§ 435 — Powers and duties of the commission

New York § 435

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law EXC: Executive
• Art. 19-B: State Bingo Control Commission

Text

§ 435. Powers and duties of the commission. 1. The commission shall\nhave the power and it shall be its duty to:\n (a) Supervise the administration of the bingo licensing law and adopt,\namend and repeal rules and regulations governing the issuance and\namendment of licenses thereunder and the conducting of games under such\nlicenses, which rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of\nlaw and shall be binding upon all municipalities issuing licenses, and\nupon licensees thereunder and licensees of the commission, to the end\nthat such licenses shall be issued to qualified licensees only and that\nsaid games shall be fairly and properly conducted for the purposes and\nin the manner in the said bingo licensing law prescribed and to prevent\nthe games thereby authorized to be conducted from being conducted for\ncommercial purposes or purposes other than those therein authorized,\nparticipated in by criminal or other undesirable elements and the funds\nderived from the games being diverted from the purposes authorized, and,\nto provide uniformity in the administration of said law throughout the\nstate, the commission shall prescribe forms of application for licenses,\nlicenses, amendment of licenses, reports of the conduct of games and\nother matters incident to the administration of such law;\n (b) Conduct, anywhere within the state, investigations of the\nadministration, enforcement and potential or actual violations of the\nbingo licensing law and of the rules and regulations of the commission;\n (c) Review all determinations and actions of the municipal governing\nbody in issuing an initial license, and it may review the issuance of\nsubsequent licenses and, after hearing, revoke those licenses which do\nnot in all respects meet the requirements of this article, article\nfourteen-h of the general municipal law and the rules and regulations of\nthe commission;\n (d) Suspend or revoke a license, after hearing, for any violation of\nthe provisions of this article, article fourteen-h of the general\nmunicipal law or the rules and regulations of the commission;\n (e) Hear appeals from the determinations and action of the municipal\ngoverning body in connection with the refusing to issue licenses, the\nsuspension and revocation of licenses and the imposition of fines in the\nmanner prescribed by law and the action and determination of the\ncommission upon any such appeal shall be binding upon the municipal\ngoverning body and all parties thereto;\n (f) Initiate prosecutions for violations of this article and of the\nbingo licensing law;\n (g) Carry on continuous study of the operation of the bingo licensing\nlaw to ascertain from time to time defects therein jeopardizing or\nthreatening to jeopardize the purposes of this article, and to formulate\nand recommend changes in such law and in other laws of the state which\nthe commission may determine to be necessary for the realization of such\npurposes, and to the same end to make a continuous study of the\noperation and administration of similar laws which may be in effect in\nother states of the United States.\n (h) Supervise the disposition of all funds derived from the conduct of\nbingo by authorized organizations not currently licensed to conduct such\ngames;\n (i) Issue an identification number to an applicant authorized\norganization if it shall determine that the applicant satisfies the\nrequirements of the bingo licensing law and the rules and regulations.\n 2. (a) The commission shall have the power to issue or, after hearing,\nrefuse to issue a license permitting a person, firm or corporation to\nsell or distribute to any other person, firm or corporation engaged in\nbusiness as a wholesaler, jobber, distributor or retailer of all cards,\nboards, sheets, pads and all other supplies, devices and equipment\ndesigned for use in the play of bingo by an organization duly licensed\nto conduct bingo games or to sell or distribute any such materials\ndirectly to such an organization. For the purposes of this section the\nwords "sell or distribute" shall include, but shall not be limited to,\nthe following activities; offering for sale, receiving, handling,\nmaintaining, storing the same on behalf of such an organization,\ndistributing or providing the same to such an organization, and offering\nfor sale or lease bingo devices and equipment. Each such license shall\nbe valid for one year.\n (b) No person, firm or corporation, other than an organization that is\nor has been during the preceding twelve months duly licensed to conduct\nbingo games, shall sell or distribute bingo supplies or equipment\nwithout having first obtained a license therefor upon a written or\nelectronic application made, verified and filed with the commission in\nthe form prescribed by the rules and regulations of the commission. As a\npart of its determination concerning the applicant's suitability for\nlicensing as a bingo supplier, the commission shall require the\napplicant to furnish to such board two sets of fingerprints. Such\nfingerprints shall be submitted to the division of criminal justice\nservices for a state criminal history record check, as defined in\nsubdivision one of section three thousand thirty-five of the education\nlaw, and may be submitted to the federal bureau of investigation for a\nnational criminal history record check. In each such application for a\nlicense under this section shall be stated the name and address of the\napplicant; the names and addresses of its officers, directors,\nshareholders or partners; the amount of gross receipts realized on the\nsale or distribution of bingo supplies and equipment to duly licensed\norganizations during the last preceding calendar or fiscal year, and\nsuch other information as shall be prescribed by such rules and\nregulations. The fee for such license shall be a sum equal to\ntwenty-five dollars plus an amount based upon the gross sales, if any,\nof bingo equipment and supplies to authorized organizations by the\napplicant during the preceding calendar year, or fiscal year if the\napplicant maintains his or her accounts on a fiscal year basis, and\ndetermined in accordance with the following schedule:\n gross sales of $1,000 to $4,999................$10.00\n gross sales of $5,000 to $19,999...............$50.00\n gross sales of $20,000 to $49,999.............$200.00\n gross sales of $50,000 to $100,000............$500.00\n gross sales in excess of $100,000...........$1,000.00\n (c) The following shall be ineligible for such a license:\n (1) a person convicted of a crime if there is a direct relationship\nbetween one or more of the previous criminal offenses and the integrity\nand safety of bingo, considering the factors set forth in article\ntwenty-three-A of the correction law;\n (2) a person who is or has been a professional gambler or gambling\npromoter or who for other reasons is not of good moral character;\n (3) a public officer or employee;\n (4) an operator or proprietor of a commercial hall duly licensed under\nthe bingo licensing law;\n (5) a firm or corporation in which a person defined in clause (1),\n(2), (3) or (4) of this paragraph, or a person married or related in the\nfirst degree to such a person, has greater than a ten percent\nproprietary, equitable or credit interest or in which such a person is\nactive or employed.\n (d) The control commission shall have power to examine or cause to be\nexamined the books and records of any applicant for a license, or any\nlicensee, under this section. Any information so received shall not be\ndisclosed except so far as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying\nout the provisions of this article and article fourteen-h of the general\nmunicipal law.\n (e) Any solicitation of an organization licensed to conduct bingo\ngames, to purchase or induce the purchase of bingo supplies and\nequipment, or any representation, statement or inquiry designed or\nreasonably tending to influence such an organization to purchase the\nsame, other than by a person licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant\nto this section shall constitute a violation of this section.\n (f) Any person who willfully shall make any material false statement\nin any application for a license authorized to be issued under this\narticle or who willfully shall violate any of the provisions of this\nsection or of any license issued hereunder shall be guilty of a\nmisdemeanor and, in addition to the penalties in such case made and\nprovided, shall forfeit any license issued to him or it under this\nsection and be ineligible to apply for a license under this section for\none year thereafter.\n (g) At the end of the license period, a recapitulation shall be made\nas between the licensee and the commission in respect of the gross sales\nactually recorded during the license period and the fee paid therefor,\nand any deficiency of fee thereby shown to be due shall be paid by the\nlicensee and any excess of fee thereby shown to have been paid shall be\ncredited to said licensee in such manner as the commission by the rules\nand regulations shall prescribe.\n 3. The commission shall have the power to approve and establish a\nstandard set of bingo cards comprising a consecutively numbered series\nand shall by its rules and regulations prescribe the manner in which\nsuch cards are to be reproduced and distributed to licensed authorized\norganizations. The sale or distribution to a licensed authorized\norganization of any card or cards other than those contained in the\nstandard set of bingo cards shall constitute a violation of this\nsection. Licensed authorized organizations shall not be required to use\nnor to maintain such cards seriatim excepting that the same may be\nrequired in the conduct of limited period bingo games.\n