GOVERNOR'S RECOMMENDATION

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18.2-340.16, 18.2-340.19, 18.340.24,

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and

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, 18.2-340.37, 18.2-340.38, and 58.1-3

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; penalties

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18.2-340.16, 18.2-340.19, 18.2-340.24,

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, 18.2-340.37, 18.2-340.38, and 58.1-3

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§ 18.2-340.16. Definitions.

As used in this article unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Bingo" means a specific game of chance played with individual cards having randomly numbered squares ranging from one to seventy-five, in which prizes are awarded on the basis of designated numbers on such cards conforming to a predetermined pattern of numbers selected at random. Such cards shall have five columns headed respectively by the letters B.I.N.G.O., with each column having five randomly numbered squares, except the center column which shall contain one free space.

"Bona fide member" means an individual who participates in activites of a qualified organization other than such organization's charitable gaming activities.

"Charitable gaming" or "charitable games" means those raffles and games of chance explicitly authorized by this article.

"Charitable gaming supplies" includes bingo cards or sheets, devices for selecting bingo numbers, instant bingo cards, pull-tab cards, and any other equipment or product manufactured for or intended to be used in the conduct of charitable games.

"Commission" means the Charitable Gaming Commission.

"Gross receipts" means the total amount of money received by an organization from charitable gaming before the deduction of expenses, including prizes.

"Instant bingo" means a specific game of chance played by the random selection of one or more individually prepacked cards, made completely of paper or paper products, with winners being determined by the preprinted appearance of concealed letters, numbers or symbols that must be exposed by the player to determine wins and losses and may include the use of a seal card which conceals one or more numbers or symbols that have been designated in advance as prize winners. Such cards may be dispensed by electronic or mechanical equipment.

"Jackpot" means a bingo game, exclusive of a "winner-take-all" bingo game, in which (i) all numbers on the card are covered, each number being selected at random, and with no more than one free space and (ii) the prize amount is greater than $100.

"Landlord" means any person or his agent, firm, association, organization, partnership, or corporation, or employee thereof, which owns and leases, or leases any premise devoted in whole or in part to the conduct of bingo games, and any person residing in the same household as a landlord.

"Organization" means any one of the following:

1. A voluntary fire department or rescue squad or auxiliary unit thereof which has been recognized by an ordinance or resolution of the political subdivision where the voluntary fire department or rescue squad is located as being a part of the safety program of such political subdivision;

2. An organization operated exclusively for religious, charitable, community or educational purposes;

3. An association of war veterans or auxiliary units thereof organized in the United States; or

4. A fraternal association or corporation operating under the lodge system.

"Qualified organization" means any organization to which a valid permit has been issued by the Commission to conduct charitable gaming or any organization which is exempt pursuant to § 18.2-340.23.

"Raffle" means a lottery in which the prize is won by (i) a random drawing of the name or prearranged number of one or more persons purchasing chances or (ii) a random contest in which the winning name or preassigned number of one or more persons purchasing chances is determined by a race involving inanimate objects floating on a body of water, commonly referred to as a "duck race."

For the purpose of this article, "raffle" shall include the use of individually prepackaged cards made completely of paper or paper products, with winners being determined by the appearance of preprinted concealed letters, numbers or symbols that must be exposed by the player to detemrine wins and losses, such cards being commonly referred to as "pull tabs." Such cards may be dispensed by electronic or mechanical equipment.

"Supplier" means any person who offers to sell, sells or otherwise provides charitable gaming supplies to any qualified organization.

§ 18.2-340.19. Regulations of the Commission.

The Commission shall adopt regulations which:

1. Require, as a condition of receiving a permit, that the applicant use a predetermined percentage of its gross receipts for (i) those lawful religious, charitable, community or educational purposes for which the organization is specifically chartered or organized or (ii) those expenses relating to the acquisition, construction, maintenance or repair of any interest in real property involved in the operation of the organization and used for lawful religious, charitable, community or educational purposes. The regulation may provide for a graduated scale of percentages of gross receipts to be used in the foregoing manner based upon factors the Commission finds appropriate to and consistent with the purpose of charitable gaming.

2. Require the organization to have at least fifty percent of its membership consist of residents of the Commonwealth and specify the conditions under which a complete list of the organization's membership may be required in order for the Commission to ascertain the percentage of Virginia residents; however, if an organization (i) does not consist of bona fide members and (ii) is exempt under § 501 (c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, the Commission shall exempt such organizations from the regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision.

Membership lists furnished to the Commission in accordance with this subdivision shall not be a matter of public record and shall be exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.1-340 et seq.).

3. Prescribe fees for processing applications for charitable gaming permits. Such fees may reflect the nature and extent of the charitable gaming activity proposed to be conducted.

4. Establish requirements for the audit of all reports required in accordance with § 18.2-340.30.

5. Define electronic and mechanical equipment used in the conduct of charitable gaming.

§ 18.2-340.24. Eligibility for permit; exceptions; where valid.

A. To be eligible for a permit to conduct charitable gaming, an organization shall:

1. Have been in existence and met on a regular basis in the county, city or town or in a county, city or town adjacent to the county, city or town wherein the organization proposes to conduct charitable gaming for a period of at least three years immediately prior to applying for a permit.

The three-year residency requirement shall not apply (i) to any lodge or chapter of a national or international fraternal order or to of a national or international civic organization which is exempt under § 501 (c) (3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and which has a lodge or chapter holding a charitable gaming permit issued under the provisions of this article anywhere within the Commonwealth; (ii) to booster clubs which have been operating for less than three years and which have been established solely to raise funds for school-sponsored activities in public schools which are less than three years old; (iii) to recently established volunteer fire and rescue companies or departments, after county, city or town approval; or (iv) to an organization which relocates its meeting place on a permanent basis from one jurisdiction to another, complies with the requirements of subdivision 2 of this section, and was the holder of a valid permit at the time of its relocation.

2. Be operating currently and have always been operated as a nonprofit organization.

B. Any organization whose gross receipts from all charitable gaming exceeds or can be expected to exceed $75,000 in any calendar year shall have been granted tax-exempt status pursuant to § 501 (c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. At the same time tax-exempt status is sought from the Internal Revenue Service, the same documentation may be filed with the Commission for an interim certification of tax-exempt status. If such documentation is filed, the Commission may, after reviewing such documentation it deems necessary, issue its determination of tax-exempt status within sixty days of receipt of such documentation. The Commission may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed $500. This interim certification of tax-exempt status shall be valid until the Internal Revenue Service issues its determination of tax-exempt status, or for eighteen months, whichever is earlier.

C. A permit shall be valid only for the locations designated in the permit.

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and qualified as a tax-exempt organization

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which is exempt from taxation

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or (ii) any county, city or town

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§ 18.2-340.37. Criminal penalties.

A. Any person who violates the provisions of this article or who willfully and knowingly files, or causes to be filed, a false application, report or other document or who willfully and knowingly makes a false statement or causes a false statement to be made, on any application, report or other document required to be filed with or made to the Commission shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. Each day in violation shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 18.2-340.38. Transitional provisions.

A. In order to implement the statewide regulation of charitable gaming expeditiously, the initial rules and regulations shall be adopted by the Commission but shall not be subject to the Administrative Process Act (§ 9-6.14:1 et seq.) during the first twelve-month twenty-four-month period following the earliest effective date of any portion of this article. Thereafter, all rules and regulations shall fully comply with the provisions of the Administrative Process Act.

B. The Commission may issue temporary licenses upon conditions as its it deems necessary, subject however to all limitations set forth in this article, for a term which shall not extend beyond one year after the latest effective day date of any portion of this article.

§ 58.1-3. Secrecy of information; penalties.

A. Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, the Tax Commissioner or agent, clerk, commissioner of the revenue, treasurer, or any other state or local tax or revenue officer or employee, or any former officer or employee of any of the aforementioned offices shall not divulge any information acquired by him in the performance of his duties with respect to the transactions, property, including personal property, income or business of any person, firm or corporation. Such prohibition specifically includes any copy of a federal return or federal return information required by Virginia law to be attached to or included in the Virginia return. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable, however, to:

1. Matters required by law to be entered on any public assessment roll or book;

2. Acts performed or words spoken or published in the line of duty under the law;

3. Inquiries and investigations to obtain information as to the process of real estate assessments by a duly constituted committee of the General Assembly, or when such inquiry or investigation is relevant to its study, provided that any such information obtained shall be privileged;

4. The sales price, date of construction, physical dimensions or characteristics of real property, or to any information required for building permits.

B. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of particular reports or returns and the items thereof or the publication of delinquent lists showing the names of taxpayers who are currently delinquent, together with any relevant information which in the opinion of the Department may assist in the collection of such delinquent taxes. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a local tax official from disclosing whether a person, firm or corporation is licensed to do business in that locality and divulging, upon written request, the name and address of any person, firm or corporation transacting business under a ficticious fictitious name.

C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A or B or any other provision of this title, the Tax Commissioner is authorized to: (i) divulge tax information to any commissioner of the revenue, director of finance or other similar collector of county, city or town taxes who, for the performance of his official duties, requests the same in writing setting forth the reasons for such request; (ii) provide to the Commissioner of the Department of Social Services, upon written request, information on the amount of income reported by persons on their state income tax returns who have applied for public assistance benefits as defined in § 63.1-87; (iii) provide to the Executive Director of the State Education Assistance Authority, upon written request, the names and home addresses of those persons identified by the Authority as having defaulted on loans guaranteed by the Authority; (iv) provide current address information upon request to state agencies and institutions for their confidential use in facilitating the collection of accounts receivable, and to the clerk of a circuit or district court for their confidential use in facilitating the collection of fines, penalties and costs imposed in a proceeding in that court; (v) provide to the Commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission, after entering into a written agreement, such tax information as may be necessary to facilitate the collection of unemployment taxes and overpaid benefits; (vi) provide to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, upon entering into a written agreement, such tax information as may be necessary to facilitate the collection of state and local taxes and the administration of the alcoholic beverage control laws; (vii) provide to the Director of the State Lottery Department such tax information as may be necessary to identify those lottery ticket retailers who owe delinquent taxes; (viii) provide to the Department of the Treasury for its confidential use such tax information as may be necessary to facilitate the location of owners of unclaimed property; (ix) provide to the State Corporation Commission, upon entering into a written agreement, such tax information as may be necessary to facilitate the collection of taxes and fees administered by the Commission; and (x) provide to the Executive Director of the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission for its confidential use such tax information as may be necessary to facilitate the collection of the motor vehicle fuel sales tax; and (xi) provide to the Executive Secretary of the Charitable Gaming Commission such tax information as may be necessary to identify those applicants for registration as a supplier of charitable gaming supplies who have not filed required returns or who owe delinquent taxes. The Tax Commissioner is further authorized to enter into written agreements with duly constituted tax officials of other states and of the United States for the inspection of tax returns, the making of audits, and the exchange of information relating to any tax administered by the Department of Taxation. Any person to whom tax information is divulged pursuant to this section shall be subject to the prohibitions and penalties prescribed herein as though he were a tax official.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A or B or any other provision of this title, the commissioner of revenue is authorized to provide, upon written request stating the reason for such request, the chief executive officer of any county or city with information furnished to the commissioner of revenue by the Tax Commissioner relating to the name and address of any dealer located within the county or city who paid sales and use tax, for the purpose of verifying the local sales and use tax revenues payable to the county or city. Any person to whom tax information is divulged pursuant to this section shall be subject to the prohibitions and penalties prescribed herein as though he were a tax official.

This section shall not be construed to prohibit a local tax official from imprinting or displaying on a motor vehicle local license decal the year, make, and model and any other legal identification information about the particular motor vehicle for which that local license decal is assigned.

E. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, state agencies and any other administrative or regulatory unit of state government shall divulge to the Tax Commissioner or his authorized agent, upon written request, the name, address, and social security number of a taxpayer, necessary for the performance of the Commissioner's official duties regarding the administration and enforcement of laws within the jurisdiction of the Department of Taxation. The receipt of information by the Tax Commissioner or his agent which may be deemed taxpayer information shall not relieve the Commissioner of the obligations under this section.

F. Additionally, it shall be unlawful for any person to disseminate, publish, or cause to be published any confidential tax document which he knows or has reason to know is a confidential tax document. A confidential tax document is any correspondence, document, or tax return that is prohibited from being divulged by subsection A, B, C, or D of this section. This prohibition shall not apply if such confidential tax document has been divulged or disseminated pursuant to a provision of law authorizing disclosure. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.