Sen. Mamie Locke

Creates the Virginia Casino Gaming Commission (the Commission) as the licensing body for casino gaming. The bill specifies the licensing requirements for casino gaming and imposes penalties for violations of the casino gaming law. Casino gaming shall be limited to localities that have passed a referendum on the question of allowing casino gaming in the locality. The bill also requires the Commission to establish a voluntary exclusion program allowing persons to voluntarily exclude themselves from the gaming areas of facilities under the jurisdiction of the Commission. In addition, the bill establishes the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to supporting organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers. The bill requires proceeds of the gross receipts tax and admission tax imposed on casino gaming operators to be paid as follows: (i) one percent into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, (ii) 10 percent to the locality in which the casino gaming operation is located, and (iii) 89 percent into the Toll Mitigation Fund, which shall be used to mitigate the tolls established to support construction and maintenance of the Dominion Boulevard Bridge and Roadway Improvement Project and the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Freeway Extension Project.

Authorizes casino gaming in the Commonwealth to be regulated by the Virginia Lottery Board (the Board). The bill specifies the licensing requirements for casino gaming and imposes penalties for violations of the casino gaming law. Casino gaming shall be limited to localities that have passed a referendum on the question of allowing a casino gaming establishment in the locality. The bill requires the Board to establish and implement a voluntary exclusion program allowing individuals to voluntarily list themselves as being barred from entering a casino gaming establishment or other facility under the jurisdiction of the Board. In addition, the bill establishes the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to supporting organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers. The bill requires proceeds of the gross receipts tax and admission tax imposed on casino gaming operators to be paid as follows: (i) one percent into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, (ii) 10 percent to the locality in which the casino gaming operation is located, and (iii) 89 percent into the Toll Mitigation Fund, which shall be used to mitigate the tolls established to support construction and maintenance of the Dominion Boulevard Bridge and Roadway Improvement Project and the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Freeway Extension Project.

Creates the Virginia Casino Gaming Commission (the Commission) as the licensing body for casino gaming. The bill specifies the licensing requirements for casino gaming and imposes penalties for violations of the casino gaming law. The bill also requires the Commission to establish a voluntary exclusion program allowing persons to voluntarily exclude themselves from the gaming areas of facilities under the jurisdiction of the Commission. Under the bill, casino gaming is limited to localities in which at least 40 percent of the land area is exempt from local real property taxation pursuant to federal law or subdivisions (a) (1) through (a) 5 and (a) 7 of Article X, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia. In addition, the bill establishes the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund administered by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to provide counseling and other support services for compulsive and problem gamblers, develop problem gambling treatment and prevention programs, and provide grants to supporting organizations that provide assistance to compulsive gamblers. The bill requires proceeds of the gross receipts tax and admission tax imposed on casino gaming operators to be paid as follows: (i) one percent into the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, (ii) 10 percent to the locality in which the casino gaming operation is located, and (iii) 89 percent into the Toll Mitigation Fund, which shall be used to mitigate the tolls established to support construction and maintenance of the Dominion Boulevard Bridge and Roadway Improvement Project and the Downtown Tunnel/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Freeway Extension Project.

Proposes the repeal of the constitutional amendment dealing with marriage that was approved by referendum at the November 2006 election. That amendment to the Bill of Rights (i) defines marriage as "only a union between one man and one woman"; (ii) prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage"; and (iii) prohibits the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage." The provisions of this section of the Constitution of Virginia are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in