Logosm.gif (1927 bytes)
navlinks.gif (4688 bytes)
Hruler04.gif (5511 bytes)

Dockside and Riverboat Gambling Initiative of 1998

Home

Bibliography

Calendar

Columns
Dorothy Brizill
Bonnie Cain
Jim Dougherty
Gary Imhoff
Phil Mendelson
Mark David Richards
Sandra Seegars

DCPSWatch

DCWatch Archives
Council Period 12
Council Period 13
Council Period 14

Election 1998
Election 2000
Election 2002

Elections
Election 2004
Election 2006

Government and People
ANC's
Anacostia Waterfront Corporation
Auditor
Boards and Com
BusRegRefCom
Campaign Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Management Officer
City Council
Congress
Control Board
Corporation Counsel
Courts
DC2000
DC Agenda
Elections and Ethics
Fire Department
FOI Officers
Inspector General
Health
Housing and Community Dev.
Human Services
Legislation
Mayor's Office
Mental Health
Motor Vehicles
Neighborhood Action
National Capital Revitalization Corp.
Planning and Econ. Dev.
Planning, Office of
Police Department
Property Management
Public Advocate
Public Libraries
Public Schools
Public Service Commission
Public Works
Regional Mobility Panel
Sports and Entertainment Com.
Taxi Commission
Telephone Directory
University of DC
Water and Sewer Administration
Youth Rehabilitation Services
Zoning Commission

Issues in DC Politics

Budget issues
DC Flag
DC General, PBC
Gun issues
Health issues
Housing initiatives
Mayor’s mansion
Public Benefit Corporation
Regional Mobility
Reservation 13
Tax Rev Comm
Term limits repeal
Voting rights, statehood
Williams’s Fundraising Scandals

Links

Organizations
Appleseed Center
Cardozo Shaw Neigh.Assoc.
Committee of 100
Fed of Citizens Assocs
League of Women Voters
Parents United
Shaw Coalition

Photos

Search

What Is DCWatch?

themail archives

SUMMARY STATEMENT

This Initiative, if passed, would legalize dockside and riverboat gambling on and along the Anacostia and/or Potomac Rivers, by amending D.C. Code Title 22, Chapter 15.

Dockside and Riverboat Gambling activities would be approved, licensed, and regulated by the Lottery and Charitable Games Board or any successor agency.

The types of gambling activities permitted by this initiative are defined as games of chance and games of skill. These games may include, but are not limited to, baccarat, bingo, chemin-de-fer, chuck-a-luck, craps, fan-tan, keno, pai-gow, panguingui, poker, roulette, slot machines, twenty-one, wheel of fortune, and video gaming devices.

LEGISLATIVE TEXT

BE IT ENACTED BY THE ELECTORS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA That this measure may be cited as the "Dockside and Riverboat Gambling Initiative of 1997."

Section 2. Section 3 of the Law to Legalize Lotteries, Daily Numbers Games and Bingo and Raffles for Charitable Purposes in the District of Columbia, effective March 10, 1981 (D.C. Law 3-172; D.C. Code Section 22-1516 et seq.), is amended as follows :

(a) Sections 22-1516 and 22-1517 are amended to read as follows:

Section 22-1516. Statement of purpose.

"It is the purpose of this subchapter to legalize games of chance and games of skill including any banking or percentage game such as baccarat, bingo, chemin-de-fer, chuck-a-luck, craps, fan-tan, keno, pai-gow, panguingui, poker, roulette, slot machines, twenty-one, wheel of fortune and video gaming devices, as well as variations of the foregoing and any other game which may be approved by the Board, which activities are to be licensed and regulated by the Lottery and Charitable Games Board or any successor agency under the provisions of Title 2 of the D.C. Code relating to the Lottery, conducted dockside or traversing the waters of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. These activities shall provide revenue to the District of Columbia and shall provide the citizens of the District of Columbia financial benefits.

Section 22-1517. Permissible gambling activities.

"Nothing in sections 863 through 969f of An Act To establish a code of law for the District of Columbia, approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1330; D.C. Code Sections 22-1501 through 22-1514), shall be construed to prohibit the operation of or participation in games of chance or games of skill licensed and regulated by the D.C. Lottery and Charitable Games Board or any successor agency under the provisions of Title 2 of the D.C. Code relating to the Lottery, conducted dockside or traversing the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers."

(b) New sections [sic] 22-1519 is added to read as follows:

Section 22-1519. Objectives.

"The initiative is offered to accomplish the following objectives:

"(1) Enhance the quality of life of the citizens of the District of Columbia;"
"(2) Transfer millions of dollars to the District's treasury;
"(3) Stimulate economic development in the District;
"(4) Reduce the tax burden for the citizens of the District;
"(5) Create jobs;
"(6) Attract tourists to the District;
"(7) Create recreational benefits for District residents and visitors;
"(8) Help to develop the shoreline of the Anaconda River;
"(9) Help make the District of Columbia competitive with surrounding jurisdictions; and
"(10) Serve as a needed expression of local home rule authority.".

Sec. 3. Severability.

It any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, the declaration of invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the initiative which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this initiative are severable.

Sec. 4. Effective date.

This act shall take effect following approval by the Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority as provided in Section 203(a) of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995, approved April 17, 1995 (109 Stat. 116; D.C. Code S 47-392.3(a), a 60-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(2) of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code S 1-233(c)(2), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.


The sponsor of the initiative is the DC Committee for Jobs and Economic Development through Riverboat Gambling, 774 Congress Street, SE, Washington, DC 20032. Treasurer: Diane Adams, 4020 5th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 202-726-1973. Chair and Initiative Proposer: Cortez Fletcher, Jr., 774 Congress Street, SE, Washington, DC 202-561-7166.

Back to top of page


Send mail with questions or comments to webmaster@dcwatch.com
Web site copyright ©DCWatch (ISSN 1546-4296)