10-23-1991 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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OCT-18- L991 15:09 FPOH SHED IE' EOFEP Mr. Joel R. Hanson October 16, 1991 Page Two Tii LITTLE -..j:l lDH P.05 09 are set forth in state statute and need not be restated in the ordinance. Since charitable gambling regulations have been subject to frequent revisions in the legislature, it is our recommendation that the City's gambling ordinance avoid incorporating existing state law since revisions in state law would render the ordinance obsolete. Sections 815.030 and 815.035, relating to Required Contributions and Law Enforcement and Administrative Costs, if included in the final ordinance passed by the City Council, will require the creation of separate funds to be administered without any expense to those funds. Strict accounting procedures need to be followed in the imposition and utilization of such a tax to ensure that the City can establish to the satisfaction of the Gambling Control Board that the proceeds of the tax are being used solely for the purposes of enforcing local ordinances and state law relating to charitable gambling. We have included Section 815.040 (B) in the draft ordinance. This provision would require that expenditures dedicated to the trade area must be dedicated to programs or activities in which the majority of those directly benefitting are Little Canada residents. We believe that this provision is subject to challenge. Specifically, the legislature in 1990 eliminated the City's discretion to define a trade area as its own municipal boundaries and required the inclusion of all contiguous cities. It could be argued that Section 815.040 (B) is inconsistent with the trade area statute and the intent of the legislature in amending that statute. Finally, a question is raised regarding the language in Minn. Stat. §349.213, Subd.(c) which requires that "a more stringent regulation or prohibition of lawful gambling adopted by a political subdivision under this subdivision must apply equally to all forms of lawful gambling within the jurisdiction of the political subdivision." Under the language of this statute, it is our opinion that the enforcement of the local gambling tax or the requirement to pay 10% to the local administrative fund should apply equally to all charitable gambling licensees. 1 look forward to discussing this matter further with you. Very truly yours, SWEENEY & BORER Paul T. Ostrow PTO:gc Enclosure page 18b