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AP18:129

For Immediate Release
August 17, 2018
Contact:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Allows New Types Of Gambling In California. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures yesterday.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

ALLOWS NEW TYPES OF GAMBLING IN CALIFORNIA. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Allows federally recognized Native American tribes to operate roulette and craps games on tribal lands, subject to compacts negotiated by the Governor and ratified by the Legislature. Allows licensed gambling establishments, such as card rooms, to conduct on-site sports wagering and to operate Nevada-style card games, and may result in authorization of sports wagering on tribal lands because of federal law. Prohibits Governor from approving gaming on newly acquired off-reservation tribal lands and negotiating gaming compacts with non-federally recognized tribes. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Unclear net fiscal impact, as it would depend primarily on how the measure is interpreted and implemented as well as the extent to which businesses and members of the public participate in the new gaming activities. (18-0003)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1854 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 18-0003.

The proponent of the measure, Russell Lowery, must collect signatures of 585,407 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than February 13, 2019. The proponent can be reached at (916) 710-2872.

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