LB311 LB311
2023 2023
LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 311
Introduced by Lowe, 37.
Read first time January 11, 2023
Committee: General Affairs
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act; to amend
2 section 9-1106, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska; to change
3 dates related to required market analysis and socioeconomic-impact
4 studies; and to repeal the original section.
5 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 9-1106, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 9-1106 The commission shall:
4 (1) License and regulate authorized gaming operators for the
5 operation of all games of chance authorized pursuant to the Nebraska
6 Racetrack Gaming Act, including adopting, promulgating, and enforcing
7 rules and regulations governing such authorized gaming operators
8 consistent with the act;
9 (2) Regulate the operation of games of chance in order to prevent
10 and eliminate corrupt practices and fraudulent behavior, and thereby
11 promote integrity, security, and honest administration in, and accurate
12 accounting of, the operation of games of chance which are subject to the
13 act;
14 (3) Establish criteria to license applicants for authorized gaming
15 operator licenses and all other types of gaming licenses for other
16 positions and functions incident to the operation of games of chance,
17 including adopting, promulgating, and enforcing rules, regulations, and
18 eligibility standards for such authorized gaming operator licenses,
19 gaming licenses, and positions and functions incident to the operation of
20 games of chance;
21 (4) Charge fees for applications for licenses and for the issuance
22 of authorized gaming operator licenses and all other types of gaming
23 licenses to successful applicants which shall be payable to the
24 commission;
25 (5) Charge fees to authorized gaming operators in an amount
26 necessary to offset the cost of oversight and regulatory services to be
27 provided which shall be payable to the commission;
28 (6) Impose a one-time authorized gaming operator license fee of five
29 million dollars on each authorized gaming operator for each licensed
30 racetrack enclosure payable to the commission. The license fee may be
31 paid over a period of five years with one million dollars due at the time
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1 the license is issued;
2 (7) Grant, deny, revoke, and suspend authorized gaming operator
3 licenses and all other types of gaming licenses based upon reasonable
4 criteria and procedures established by the commission to facilitate the
5 integrity, productivity, and lawful conduct of gaming within the state;
6 (8) Grant or deny for cause applications for authorized gaming
7 operator licenses of not less than twenty years in duration, subject to
8 an annual review by the commission and receipt by the commission of a
9 fifty-thousand-dollar annual review fee, with no more than one such
10 authorized gaming operator license granted for any licensed racetrack
11 enclosure within the state;
12 (9) Conduct background investigations of applicants for authorized
13 gaming operator licenses and all other types of gaming licenses;
14 (10) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the standards of
15 manufacture of gaming equipment;
16 (11) Inspect the operation of any authorized gaming operator
17 conducting games of chance for the purpose of certifying the revenue
18 thereof and receiving complaints from the public;
19 (12) Issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses or the
20 production of any records, books, memoranda, documents, or other papers
21 or things at or prior to any hearing as is necessary to enable the
22 commission to effectively discharge its duties;
23 (13) Administer oaths or affirmations as necessary to carry out the
24 act;
25 (14) Have the authority to impose, subject to judicial review,
26 appropriate administrative fines and penalties for each violation of the
27 act or any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the
28 act in an amount not to exceed:
29 (a) For any licensed racetrack enclosure with an authorized gaming
30 operator operating games of chance for one year or less, fifty thousand
31 dollars per violation; or
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1 (b) For any licensed racetrack enclosure with an authorized gaming
2 operator operating games of chance for more than one year, three times
3 the highest daily amount of gross receipts derived from wagering on games
4 of chance during the twelve months preceding the violation at such
5 licensed racetrack enclosure gaming facility per violation;
6 (15) Collect and remit administrative fines and penalties collected
7 under this section to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance
8 with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska;
9 (16) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for any gaming taxes
10 assessed to authorized gaming operators;
11 (17) Collect and account for any gaming taxes assessed to authorized
12 gaming operators and remit such taxes to the State Treasurer or county
13 treasurer as required by Nebraska law;
14 (18) Promote treatment of gaming-related behavioral disorders;
15 (19) Establish procedures for the governance of the commission;
16 (20) Acquire necessary offices, facilities, counsel, and staff;
17 (21) Establish procedures for an applicant for a staff position to
18 disclose conflicts of interest as part of the application for employment;
19 (22) Establish a process to allow a person to be voluntarily
20 excluded from wagering in any game of chance under the act in accordance
21 with section 9-1118;
22 (23) Remit all license and application fees collected under the
23 Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act to the State Treasurer for credit to the
24 Racing and Gaming Commission's Racetrack Gaming Fund;
25 (24) Conduct or cause to be conducted a statewide horseracing market
26 analysis to study the racing market as it currently exists across the
27 state and within the locations in Nebraska of the racetracks in Adams,
28 Dakota, Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte counties as of the date of
29 the market analysis. Such market analysis shall be completed as soon as
30 practicable but not later than January 1, 2029 2025, and every five years
31 thereafter and shall be submitted electronically to the General Affairs
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1 Committee of the Legislature and to the Governor. Such market analysis
2 shall examine the market potential and make recommendations involving:
3 (a) The number of live racing days per track, number of races run,
4 and number of horses that should be entered per race;
5 (b) The number of Nebraska-bred horses available in the market for
6 running races, including foals dropped in the state for the past three
7 years at the time of the market analysis;
8 (c) The circuit scheduled in the state and if any overlapping dates
9 would be beneficial to the circuit and market as a whole;
10 (d) The total number of horses available for the total annual
11 schedule, with separate analysis for thoroughbred races and quarterhorse
12 races;
13 (e) The purse money available per race and per track;
14 (f) The strength of the potential and ongoing simulcast market;
15 (g) The staffing patterns and problems that exist at each track,
16 including unfilled positions;
17 (h) The positive and negative effects, including financial, on each
18 existing racetrack at the time of the market analysis in the event the
19 commission approves a new racetrack application;
20 (i) The potential to attract new owners and horses from other
21 states;
22 (j) The market potential for expansion at each licensed racetrack
23 enclosure to the live race meet days and the number of live horseraces
24 required by section 2-1205, and the room for expansion, if any, for
25 additional licensed racetrack enclosures into the market in Nebraska and
26 the locations most suitable for such expansion; and
27 (k) Any other data and analysis required by the commission;
28 (25) Conduct or cause to be conducted a statewide casino gaming
29 market analysis study across the state and within each location of a
30 racetrack in Adams, Dakota, Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte
31 counties. Such market analysis study shall be completed as soon as
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1 practicable but not later than January 1, 2029 2025, and every five years
2 thereafter and shall be submitted electronically to the General Affairs
3 Committee of the Legislature and to the Governor. The market analysis
4 study shall include:
5 (a) A comprehensive assessment of the potential casino gaming market
6 conditions;
7 (b) An evaluation of the effects on the Nebraska market from
8 competitive casino gaming locations outside of the state;
9 (c) Information identifying underperforming or underserved markets
10 within Nebraska;
11 (d) A comprehensive study of potential casino gaming revenue in
12 Nebraska; and
13 (e) Any other data and analysis required by the commission;
14 (26) Conduct or cause to be conducted a statewide socioeconomic-
15 impact study of horseracing and casino gaming across the state and at
16 each licensed racetrack enclosure and gaming facility in Adams, Dakota,
17 Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte counties. Such socioeconomic-impact
18 study shall be completed as soon as practicable but not later than
19 January 1, 2029 2025, and shall be submitted electronically to the
20 General Affairs Committee of the Legislature and to the Governor. The
21 study shall include:
22 (a) Information on financial and societal impacts of horseracing and
23 casino gaming, including crime and local businesses;
24 (b) An analysis of problem gambling within the state; and
25 (c) A comparison of the economy of counties which contain a licensed
26 racetrack enclosure operating games of chance and counties which do not
27 contain such a licensed racetrack enclosure as of the date of the study,
28 which comparison shall include:
29 (i) The population of such counties;
30 (ii) Jobs created by each licensed racetrack enclosure operating
31 games of chance in such counties;
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1 (iii) Unemployment rates in such counties;
2 (iv) Information on family and household income in such counties;
3 (v) Retail sales in such counties;
4 (vi) Property values in such counties;
5 (vii) An analysis of the impact on community services, including
6 police protection expenditures, fire protection expenditures, road,
7 bridge, and sidewalk expenditures, and capital project expenditures in
8 such counties;
9 (viii) Impact on community health in such counties;
10 (ix) Divorce rates in such counties;
11 (x) Information on available education and education levels in such
12 counties;
13 (xi) Life expectancy in such counties;
14 (xii) Homelessness in such counties; and
15 (xiii) Any other data and analysis required by the commission;
16 (27) Approve or deny an application for any licensed racetrack
17 enclosure which is not in existence or operational as of April 20, 2022,
18 or any licensed racetrack enclosure in existence and operational as of
19 November 1, 2020, that applies to move such licensed racetrack enclosure
20 pursuant to section 2-1205, on the basis of the placement and location of
21 such licensed racetrack enclosure and based on the market as it exists as
22 of the most recent issuance of the statewide horseracing market analysis,
23 statewide casino gaming market analysis, and statewide socioeconomic-
24 impact studies conducted by the commission pursuant to this section. The
25 commission shall deny a licensed racetrack enclosure or gaming operator
26 license application if it finds that approval of such application in such
27 placement and location would be detrimental to the racing or gaming
28 market that exists across the state based on the most recent statewide
29 horseracing market analysis, statewide casino gaming market analysis, and
30 statewide socioeconomic-impact studies; and
31 (28) Do all things necessary and proper to carry out its powers and
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1 duties under the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act, including the adoption
2 and promulgation of rules and regulations and such other actions as
3 permitted by the Administrative Procedure Act.
4 Sec. 2. Original section 9-1106, Reissue Revised Statutes of
5 Nebraska, is repealed.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 9-1106