placed
at or through a gambling game.
Sec. 8b. Subject to the laws of this state, prior to hiring a
prospective
employee person required to
hold an occupational
license, the holder of a casino license shall conduct a background
check
of the prospective employee person
to determine whether the
prospective
employee person has had any criminal convictions or has
any pending criminal charges at the time he or she submits an
application for employment.