I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5291

To establish the Commission on the Review of National Policies Toward

Gambling.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 29, 1994

Mr. LAFALCE introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on the Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Ways and Means

A BILL

To establish the Commission on the Review of National

Policies Toward Gambling.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘National Policies Toward Gambling Review Act of

6 1994’’.

7 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) In 1976, the Commission on the Review of

9 the National Policy Toward Gambling issued its

10 final report to Congress. At the time of the report—
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1 (A) casino gambling was legal in just 1

2 State, where it was a $1,000,000,000 a year in3 dustry;

4 (B) Indian tribal gambling did not exist;

5 (C) State lotteries existed in just 13

6 States; and

7 (D) the link between gambling and orga8 nized crime was the paramount concern of the

9 commission.

10 (2) The gambling industry has grown dramati11 cally in recent years as demonstrated by the follow12 ing:

13 (A) Casino gambling is legal in well over

14 20 States and referenda on legalization are

15 being considered in many other States.

16 (B) Casino gambling has become a

17 $30,000,000,000 a year industry.

18 (C) Indian tribal casino gambling accounts

19 for over 15 percent of all casino revenues.

20 (D) State lotteries exist in 36 States.

21 (E) Gambling in some form exists in all

22 but 2 States in the Union.

23 (3) Implementation of the Indian Gaming Reg24 ulatory Act in 1988 created a competitive environ25 ment between Indian tribes and States to legalize
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1 and develop casinos at a swift pace, as evidenced by

2 the current status of casino gambling among rec3 reational activities in the United States.

4 (4) Today, the paramount public policy concern

5 relative to gambling is the impact of the gambling

6 industry itself on communities, States, and the Na7 tion as a whole.

8 (5) Gambling brings with it certain externalities

9 that other industries do not bring. Specifically, the

10 proliferation of the gambling industry raises con11 cerns regarding—

12 (A) corresponding proliferation of gam13 bling addiction;

14 (B) proliferation in addiction-related crime;

15 (C) proliferation in cross addictions be16 tween gambling and alcohol and drugs;

17 (D) decreases in worker productivity at the

18 national level due to excessive gambling;

19 (E) a potentially adverse impact on the

20 health and viability of existing small businesses

21 in communities where gambling is legalized and

22 in communities surrounding Indian reservations

23 where gambling exists;

24 (F) a competitive atmosphere developing

25 between States and Indian tribes, between
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1 States and other States, and between States

2 and bordering countries, particularly Canada, to

3 attract the gambling dollar; and

4 (G) dramatic growth in the political influ5 ence of gambling advocates in city halls and

6 statehouses across the country, where govern7 ments must act as both regulator and profiteer

8 of gambling.

9 (6) There are variations and conflicts in the

10 regulatory structures controlling gambling nation11 wide, and in particular between Federal oversight

12 through the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and

13 State laws.

14 (7) There is no adequate core or body of knowl15 edge at the national level on the impact of gambling

16 proliferation on the United States.

17 (8) Most of the economic impact studies of ca18 sino gambling have been sponsored by the gambling

19 industry.

20 (9) Little funding has been made available at

21 the State or Federal level for research into gambling

22 addiction and the socioeconomic cost to the Nation

23 of gambling addiction.

24 (10) Policymakers at the local, State, and Fed25 eral levels are in need of sound information and data
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1 on the social and economic impact of gambling pro2 liferation on the Nation.

3 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 There is established a commission to be known as the

5 ‘‘Commission on the Review of National Policies Toward

6 Gambling’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

7 SEC. 3. DUTIES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall conduct a

9 comprehensive legal and factual study of (1) gambling ac10 tivities in the United States, (2) the social and economic

11 impact of such gambling activities, and (3) existing Fed12 eral, State, and local policy and practices with respect to

13 legal prohibition and taxation of such gambling activities,

14 and in particular the relationship between the Indian

15 Gaming Regulatory Act and State and local laws. The

16 Commission shall formulate and propose such changes in

17 such policies and practices as the Commission may con18 sider appropriate.

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study to be conducted

20 under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, include the fol21 lowing:

22 (1) An examination of the impact of gambling

23 activities on communities nationwide and the nation

24 as a whole in terms of—
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1 (A) the economic well-being of existing

2 small businesses and jobs;

3 (B) the growth in gambling addiction;

4 (C) the socio-economic impact of gambling

5 addiction; and

6 (D) the growth in gambling related crime

7 and gambling-addiction related crime, particu8 larly given the proliferation of casino gambling

9 in recent years.

10 (2) A review of the effectiveness of existing

11 practices in law enforcement, judicial administration,

12 and corrections in the United States and in foreign

13 legal jurisdictions for the enforcement of the prohibi14 tion and taxation of gambling activities, including

15 consideration of possible alternatives to such prac16 tices.

17 (3) A study of existing statutes of the United

18 States and State and local jurisdictions that prohibit

19 and tax gambling activities, including preparation of

20 such a proposal for codification, revision, or repeal

21 of such statutes as the Commission may determine

22 to be required to carry into effect such policy and

23 practice changes as it may consider to be necessary

24 or desirable.
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1 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

2 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

3 shall be composed of 15 members appointed not later than

4 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act as

5 follows:

6 (1) Four individuals appointed jointly by the

7 President of the Senate and the minority leader of

8 the Senate.

9 (2) Four individuals appointed jointly by the

10 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the mi11 nority leader of the House of Representatives.

12 (3) Seven individuals appointed by the Presi13 dent of the United States.

14 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members appointed pursuant

15 to subsection (a) shall be appointed from among individ16 uals who are not officers of the executive branch of the

17 Government or Members of Congress and who are spe18 cially qualified to serve on the Commission by virtue of

19 training and experience.

20 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The President of the United States

21 shall designate a Chairman from among the members of

22 the Commission.

23 (d) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commission

24 shall constitute a quorum.

25 (e) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commission

26 shall not affect the powers of the Commission but shall
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1 be filled in the same manner in which the original appoint2 ment was made.

3 (f) BASIC PAY.—

4 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Except as provided in

5 paragraph (2), members of the Commission shall

6 each be entitled to receive $100.00 for each day (in7 cluding travel time) during which they are engaged

8 in the actual performance of duties vested in the

9 Commission.

10 (2) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF MEM11 BERS OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY.—Members of

12 the Commission who are members of the Federal ju13 diciary may not receive additional pay, allowances,

14 or benefits by reason of their service on the Commis15 sion.

16 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com17 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem

18 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702

19 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

20 SEC. 5. STAFF.

21 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Subject to such rules and regu22 lations as may be adopted by the Commission, the Chair23 man of the Commission shall have the power to appoint

24 and fix the compensation of a Director and such additional
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1 staff personnel (but not to exceed 15 staff members) as

2 the Chairman considers necessary.

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

4 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may

5 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5,

6 United States Code, governing appointments in the com7 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the

8 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

9 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule

10 pay rates; except that an individual so appointed may not

11 receive pay in excess of the rate of basic pay payable for

12 level I of the Executive Schedule.

13 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—In making appointments pur14 suant to this section, the Chairman of the Commission

15 shall include among the Chairman’s appointments individ16 uals determined by the Chairman to be competent social

17 scientists, lawyers, law enforcement officers, and others

18 with professional expertise in areas related to gambling.

19 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

20 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

21 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear22 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and

23 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate.

24 The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

25 witnesses appearing before it.
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1 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem2 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

3 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au4 thorized to take by this section.

5 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

6 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

7 United States information necessary to enable it to carry

8 out this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Com9 mission, the head of that department or agency shall fur10 nish that information to the Commission.

11 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

12 States mails in the same manner and under the same con13 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

14 States.

15 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

16 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen17 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim18 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec19 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

20 under this Act.

21 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue

23 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of

24 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat25 ing to any matter which the Commission is empow-
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1 ered to investigate by this Act. The attendance of

2 witnesses and the production of evidence may be re3 quired from any place within the United States at

4 any designated place of hearing within the United

5 States.

6 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per7 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para8 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United

9 States district court for an order requiring that per10 son to appear before the Commission to give testi11 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the

12 matter under investigation. The application may be

13 made within the judicial district where the hearing

14 is conducted or where that person is found, resides,

15 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

16 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

17 contempt.

18 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas

19 of the Commission shall be served in the manner

20 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States

21 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro22 cedure for the United States district courts.

23 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any

24 court to which application is to be made under para25 graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in
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1 which the person required to be served resides or

2 may be found.

3 (g) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency of the

4 United States for the purpose of part V of title 18, United

5 States Code (relating to immunity of witnesses).

6 SEC. 7. REPORTS.

7 (a) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may sub8 mit to the President of the United States and the Con9 gress interim reports as the Commission considers appro10 priate.

11 (b) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall transmit

12 a final report to the President of the United States and

13 the Congress not later than 2 years after the date of the

14 first meeting of the Commission. The final report shall

15 contain a detailed statement of the findings and conclu16 sions of the Commission.

17 SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

18 The Commission shall terminate on the 60th day fol19 lowing submittal of the final report of the Commission

20 pursuant to section 7(b).

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