FINAL BILL REPORT

                  SSB 6557

                          C 233 L 00

                      Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Allowing credit unions to conduct raffles.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Commerce, Trade, Housing & Financial Institutions (originally sponsored by Senators Prentice, Winsley, Shin, Benton, Roach, Kohl‑Welles and T. Sheldon).

Senate Committee on Commerce, Trade, Housing & Financial Institutions

House Committee on Commerce & Labor

Background:  A bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization, as defined in the gambling act, may conduct raffles without obtaining a license when the gross revenue from all the organization=s raffles within the calendar year do not exceed $5,000 and the raffle tickets are sold only to and winners are determined only from among regular members of the organization.  Bona fide charitable and nonprofit organizations are allowed other exemptions under the gambling act including exclusion from local taxation on the first $10,000 of gross receipts less prizes from raffles conducted by such organizations.

A credit union is a cooperative society organized as a nonprofit corporation for the purposes of promoting thrift among its members and creating a source of credit for them at fair and reasonable rates of interest.

Summary:  Both state and federal credit unions are included in the definition of a bona fide charitable and nonprofit organization for the purposes of conducting raffles where the gross revenues do not exceed $5,000 within a calendar year and tickets are sold only to and winners are determined only from among regular members of the organization.  The proceeds are exempt from local taxation.  The use of the proceeds generated from raffles by credit unions are limited to the purposes authorized for charitable or nonprofit organizations under the gambling law.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate 32 6

House8710(House amended)

Senate 3213(Senate concurred)

Effective:June 8, 2000