H 4837 General Bill, By Meacham, R.J. Herdklotz, Rice, Simrill, Trotter and 
C.C. Wells
 A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section
 12-21-2805 so as to impose an additional biennial licensing fee of five
 hundred dollars on video games with a free play feature, to credit the revenue
 to a separate "Video Gaming Social Consequences Fund" administered by the
 Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and to provide for the
 use of the fund revenues for enforcement of video gaming laws and regulations,
 and for making grants to public and private nonprofit agencies for programs
 ameliorating the social consequences of video gaming.

   03/27/96  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-47
   03/27/96  House  Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-47

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 12-21-2805 SO AS TO IMPOSE AN ADDITIONAL BIENNIAL LICENSING FEE OF FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ON VIDEO GAMES WITH A FREE PLAY FEATURE, TO CREDIT THE REVENUE TO A SEPARATE "VIDEO GAMING SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES FUND" ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE SERVICES, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE USE OF THE FUND REVENUES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF VIDEO GAMING LAWS AND REGULATIONS, AND FOR MAKING GRANTS TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT AGENCIES FOR PROGRAMS AMELIORATING THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF VIDEO GAMING.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Article 19, Chapter 21, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 12-21-2805. (A) In addition to all other license fees and taxes imposed on machines licensed pursuant to Section 12-21-2720(A)(3), a biennial fee of five hundred dollars is imposed for licensing such machines which must be collected at the time the license tax paid pursuant to Section 12-21-2720(A)(3) is collected. The revenue of this fee must be credited to a separate fund in the State Treasury styled the `Video Gaming Social Consequences Fund'. This fund must be administered by a new division of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, which is hereby established, to administer the revenues of the fund established by this section.

(B) Fund revenues must be distributed by the division to law enforcement agencies in counties where machine payoffs are permitted for increased costs of law enforcement resulting from these machines, and to the Department of Revenue and Taxation for the sole purpose of achieving strict compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to machines.

(C) An amount equal to not less than fifty percent of fund revenues must be expended in the form of grants to public and private nonprofit agencies operating programs to ameliorate the societal consequences of the gaming allowed with respect to machines. These grants, which must be awarded on the basis of competitive applications, must address the areas of treatment for addictive gambling, program to assist families adversely affected by such addiction, and other appropriate programs to ameliorate the destructive consequences of video gaming. Not less than half of the dollar value of grants made pursuant to this subsection must be made to private nonprofit agencies.

(D) Unexpended revenues of the Video Gaming Social Consequences Fund shall not lapse to the general fund of the State, but must be carried forward in the fund to succeeding fiscal years and used for the same purposes. Interest earnings of the fund must be credited to it."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect May 1, 1996.