Gambling: charitable raffles.

The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to permit private, nonprofit organizations to conduct raffles as a funding mechanism to support beneficial and charitable works, if, among other conditions, at least 90% of the gross receipts from the raffle go directly to beneficial or charitable purposes in California. The California Constitution further authorizes the Legislature to amend the percentage of gross receipts required to be dedicated to beneficial or charitable purposes by a statute passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature. Existing statutory law generally regulates raffles conducted by eligible organizations for beneficial or charitable purposes. Existing statutory law requires the Department of Justice to administer and enforce those provisions. This bill would decrease the percentage of gross receipts from charitable raffles required to go to beneficial or charitable purposes from 90% to 50% for a raffle that generates gross ticket sale receipts less than $1000, conducted by an eligible organization whose gross ticket sale receipts do not exceed $5000 for all raffles in a calendar year. The bill would also exempt from certain registration and reporting requirements any organization that has not conducted a single raffle that generates gross ticket sale receipts exceeding $1000 and annual gross ticket sale receipts not exceeding $5000 for all raffles in a calendar year. Because the bill would revise the percentage of gross receipts required to go to beneficial or charitable purposes pursuant to the California Constitution, this bill would require a 23 vote of each house.