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                            ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5745

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

By Senators Moore, Matson, West, McMullen, von Reichbauer, Murray, Stratton, Anderson and Bauer.

Read first time February 19, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.Clarifying licensing requirements for special amusement games.

     AN ACT Relating to special amusement game licenses; and amending RCW 9.46.0331.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

     Sec. 1.  RCW 9.46.0331 and 1987 c 4 s 30 are each amended to read as follows:

     The legislature hereby authorizes any person to conduct or operate amusement games when licensed and operated pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and rules and regulations adopted by the commission at such locations as the commission may authorize.  The rules shall provide for at least the following:

(1) Persons other than bona fide charitable or bona fide nonprofit organizations shall conduct amusement games only after obtaining a special amusement game license from the commission.

(2) Amusement games may be conducted under such a license only as a part of, and upon the site of:

(a) Any agricultural fair as authorized under chapter 15.76 or 36.37 RCW; or

(b) A civic center of a county, city, or town; or

(c) A world's fair or similar exposition that is approved by the bureau of international expositions at Paris, France; or

(d) A community-wide civic festival held not more than once annually and sponsored or approved by the city, town, or county in which it is held; or

(e) A commercial exposition organized and sponsored by an organization or association representing the retail sales and service operators conducting business in a shopping center or other commercial area developed and operated for retail sales and service, but only upon a parking lot or similar area located in said shopping center or commercial area for a period of no more than seventeen consecutive days by any licensee during any calendar year; or

(f) An amusement park.  An amusement park is a group of activities, at a permanent location, to which people go to be entertained through a combination of various mechanical or aquatic rides, theatrical productions, motion picture, and/or slide show presentations with food and drink service.  The amusement park must include at least five different mechanical, or aquatic rides, three additional activities, and the gross receipts must be primarily from these amusement activities; or

(g) Within a regional shopping center.  A regional shopping center is a shopping center developed and operated for retail sales and service by retail sales and service operators and consisting of more than six hundred thousand gross square feet not including parking areas.  Amusement games conducted as a part of, and upon the site of, a regional shopping center shall not be subject to the prohibition on revenue sharing set forth in RCW 9.46.120(2).

(3) No amusement games may be conducted in any location except in conformance with local zoning, fire, health, and similar regulations.  In no event may the licensee conduct any amusement games at any of the locations set out in subsection (2) of this section without first having obtained the written permission to do so from the person or organization owning the premises or an authorized agent thereof, and from the persons sponsoring the fair, exhibition, commercial exhibition, or festival, or from the city or town operating the civic center, in connection with which the games are to be operated.

(4) In no event may a licensee conduct any amusement games at the location described in subsection (2)(g) of this section, without, at the location of such games, providing adult supervision during all hours the licensee is open for business at such location, prohibiting school-age minors from entry during school hours, maintaining full-time personnel whose responsibilities include maintaining security and daily machine maintenance, and providing for hours for the close of business at such location that are no later than 10:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and on all other days that are the same as those of the regional shopping center in which the licensee is located.