Opinion ID: 1319678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado

Text: SECTION 1. At the next general election for members of the general assembly, there shall be submitted to the registered electors of the State of Colorado, for their approval or rejection, the following amendment to the Constitution of the State of Colorado, to-wit: Section 2(1), (5), and (6) of Article XVIII of the Constitution of the State of Colorado are amended, and the said section 2 is further amended BY THE ADDITION OF THE FOLLOWING NEW SUBSECTIONS, (8) to (10) to read: Section 2. Lotteries prohibitedexceptions. (1) The general assembly shall have no power to authorize lotteries for any purpose; except that the conducting of such games of chance as provided in subsections (2) to (4) of this section shall be lawful on and after January 1, 1959, and the conducting of state-supervised lotteries pursuant to subsection (7) of this section shall be lawful on and after January 1, 1981, AND THE CONDUCTING OF CASINO GAMING AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTIONS (8) TO (10) OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE LAWFUL ON AND AFTER JANUARY 1, 1984. (5) Subsections (2) to (4) AND (8) TO (10), of this section are self enacting, but laws may be enacted supplementary to and in pursuance of, but not contrary to, the provisions thereof. (6) The enforcement of SUBSECTIONS (2) TO (4) AND (7) of this section shall be under such official or department of the Government of the State of Colorado as the general assembly shall provide. THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF SUBSECTIONS (8) TO (10) SHALL BE UNDER A GAMING COMMISSION COMPOSED OF FIVE MEMBERS WHO SHALL BE APPOINTED BY A COMMITTEE COMPOSED OF THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, MAJORITY LEADER OF THE HOUSE, MINORITY LEADER OF THE HOUSE, PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, MAJORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE, MINORITY LEADER OF THE SENATE, AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION BY THE SENATE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, THEIR COMPENSATION, AND TERM OF OFFICE SHALL BE AS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL PROVIDE. THE POWERS, DUTIES, AND STAFF OF THE GAMING COMMISSION SHALL BE THOSE AS THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL PROVIDE. (8) Any provision of this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding, a local election may be held in any county located in Southern Colorado Economic Development District Counties which are Pueblo, Huerfano, Costilla, Las Animas, Baca, Prowers, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero, Custer, Lake, Chaffee, Saguache, Rio Grande, Alamosa, Conejos, Mineral, Fremont, and other counties defined by the general assembly as economically depressed, and resort areas of any county in the State as such resort areas are defined by the general assembly, for approval by the registered electors before casino gaming is permitted by ordinance within the boundaries of said counties. (9) As used in this section: (a) Casino gaming means any banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, or any mechanical device or machine for money, property, checks, credit, or any representative or value, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, faro, monte, roulette, keno, twenty-one, black-jack, seven-and-a-half, big injun, 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, or any other game or device approved by the commission but does not include bingo or lotto and raffles operated by charitable or educational organizations pursuant to subsections (2) to (4) of this section, or games which are operated under supervision of the lottery pursuant to subsection (7) of this section, or games which are incidental to a bona fide social relationship, which are participated in by natural persons only and from which no person is gaining any profit but the gain from the direct realization of winnings. (b) Persons means any natural person, domestic or foreign corporation, partnership, or stockholder who owns ten percent or more of the stock of a corporation. 10(a) Twelve percent of the gross proceeds as defined by the general assembly from casino gaming operations licensed pursuant to subsection (6) of this section shall be paid to the commission for the privilege of conducting casino gaming. Unless otherwise provided by statute, the commission shall distribute four percent of the gross proceeds collected pursuant to this subsection (10) to the state for distribution to the counties which have authorized casino gaming in proportion to the revenues generated by casino gaming operations within each jurisdiction. The said proceeds which a county is entitled to shall be distributed by the state within each county to any town, city, or the unincorporated portions of any county on a per capita basis. Local governments shall use the revenues received under this section (10) only for the purpose of property tax relief. Two percent of the proceeds collected pursuant to this subsection (10) shall be remitted to the General Fund to be utilized for the purpose of Public Education, two percent shall be remitted to the General Fund for the purpose of Social Services, two percent shall be remitted to the General Fund for the purpose of State Highways, and two percent shall be remitted to the General Fund for the purpose of development of water resources. The state may deduct a reasonable fee from such proceeds to cover the cost of collection and distribution of said revenues as the general assembly may provide. (b) In addition to the twelve percent fee levied pursuant to paragraph (a) of the subsection (10), the commission may assess a reasonable fee on casino operations to cover the costs of the administration and enforcement of the provisions of section 2 of subsection 6. (c) The general assembly shall enact, amend, or repeal such laws as are necessary to implement the provisions of section 2 subsection 8-10, to be effective no later than January 1, 1984. (d) If any provision of this article, or its application in any particular case, is held invalid, the remainder of the article and its application in all other cases shall remain unimpaired.