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TO AMEND TITLE 3, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 11, RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA GRANTS ITS AUTHORITY DELEGATED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO REGULATE CERTAIN GAMBLING VESSELS PURSUANT TO THE JOHNSON ACT OF 1992, AS AMENDED, 15 U.S.C. SECTIONS 1171 THROUGH 1177, TO COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, TO PROVIDE THAT COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS MAY PROHIBIT OR REGULATE THE OPERATION OF GAMBLING VESSELS BY ORDINANCE WITHIN THE DELEGATED POWER PROVIDED, TO PROVIDE THAT A COUNTY AND MUNICIPALITY MAY ASSESS ONLY CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION, TO PROVIDE THAT CIVIL PENALTIES SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER PASSENGER WITHIN A TWENTY-FOUR HOUR PERIOD, TO PROVIDE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ASSUMES THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEFENDING THE STATE, COUNTY, OR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT FROM CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES OF THE PROVISIONS HEREIN, TO PROVIDE THAT PASSENGER CRUISE LINERS MEETING CERTAIN CRITERIA ARE EXEMPT FROM THE PROVISIONS HEREIN, AND TO PROVIDE THAT NOTHING IN THIS SECTION MUST BE CONSTRUED TO REPEAL OR MODIFY ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW RELATING TO GAMBLING.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Gambling Cruise Act." It is the intent of the General Assembly to delegate to counties and municipalities of this State the authority to prohibit or regulate the operation of gambling vessels that are engaged in voyages that depart from the territorial waters of the State, sail into United States or international waters, and return to the territorial waters of the State without an intervening stop, but to exempt from county or municipal regulation passenger cruise liners, as defined in Section 3-11-100(5), as contained in SECTION 2 of this act, because passenger cruise liners are vessels principally engaged in destination cruises and are not vessels used primarily for the operation of gambling. Furthermore, passenger cruise liners do not burden the public health or safety of the county or municipality because their voyages are infrequent, their cruises are not principally operated for the purpose of gambling, and their itineraries predominantly involve voyages that include one or more intervening stops.
SECTION 2. Title 3 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 3-11-100. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter:
(1) 'Gambling vessel' means a boat, ship, casino boat, watercraft, or barge kept, operated, or maintained for the purpose of gambling, with one or more gaming establishments aboard, that carries or operates gambling devices for the use of its passengers or otherwise provides facilities for the purpose of gambling, whether within or without the jurisdiction of this State, and whether it is anchored, berthed, lying to, or navigating, and the sailing, voyaging, or cruising, or any segment of the sailing, voyaging, or cruising begins and ends within this State.
(2) 'Gambling' or 'gambling device' means any game of chance and includes, but is not limited to, slot machines, punchboards, video poker or blackjack machines, keeno, roulette, craps, or any other gaming table type gambling or poker, blackjack, or any other card gambling game.
(3) 'Intervening stop' occurs when a vessel departs the territorial waters of this State and sails into United States or international waters, and between the time the vessel departs the territorial waters of this State and the time it returns to the territorial waters of this State, the vessel docks at a port of call in another state, possession of the United States, or foreign country.
(4) 'Destination cruise' means a cruise in which a vessel makes one or more intervening stops.
(5) 'Passenger cruise liner' means a vessel that:
(a) has a draft that is equal to or larger than the controlled depth of the intercoastal waterway as determined by the United States Army Corps of Engineers;
(b) provides separate passenger cabins, including bathroom or head facilities, in a size reasonably suitable to accommodate living and sleeping space in a ratio of at least one cabin for every four passengers;
(c) contains kitchen or galley facilities and dining facilities reasonably suitable to offer and accommodate all of the vessel's passengers at seated meals in no more than two sittings for each of the meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times;
(d) offers other support facilities and services including, but not limited to, exercise facilities, gift shops, medical services, and musical programs;
(e) is principally engaged in entertaining and transporting passengers on destination cruises; and
(f) is certified or authorized by the United States Coast Guard or equivalent foreign authority to carry passengers for hire upon the open ocean without navigational limitations.
Section 3-11-200. Delegation of Johnson Act Option.
(A) Except as provided for in subsection (B), the General Assembly delegates to a county for the unincorporated areas of a county, and to a municipality, for the municipality, the authority conferred to this State by the United States Congress pursuant to the Johnson Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. Sections 1171 through 1177. The authority delegated herein includes the power to regulate or prohibit gambling aboard gambling vessels while such vessels are outside the territorial waters of the State, when such vessels embark or disembark passengers within their respective jurisdictions for voyages that depart from the territorial waters of the State, sail into United States or international waters, and return to the territorial waters of the State without an intervening stop.
(B) The General Assembly specifically retains and does not delegate to a county or municipality the authority to regulate or prohibit gambling on passenger cruise liners, as defined in this chapter, which is conferred to this State by the United States Congress pursuant to the Johnson Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. Sections 1171 through 1177.
(C) The authority delegated to a county or municipality under subsection (A) is delegated pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 4 and Chapter 7 of Title 5, Code of Laws of South Carolina.
Section 3-11-210. A county or municipality adopting an ordinance regulating or prohibiting gambling vessels pursuant to Section 3-11-200 may assess a civil penalty only of not more than one hundred dollars per passenger for each violation, with an aggregate total in penalties not to exceed fifty thousand dollars for a twenty-four hour period. Additionally, a county or municipality may obtain injunctive relief against a person for violation of an ordinance regulating or prohibiting gambling vessels pursuant to Section 3-11-200. For the purposes of this subsection, 'per passenger' is defined as the number of passengers allowed on a vessel pursuant to its United States Coast Guard certificate of documentation or equivalent foreign documentation.
Section 3-11-300. Home Rule Authority to Regulate.
(A) The authority delegated to a county or municipality pursuant to this section is granted pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 4 and Chapter 7 of Title 5, of the Code of Laws of South Carolina. This authority is separate from and in addition to the authority granted to a county or municipality pursuant to Sections 3-11-200 through 3-11-220, which authorize exercise of this state's Johnson Act authority pursuant to 15 U.S.C. Sections 1171 through 1177, except for passenger cruise liners.
(B) Except as provided for in subsection (C), the General Assembly delegates to a county for the unincorporated areas of a county, and to a municipality, for the municipality, the authority to regulate or prohibit gambling aboard gambling vessels while such vessels are outside the territorial waters of the State, when such vessels embark or disembark passengers within their respective jurisdictions for voyages that depart from the territorial waters of the State, sail into United States or international waters, and return to the territorial waters of the State without an intervening stop.
(C) A county or municipality is prohibited from regulating or prohibiting gambling on passenger cruise liners, as defined in this chapter.
Section 3-11-310. A county or municipality adopting an ordinance regulating or prohibiting gambling vessels pursuant to Section 3-11-300 may assess a civil penalty only of not more than one hundred dollars per passenger for each violation, with an aggregate total in penalties not to exceed fifty thousand dollars for a twenty-four hour period. Additionally, a county or municipality may obtain injunctive relief against a person for violation of an ordinance regulating or prohibiting gambling vessels pursuant to Section 3-11-300. For the purposes of this subsection, 'per passenger' is defined as the number of passengers allowed on a vessel pursuant to its United States Coast Guard certificate of documentation or equivalent foreign documentation.
Section 3-11-320. Any county or municipal ordinance prohibiting or regulating gambling or gambling vessels must not be construed to prohibit or regulate a passenger cruise liner from having gambling devices on board so long as there is no gambling allowed while the passenger cruise liner is within the territorial waters of the State.
Section 3-11-400. General Provisions.
(A) This chapter does not apply to any gambling activity conducted on United States-flagged or foreign-flagged vessels during travel from a foreign nation or another state or possession of the United States up to the point of first entry into South Carolina waters or during travel to a foreign nation or another state or possession of the United States from the point of departure from South Carolina waters, provided that such vessels make intervening stops as defined in this chapter. Nothing herein precludes prosecution for any other offense that is unlawful.
(B) The provisions of this chapter must not be construed to:
(1) repeal or modify any other provision of law relating to gambling, or any existing county or municipal ordinance regulating or prohibiting gambling or gambling vessels;
(2) repeal or modify any law with regard to bingo or the operation of a device or machine pursuant to Section 12-21-2720(A)(3);
(3) allow or permit gambling aboard any vessel, gambling vessel, or passenger cruise liner within the territorial waters of the State;
(4) preclude prosecution for any other applicable gambling offense under state law; or
(5) preclude prosecution for violations of 15 U.S.C. Sections 1172, 1173, 1174, or 1175, to the extent not otherwise prohibited by provisions of the South Carolina Constitution.
Section 3-11-410. The Attorney General is charged with the affirmative duty (1) to defend the State from constitutional challenges to the provisions of this chapter; and (2) to assist in a defense by the county or municipality enacting an ordinance regulating or prohibiting gambling vessels from constitutional challenges to the provisions of this chapter."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 2:49 P.M.