Legislative findings

The General Assembly finds that: (1) There is a compelling state interest in ensuring the most efficient, honest, and accurate regulation of the bona fide coin operated amusement machine industry in this state; and (2) The most efficient, accurate, and honest regulation of the bona fide coin operated amusement machine industry in this state can best be facilitated by establishing a Class B accounting terminal to which all Class B machines will be linked by a communications network to provide superior capability of auditing, reporting, and regulation of the coin operated amusement machine industry. History. — Code 1981, § 50-27-100, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 1-1/HB 487. Editor’s notes. — Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 3-1/HB 487, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that: ‘‘(b) If any section of this Act is determined to be unconstitutional by a final decision of an appellate court of competent jurisdiction or by the trial court of competent jurisdiction if no appeal is made, with the exception of subsection (g) of Code Section 50-27-78 and Section 2-1 of this Act, this Act shall stand repealed by operation of law. ‘‘(c) This Act is not intended to and shall not be construed to affect the legality of the repair, transport, possession, or use of otherwise prohibited gambling devices on maritime vessels within the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia. To the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was lawful prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall not be made illegal by this Act; and to the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was prohibited prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall remain prohibited.’’ As of May 2021, no such decision has been issued. 649 50-27-101 50-27-101. Class B accounting terminal; communication networks; other procedures and policies. (a) On or before July 1, 2014, in cooperation with the Bona Fide Coin Operated Amusement Machine Operator Advisory Board established under Code Section 50-27-89, the corporation shall procure a Class B accounting terminal linked by a communications network through which all Class B machines in a location shall connect to a single point of commerce for the purpose of accounting and reporting to the state. In no event shall the terminal approved by the corporation limit participation to only one manufacturer or one type of bona fide coin operated amusement machine. Consideration shall be given to the cost associated with retrofitting all existing Class B machines and efforts made to minimize that cost. (b) Six months after the procurement of a Class B accounting terminal and successful pilot testing, all Class B machines shall be linked by a communications network to a Class B accounting terminal for purposes of monitoring and reading device activities as provided for in this Code section. When the corporation is satisfied with the operation of the Class B accounting terminal it shall certify the effective status of the Class B accounting terminal and notify all licensees of such certification. (c) The Class B accounting terminal shall be designed and operated to allow the monitoring and reading of all Class B machines for the purpose of compliance with regard to their obligations to the state. The Class B accounting terminal shall be located within and administered by the corporation. (d) The Class B accounting terminal shall not provide for the monitoring or reading of personal or financial information concerning patrons of bona fide coin operated amusement machines. (e) Any entity that acts as a vendor for the corporation in building, operating, maintaining, or contracting to build, operate, or maintain a Class B accounting terminal shall be prohibited from obtaining a license as an operator or location owner or location operator. As used in this subsection, the term ‘‘entity’’ shall also include the entity’s employees, independent contractors, consultants, or any other person as defined in paragraph (15) of subsection (b) of Code Section 50-27-70 which is related to the entity during the time the vendor is involved with providing service as it relates to the Class B accounting terminal for the corporation. (f ) Except as provided in subsection (e) of Code Section 50-27-73, nothing in this part shall be construed to provide any authority to the corporation to limit or eliminate Class B machines or to limit, elimi650 50-27-102 nate, or unduly restrict the number of licenses, permits, or certifications for operators or location owners or location operators. (g) The corporation shall not expand, limit, or otherwise alter what constitutes a bona fide coin operated amusement machine and the permitted redemption related items, except that the corporation shall be permitted to authorize any ticket or product of the corporation. History. — Code 1981, § 50-27-101, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 1-1/HB 487. Editor’s notes. — Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 3-1/HB 487, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that: ‘‘(b) If any section of this Act is determined to be unconstitutional by a final decision of an appellate court of competent jurisdiction or by the trial court of competent jurisdiction if no appeal is made, with the exception of subsection (g) of Code Section 50-27-78 and Section 2-1 of this Act, this Act shall stand repealed by operation of law. ‘‘(c) This Act is not intended to and shall not be construed to affect the legality of the repair, transport, possession, or use of otherwise prohibited gambling devices on maritime vessels within the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia. To the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was lawful prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall not be made illegal by this Act; and to the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was prohibited prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall remain prohibited.’’ As of May 2021, no such decision has been issued. 50-27-102. Role of corporation; implementation and certification; separation of funds and accounting; disputes. (a) Upon successful implementation and certification of the Class B accounting terminal under the provisions of Code Section 50-27-101, and for the first fiscal year thereafter, the corporation shall: (1) Retain 5 percent of the net receipts; (2) Provide, within five business days of receipt, 47.5 percent of the net receipts to the location owner and location operator for the cost associated with allowing the Class B machines to be placed; and (3) Provide, within five business days of receipt, 47.5 percent of the net receipts to the operator holding the Class B master license for the cost of securing, operating, and monitoring the machines. (b) In each fiscal year after the implementation and certification required by subsection (a) of this Code section, the corporation’s share shall increase 1 percent, taken evenly from the location owner or location operator and the operator, to a maximum of 10 percent. (c) The corporation shall require location owners and location operators to place all bona fide coin operated amusement machine proceeds due the corporation in a segregated account in institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation not later than the close of the next banking day after the date of their collection by the retailer until the date they are paid over to the corporation. At the time of such 651 50-27-102 deposit, bona fide coin operated amusement machine proceeds shall be deemed to be the property of the corporation. The corporation may require a location owner or location operator to establish a single separate electronic funds transfer account where available for the purpose of receiving proceeds from Class B machines, making payments to the corporation, and receiving payments for the corporation. Unless otherwise authorized in writing by the corporation, each bona fide coin operated amusement machine location owner or location operator shall establish a separate bank account for bona fide coin operated amusement machine proceeds which shall be kept separate and apart from all other funds and assets and shall not be commingled with any other funds or assets. Whenever any person who receives proceeds from bona fide coin operated amusement machines becomes insolvent, the proceeds due the corporation from such person shall have preference over all debts or demands. Whenever any person who receives proceeds from bona fide coin operated amusement machines dies insolvent, the proceeds due the corporation from such person’s estate shall have preference over all debts or demands except the provision of year’s support for such person’s family. If any financial obligation to the corporation has not been timely received, the officers, directors, members, partners, or shareholders of the location owner or location operator shall be personally liable for the moneys owed to the corporation. (d)(1) As a condition of the license issued pursuant to this article, no master licensee or location owner or location operator shall replace or remove a Class A or Class B bona fide coin operated amusement machine from a location until the master licensee and location owner or location operator certify to the corporation that there are no disputes regarding any agreement, distribution of funds, or other claim between the master licensee and location owner or location operator; provided, however, that this certification shall not be required if a master licensee is replacing its own Class A or Class B bona fide coin operated amusement machine at a location. If either the master licensee or location owner or location operator is unable to make the certification required by this Code section, the corporation shall refer the dispute to a hearing officer as set forth in this subsection. (2) The corporation shall have jurisdiction of all disputes between and among any licensees or former licensees whose licenses were issued pursuant to this article relating in any way to any agreement involving coin operated amusement machines, distribution of funds, tortious interference with contract, other claims against a subsequent master license holder or location owner, or any other claim involving coin operated amusement machines; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply to any agreement which expired 652 50-27-102 on or before April 10, 2013. Except as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the corporation shall refer any dispute certified by any master licensee against any other master licensee or any location owner or location operator or by any location owner or location operator against any master licensee to a hearing officer. For the purpose of service on licensees with respect to disputes, each licensee or former licensee shall register and keep current with the corporation the name of an agent and his or her address and an email address which shall be made available to any licensee on request. Service by registered mail, courier delivery, or overnight mail delivered to the agent’s registered address and to the email address shall be adequate service on the licensee for a hearing on the dispute. All disputes subject to the provisions of this Code section certified by a master licensee, location owner, or location operator shall be decided by a hearing officer approved or appointed by the corporation. The corporation shall adopt rules and regulations governing the selection of hearing officers after consultation with the Bona Fide Coin Operated Amusement Machine Operator Advisory Board. Costs of the hearing officer’s review, including any hearing set pursuant to this Code section, shall be shared equally between the parties in the dispute unless provided otherwise in the agreement or by the hearing officer; provided, however, that the corporation shall not be responsible for any of the costs associated with the dispute resolution mechanism set forth in this Code section. If any party fails to timely pay the costs of the hearing officer’s review within ten days of service of notice of costs by the hearing officer, the hearing officer shall grant a default judgment on liability against the nonpaying party. The hearing officer shall then consider evidence related to damages or any other relief and shall render judgment based upon a preponderance of the evidence. (3) The corporation shall also adopt rules governing the procedure, evidentiary matters, and any prehearing discovery applicable to disputes resolved pursuant to this Code section. Such rules shall be consistent with the Georgia Arbitration Code, and the corporation shall consult the Bona Fide Coin Operated Amusement Machine Operator Advisory Board regarding the procedures or rules adopted pursuant to this subsection. Notwithstanding Code Section 9-9-9, such procedures and rules shall include at least the right of notice to produce books, writings, and other documents or tangible things; depositions; and interrogatories. (4) If requested by the master licensee or the location owner or location operator, the hearing officer shall conduct a hearing as to the dispute, but in no case unless extended by the hearing officer for good cause shall the hearing officer conduct a hearing more than 90 days after he or she has been appointed or selected to decide the dispute. 653 50-27-102 No Class B bona fide coin operated amusement machine that is subject to the dispute resolution mechanism required by this Code section shall be removed from the terminal by a master licensee, location owner, or location operator or otherwise prevented by a master licensee, location owner, or location operator from play by the public until a final decision is entered and all appellate rights have been exhausted, or until the master licensee and location owner or location operator agree to a resolution, whichever occurs first. (5) The decision of the hearing officer may be appealed to the chief executive officer or his or her designee. The chief executive officer shall not reverse a finding of fact of the hearing officer if any evidence supports the hearing officer’s conclusion. The chief executive officer shall not reverse a conclusion of law of the hearing officer unless it was clearly erroneous, arbitrary, and capricious or exceeded the hearing officer’s jurisdiction. The decision of the chief executive officer may be appealed to the Superior Court of Fulton County, which court shall not reverse the chief executive officer’s findings of fact unless it is against the weight of the evidence as set forth in Code Section 5-5-21, and the chief executive officer’s legal conclusions shall not be set aside unless there is an error of law. History. — Code 1981, § 50-27-102, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 1-1/HB 487; Ga. L. 2015, p. 39, § 9/SB 190; Ga. L. 2016, p. 762, § 5/SB 388; Ga. L. 2016, p. 864, § 50/HB 737; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 50/SB 365; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 2-28/HB 865; Ga. L. 2021, p. 922, § 50/HB 497. The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, in subsection (c), substituted ‘‘, the proceeds due the corporation from such person shall have preference over all debts or demands’’ for ‘‘or’’ at the end of the fifth sentence, in the sixth sentence, added ‘‘Whenever any person who receives proceeds from bona fide coin operated amusement machines’’ at the beginning, substituted ‘‘person’s’’ for ‘‘person or his or her’’, and added ‘‘except the provision of year’s support for such person’s family’’ at the end of the sentence. The 2021 amendment, effective May 10, 2021, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted ‘‘email’’ for ‘‘e-mail’’ in the third and fourth sentences of paragraph (d)(2). Editor’s notes. — Ga. L. 2013, p. 37, § 3-1/HB 487, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that: ‘‘(b) If any section of this Act is determined to be unconstitutional by a final decision of an appellate court of competent jurisdiction or by the trial court of competent jurisdiction if no appeal is made, with the exception of subsection (g) of Code Section 50-27-78 and Section 2-1 of this Act, this Act shall stand repealed by operation of law. ‘‘(c) This Act is not intended to and shall not be construed to affect the legality of the repair, transport, possession, or use of otherwise prohibited gambling devices on maritime vessels within the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia. To the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was lawful prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall not be made illegal by this Act; and to the extent that such repair, transport, possession, or use was prohibited prior to the enactment of this Act, it shall remain prohibited.’’ As of May 2021, no such decision has been issued. 654 50-27-103