MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Judiciary A
By: Representatives McLean, Carpenter, Owen, Arnold
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 75-76-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DECLARE AS PUBLIC POLICY THAT CHILDREN ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED WHEN A PARENT WHO HAS AN OUTSTANDING CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGE DIVERTS CHILD SUPPORT TO GAMING; TO CODIFY SECTION 75-76-58, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR THE MISSISSIPPI GAMING COMMISSION, THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AND LICENSEES UNDER CHAPTER 76 OF TITLE 75, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CARRY OUT THE INTERCEPTION AND SEIZURE OF GAME WINNINGS OF PARENTS WITH A CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGE; TO AMEND SECTION 75-76-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI GAMING COMMISSION TO PRESCRIBE THE MANNER AND PROCEDURE IN WHICH CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES MAY BE COLLECTED FROM GAMING WINNINGS AND SLOT MACHINE ANNUITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 93-11-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT CHILD SUPPORT MAY BE COLLECTED FROM ALL GAMING WINNINGS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 75-76-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-3. (1) The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to legalize any form of gaming which is prohibited under the Mississippi Constitution or the laws of this state. All legal gaming which is conducted in this state and which is otherwise authorized by law shall be regulated and licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, unless the Legislature specifically provides otherwise. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as encouraging the legalization of gambling in this state.
(2) The Legislature hereby
finds and declares that lotteries and gaming both consist of the material
element of chance. * * *
The Legislature derives its power to legislate upon gaming or gambling devices
from its inherent authority over the morals and policy of the people * * *.
(3) The Legislature hereby finds, and declares it to be the public policy of this state, that:
(a) Regulation of licensed gaming is important in order that licensed gaming is conducted honestly and competitively, that the rights of the creditors of licensees are protected and that gaming is free from criminal and corruptive elements.
(b) Public confidence and trust can only be maintained by strict regulation of all persons, locations, practices, associations and activities related to the operation of licensed gaming establishments and the manufacture or distribution of gambling devices and equipment.
(c) All establishments where gaming is conducted and where gambling devices are operated, and manufacturers, sellers and distributors of certain gambling devices and equipment must therefore be licensed, controlled and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state.
(d) Because children are adversely affected when parents who have outstanding child support obligations divert their financial support to gaming, a parent's winnings should be applied to the parent's outstanding child support obligations.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that gaming licensees, to the extent practicable, employ residents of Mississippi as gaming employees and other employees in the operation of their gaming establishments located in this state.
(5) No applicant for a license or other affirmative commission approval has any right to a license or the granting of the approval sought. Any license issued or other commission approval granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter is a revocable privilege, and no holder acquires any vested right therein or thereunder.
(6) The Legislature recognizes that Section 98 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 prohibits the conducting of any lottery in this state and that, while not defining the term "lottery," Section 98 clearly contemplates, as indicated by specific language contained therein, that a lottery involves the sale of tickets and a drawing in order to determine the winner. The Legislature also recognizes that Section 98 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 directs the Legislature to provide by law for the enforcement of its provisions. Therefore, in carrying out its duties under the Constitution and effectuating the intent of Section 98, the Legislature hereby finds that a lottery, as prohibited by the Constitution, does not include all forms of gambling but means any activity in which:
(a) The player or players pay or agree to pay something of value for chances, represented and differentiated by tickets, slips of paper or other physical and tangible documentation upon which appear numbers, symbols, characters or other distinctive marks used to identify and designate the winner or winners; and
(b) The winning chance or chances are to be determined by a drawing or similar selection method based predominately upon the element of chance or random selection rather than upon the skill or judgment of the player or players; and
(c) The holder or holders of the winning chance or chances are to receive a prize or something of valuable consideration; and
(d) The activity is conducted and participated in without regard to geographical location, with the player or players not being required to be present upon any particular premises or at any particular location in order to participate or to win.
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 75-76-58, Mississippi Code of 1972:
75-76-58. (1) The commission shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, including, but not limited to, a procedure requiring the withholding of payments of progressive slot machine annuities and cash gaming winnings of persons who have outstanding child support arrearages or owing child support overpayments, prior to the payment of a progressive slot machine annuity, beginning with the second annuity payment, or cash gaming winnings. Progressive slot machine annuities or cash gaming winnings shall only include payments for which the entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is required to file Form W2-G, or a substantially equivalent form, with the United States Internal Revenue Service.
(2) The commission may require the Department of Human Services to provide information relating to child support arrearages in a manner, format, or record approved by the commission that gives the entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, real-time or immediate electronic database access to the information. If the information relating to such arrearages or overpayments by the Department of Human Services is not available through real-time or immediate electronic database access, the licensee shall not be responsible for withholding cash gaming winnings in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
(3) The commission or any entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, including any of its officers, employees, attorneys, accountants, or other agents, shall not be civilly or criminally liable to any person, including any customer, for any disclosure of information made in accordance with this section, for encumbering or surrendering assets in response to information provided by the Department of Human Services, or for any claims for damages arising from withholding or failing to withhold any progressive slot machine annuities or cash gaming winnings, based upon information provided to it.
(4) If any entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, determines or is notified by the Department of Human Services that the winner of a progressive slot machine annuity or cash gaming winnings is a person who has outstanding child support arrearages, the entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall deduct the child support arrearage from the payment of the progressive slot machine annuity or cash gaming winnings. The entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall forward the deducted amount to the Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Enforcement within seven (7) days. The entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall pay the remainder to the person who has outstanding child support arrearages. If the remainder is equal to or less than zero, the person who has an outstanding child support arrearage shall not receive a payment.
(5) The Department of Human Services shall release the encumbering game winnings to the obligee after either:
(a) A twenty-day period beginning the day the funds are encumbered; or
(b) Until such time as the issue of overdue child support is resolved, provided the obligor has filed a petition for hearing with a court of appropriate jurisdiction and served the Department of Human Services through the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi before the end of the twenty-day period.
(6) Grounds for the petition challenging the encumbrance of game winnings shall be limited to the following:
(a) Mistakes of identity; or
(b) Mistakes in amount of overdue child support.
(7) Any entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, may deduct an administrative fee from each payment of a progressive slot machine annuity, beginning with the second annuity payment, or cash gaming winnings, of persons who have outstanding child support arrearages or owe child support overpayments per singular or periodic payment, not to exceed Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00).
(8) The commission shall also require that the entity licensed or permitted under Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, adopt procedures designed to prevent employees from willfully failing to withhold payments of progressive slot machine annuities or cash gaming winnings from persons who have outstanding child support arrearages or child support overpayments, based upon the information provided by the Department of Human Services that allows the licensee to identify such persons.
(9) Not later than September 1, 2023, the commission shall institute rulemaking procedures as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
SECTION 3. Section 75-76-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-33. (1) The commission shall, from time to time, adopt, amend or repeal such regulations, consistent with the policy, objects and purposes of this chapter, as it may deem necessary or desirable in the public interest in carrying out the policy and provisions of this chapter. The commission shall comply with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law when adopting, amending or repealing any regulations authorized under this section or under any other provision of this chapter.
(2) These regulations shall, without limiting the general powers herein conferred, include the following:
(a) Prescribing the method and form of application which any applicant for a license or for a manufacturer's, seller's or distributor's license must follow and complete before consideration of his application by the executive director or the commission.
(b) Prescribing the information to be furnished by any applicant or licensee concerning his antecedents, habits, character, associates, criminal record, business activities and financial affairs, past or present.
(c) Prescribing the information to be furnished by a licensee relating to his employees.
(d) Requiring fingerprinting of an applicant or licensee, and gaming employees of a licensee, or other methods of identification and the forwarding of all fingerprints taken pursuant to regulation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(e) Prescribing the manner and procedure of all hearings conducted by the commission or any hearing examiner of the commission, including special rules of evidence applicable thereto and notices thereof.
(f) Requiring any applicant to pay all or any part of the fees and costs of investigation of such applicant as may be determined by the commission under paragraph (g) of this subsection (2).
(g) Prescribing the amounts of investigative fees only as authorized by regulations of the commission under paragraph (f) of this subsection, and collecting those fees. The commission shall adopt regulations setting the amounts of those fees at levels that will provide the commission with sufficient revenue, when combined with any other monies as may be deposited into the Mississippi Gaming Commission Fund created in Section 75-76-325, to carry out the provisions of this chapter without any state general funds. In calculating the amount of such fees, the commission shall:
(i) Attempt to set the fees at levels that will create a balance in the Mississippi Gaming Commission Fund that does not exceed, at the end of any state fiscal year, two percent (2%) of the projected amount of funds that will provide the commission with such sufficient revenue; and
(ii) Demonstrate the reasonableness of the relationship between a fee and the actual costs of the investigative activity for which the fee is being prescribed.
(h) Prescribing the manner and method of collection and payment of fees and issuance of licenses.
(i) Prescribing under what conditions a licensee may be deemed subject to revocation or suspension of his license.
(j) Requiring any applicant or licensee to waive any privilege with respect to any testimony at any hearing or meeting of the commission, except any privilege afforded by the Constitution of the United States or this state.
(k) Defining and limiting the area, games and devices permitted, and the method of operation of such games and devices, for the purposes of this chapter.
(l) Prescribing under what conditions the nonpayment of a gambling debt by a licensee shall be deemed grounds for revocation or suspension of his license.
(m) Governing the use and approval of gambling devices and equipment.
(n) Prescribing the qualifications of, and the conditions under which, attorneys, accountants and others are permitted to practice before the commission.
(o) Restricting access to confidential information obtained under this chapter and ensuring that the confidentiality of such information is maintained and protected.
(p) Prescribing the manner and procedure by which the executive director on behalf of the commission shall notify a county or a municipality wherein an applicant for a license desires to locate.
(q) Prescribing the manner and procedure for an objection to be filed with the commission and the executive director by a county or municipality wherein an applicant for a license desires to locate.
(r) Prescribing the manner and procedure in which child support or child support arrearages may be collected from gaming winnings and slot machine annuities.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each licensee shall be required to comply with the regulation that no wager may be placed by, or on behalf of, any individual or entity or group, not present on a licensed vessel or cruise vessel.
(4) From and after July 1, 2016, the expenses of this agency shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund and all user charges and fees authorized under this section shall be deposited into the State General Fund as authorized by law.
(5) From and after July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee, assessment, rent or other charge for services or resources received by authority of this section.
SECTION 4. Section 93-11-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-11-71. (1) Whenever a court orders any person to make periodic payments of a sum certain for the maintenance or support of a child, and whenever such payments as have become due remain unpaid for a period of at least thirty (30) days, a judgment by operation of law shall arise against the obligor in an amount equal to all payments that are then due and owing.
(a) A judgment arising under this section shall have the same effect and be fully enforceable as any other judgment entered in this state. A judicial or administrative action to enforce the judgment may be begun at any time; and
(b) Such judgments arising in other states by operation of law shall be given full faith and credit in this state.
(2) Any judgment arising under the provisions of this section shall operate as a lien upon all the property of the judgment debtor, both real and personal, which lien shall be perfected as to third parties without actual notice thereof only upon enrollment on the judgment roll. The department or attorney representing the party to whom support is owed shall furnish an abstract of the judgment for periodic payments for the maintenance and support of a child, along with sworn documentation of the delinquent child support, to the circuit clerk of the county where the judgment is rendered, and it shall be the duty of the circuit clerk to enroll the judgment on the judgment roll. Liens arising under the provisions of this section may be executed upon and enforced in the same manner and to the same extent as any other judgment.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions in subsection (2) of this section, any judgment arising under the provisions of this section shall subject the following assets to interception or seizure without regard to the entry of the judgment on the judgment roll of the situs district or jurisdiction and such assets shall apply to all child support owed including all arrears:
(a) Periodic or lump-sum payments from a federal, state or local agency, including unemployment compensation, workers' compensation and other benefits;
(b) Winnings from lotteries * * *, gaming winnings * * * and slot machine annuities;
(c) Assets held in financial institutions;
(d) Settlements and awards resulting from civil actions;
(e) Public and private retirement funds, only to the extent that the obligor is qualified to receive and receives a lump-sum or periodic distribution from the funds;
(f) Lump-sum payments as defined in Section 93-11-101; and
(g) Unclaimed property as described in Section 89-12-1 et seq.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, upon disestablishment of paternity granted pursuant to Section 93-9-10 and a finding of clear and convincing evidence including negative DNA testing that the obligor is not the biological father of the child or children for whom support has been ordered, the court shall disestablish paternity and may forgive any child support arrears of the obligor for the child or children determined by the court not to be the biological child or children of the obligor, if the court makes a written finding that, based on the totality of the circumstances, the forgiveness of the arrears is equitable under the circumstances.
(5) In any case in which a child receives assistance from block grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the obligor owes past-due child support, the obligor, if not incapacitated, may be required by the court to participate in any work programs offered by any state agency.
(6) A parent who receives social security disability insurance payments who is liable for a child support arrearage and whose disability insurance benefits provide for the payment of past due disability insurance benefits for the support of the minor child or children for whom the parent owes a child support arrearage shall receive credit toward the arrearage for the payment or payments for the benefit of the minor child or children if the arrearage accrued after the date of disability onset as determined by the Social Security Administration.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.