01-24-1990 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Thomas M. Sweeney George F. Borer Paul T. Ostrow Douglas B. Meslow Sweeney & Borer Professional Association Attorneys at Law Suite 1200 Capital Centre 386 North Wabasha Street St. Paul, Minnesota 55102 November 22, 1989 Ms. Annette Freeman Deputy City Clerk City of Little Canada 515 Little Canada Road Little Canada, MN 55117 Re: Regulation of Charitable Gambling Our File No. 5982 Dear Ms. Freeman: Telephone (612) 222 -2541 Facsimile (612) 223-5289 At the last City Council meeting, held on November 8, 1989, we were asked to address the issue of the extent to which the City may require a licensed charitable gambling organization to spend all or a portion of its expenditures in the City. As you are aware, the statutes governing this issue were revised effective August 1, 1989. Based upon our review of the new legislation, as well as discussions with legislators, Senate and House counsel, and representatives of the Minnesota League of Cities, we have reached the following conclusions. Chapter 334, Section 44 of the 1989 legislature added the following provisions to Subdivision 1 of Minnesota Statutes 349.213: "A statutory or home rule city or county may by ordinance require that a licensed organization conducting lawful gambling within its jurisdiction expend all or a portion of expenditures for lawful purposes on lawful purposes conducted or located within the city or county's trade area. Such an ordinance must define the city's or county's trade area and must specify the percentage of lawful purpose expenditures which must be expended within the trade area." Previously, a city's authority to control expenditures from net profits was limited to the power to require that up to ten percent of net profits be directed to specific expenditures. The impact of the 1989 legislation depends upon limits, if any, on a city's discretion in defining "trade area." Page 87