2004-01-14 CC Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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U.S. Const. amend. I. NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449,78 S.Cl.1163(1958) Int'l Ass'n of Machinists v. Street, 367 U.S. 740, 81 5.Ct. 1784 (1960) Minn. Stat S 349.213 Minn. Stat. S 349.12 suM. 25(10). Minn. Stat. S 349.213. Minn. Stat. S 349.16, subd. 8 Minn. Stat. 9 349.213 subd. 3. Lawful Gambling The First Amendment prohibits any level of government from making laws that abridge the freedom of speech or the right of people to peaceably assemble. The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment implies that people shall have a right to freedom of association. The freedom to associate carries with it the freedom not to associate. Compelling an individual to support an organization or cause that he or she does not agree with is an infringement of that person's First Amendment rights. It is improper for a city to condition the granting of a benefit on the recipient's relinquishment of a constitutional right. Therefore, a municipal regulation that conditions approval of a gambling license on the organization contributing to a cause it may not support is subject to challenge on constitutional grounds. C. City administered funds A city may accept donations from a gambling organization, but a city may not require a donation as a condition of license approval or pernrit issuance. A city can, by ordinance, require organizations to contribute up to 10 percent per year of their net profits derived from lawful gambling to a fund administered by the city. The city may disburse the funds for lawful purposes. Therefore, although a city may not require direct payments from a gambling organization to any city department, a city can establish a fund and disburse a portion of the proceeds of that fund to a city department, such as a park system. No direct contributions or payments of gambling money may be made to a law enforcement or prosecutorial agency. D. Trade areas A city may, by ordinance, require gambling organizations conducting lawful gambling within the city to expend all or a portion of their expenditures on lawful purposes conducted or located within a city's trade area. The ordinance must defme the trade area. A city's trade area must include every city and township contiguous to the defming city. The ordinance must also specify the percentage of expenditures an organization must make within the trade area. . E. Investigation fees A city may assess an investigation fee on organizations applying for or renewing state issued premises pernrits and bingo hall licenses. The fee may not exceed: . $500 in first class cities; . $250 in second class cities; . $100 in all other cities. Cities that charge an investigation fee may not impose a local gambling tax. 13