League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Measure E Cardroom Gaming City of San Jose Majority Approval Required Fail: 120138 / 42.34% Yes votes ...... 163575 / 57.66% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure E

Arguments Against Measure E

For ten years, San Jose has faced massive deficits, cut millions from the city budget and laid off hundreds of city workers--firefighters, police officers, parks workers, librarians, and street repair crews. Political fights have been waged to cut current and future city pensions. The State has cut millions from city budgets and eliminated Redevelopment funds which San Jose relied upon heavily. Unless we generate new revenue, more cuts will be made. A Yes vote on Measure E will result in San Jose's two cardrooms paying over $20 million annually in tax revenue to San Jose. That's tax revenue only for San Jose--the State can't touch a dime of it--meaning new tax revenue to prevent future cuts and restore vital services. You and your family won't pay these taxes. Measure E allows for a modest increase in card tables at each club--15 for each in 2013 and again in 2014. Any future increases must have voter approval. And if the state permits new types of gaming, Measure E limits games allowed to only those approved by the State. San Jose does an outstanding job of regulating cardrooms. San Jose is recognized as having the toughest cardroom regulations in California. San Jose cardrooms pay nearly $2 million annually in additional fees covering all costs of regulation and police oversight. San Jose is the only California community with its own Division of Gaming Control overseeing cardrooms. And, San Jose requires the cardrooms to fund a non-profit organization which provides a successful "problem gambling" program. San Jose cardrooms generate $100 million annually in economic activity and provide 1200 jobs. A Yes vote on Measure E will increase cardroom taxes to $20 million annually, create 200 new jobs and help prevent more budget cuts while restoring some city services. Please join us in voting Yes on Measure E. http://www.MoreTaxesFromCardrooms.com s/ Fred Abram Assistant San Jose Chief of Police--retired s/ Pete Constant San Jose City Councilmember s/ Nancy Pyle San Jose City Councilmember s/ Enrique Fernandez Vice-President, San Jose Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union (UNITE HERE Local 19) s/ Randy Okamura Trustee, San Jose-Evergreen Community College District

This gambling industry-financed initiative costs each one of us, and our city. Wealthy card club owners win, and we lose. They may try to justify this money-grab by making exaggerated claims about new tax revenues. Yet in August, the City Manager reported that the city treasury will collect less than $30,000 in annual tax revenue for every additional card table, 70% less than what the gaming industry claimed. Even worse, this initiative will also weaken gaming rules, according to the San José Police Department, to "make it very easy for [organized crime] to skim money off the top, which results in potential loss of tax revenue to the city and state." Whatever tax dollars we receive, they won't compensate us for the additional strain on our overstretched Police Department, which recently analyzed crime data and estimated that this measure will increase calls for police--for crimes such as robbery, assault, theft, and counterfeiting--by 60% at each card club. Yes, people can always gamble on the internet, but multiple studies link the opening of brick-and-mortar casinos to citywide increases in burglary, robbery, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and drug use. The gaming industry won't bear those burdens. We will. Voters agreed to increase the number of tables in San José two years ago because you were assured that the card clubs would pay a 2% higher tax rate on their revenues as a result. This initiative, in contrast, leaves us with no such benefit--only a bill. What other bills will the gaming industry leave you with? Consider the $824,000 cost just to place this measure on the November ballot--instead of opening libraries or repaving streets. We, community leaders throughout the City of San Jose, urge you to vote "no" on this money-grab by the gaming industry. s/ Sam Liccardo, San Jose City Councilmember s/ Kansen Chu, San Jose City Councilmember s/ Poncho Guevara, Executive Director of Sacred Heart Community Service s/ Helen Chapman, Former Chair, San Jose Parks Commission s/ David Pandori, Criminal Prosecutor

Full Text of Measure E

AN INITIATIVE ORDINANCE TO INCREASE GENERAL FUND REVENUE TO THE CITY OF SAN JOSE BY AMENDING TITLE 1.6 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL GAMING TABLES AND TO PERMIT GAMING CONSISTENT WITH STATE LAW. The express findings and purpose stated in the initiative are that: San Jose's two cardrooms currently provide more than $15 million dollars a year in taxes to the City of San Jose, more than any other single business operating in the City and that this ballot measure is intended to generate approximately $5 million dollars a year in additional new revenues annually without increasing taxes on San Jose residents. At the recommendation of the New Realities Task Force in 1995, the San Jose City Council adopted an ordinance which expressly reserved 100 tables to enable the City to permit additional gaming tables in the future. This initiative would utilize some of the reserved tables increasing the maximum number of card tables permitted in San Jose over a two year period to be one hundred and fifty-eight. The maximum numbers of tables at any one cardroom, would be seventy-nine. This initiative would also allow cardrooms to offer additional forms of gambling in the event that the State of California legalizes such form of gambling in California. The use of some of the reserved tables to gain additional General Fund revenue is consistent with the intent of the New Realities Task Force. CITY OF SAN JOSE INCREASED CITY REVENUES FROM CARDROOMS ACT Section 1. Title. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "City of San Jose Increased City Revenues from Cardrooms Act." Section 2. Findings and Purposes. The people of the City of San Jose hereby make the following findings and declare that their purposes in enacting this Act are as follows: (a) Due to the economic downturn, San Jose continues to face extremely difficult budget decisions. Projections are that the City is facing millions of dollars of budget cuts for the next few years. This nieans severe service cuts and layoffs which will have direct negative impacts on city services and residents. Additional revenues are desperately needed. (b) San Jose's two cardrooms currently provide more than $15 million dollars a year in taxes to the City of San Jose, more than any other single business operating in the City. This ballot measure will generate approximately $5 million dollars a year in additional new revenues annually without increasing taxes on San Jose residents. This additional revenue will help prevent cuts to vital services and layoffs to vital city services and vital city workers. This measure means we can help preserve key city services such as fire protection, library hours, public safety, park programs and street repairs. Every penny of increased cardroom taxes will stay in San Jose and go to vital services. (c) The Act would increase the maximum number of card tables permitted in San Jose over a two year period to be one hundred and fifty-eight. The maximum numbers of tables at any one cardroom would be seventy-nine. (d) The Act would also allow cardrooms to offer additional forms of gambling in the event that the State of California legalizes such form of gambling in California. This would allow the cardrooms to remain competitive in the gambling market and would produce additional revenues for San Jose. (e) San Jose cardrooms are a major employer in the City with a workforce of more than 1,200 workers. They provide good paying and flexible hour jobs. They are also some of the most highly regulated businesses in San Jose with strict public safety oversight, audit and accountability requirements. San Jose cardrooms pay over $2 million dollars in fees to cover San Jose city costs of oversight and regulation. (f) In November 1995, at the recommendation of the New Realities Task Force, the San Jose City Council adopted Ordinance No. 25004 which amended Section 6.22.040 of the Municipal Code expressly reserved 100 tables to allow the City to permit additional gaming tables in the future. On January 1, 1996, 181 tables were permitted by the ordinance then in place in the City. In 1999, ordinance 25982 replaced the entire Gaming Control Ordinance with a new Title 16. Thereafter, the reserved table ordinance was in effect but uncodified. (g) Given the revenue needs of the City, the use of some of the reserved tables is consistent with the intent of the New Realities Task Force. The People of the City of San Jose do ordain as follows: Section 3. Amendments to the San Jose Municipal Code. (a) Section 16.040.020 of Chapter 4.77 of Title 4 of the San Jose Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 16.04.020 Cardroom and Card Table Limitation A. The maximum number of Card Tables permitted in the City shall be ninety eight tables, unless and until otherwise authorized by a vote of the people. 1. Through December 31, 2012, the maximum number of Card Tables permitted in the City shall be ninety-eight tables. 2. Effective January 1, 2013, the maximum number of Card Tables permitted in the City shall be one hundred and twenty eight tables. 3. Effective January 1, 2014, the maximum number of Card Tables permitted in the City shall be one hundred and fifty eight tables. B. The maximum number of Cardrooms permitted in the City shall be two (2), unless and until otherwise authorized by a vote of the people. C. The maximum number of Card Tables at any one (1) Cardroom shall be forty nine seventy nine, unless and until otherwise authorized by a vote of the people. (b) Section 16.04.030 of Chapter 16.04 of Title 16 is amended to read as follows: 16.04.030 Expansion of gambling. A. The City Council shall not take any action to expand the amount of cardroom gambling in the City unless and until otherwise authorized by a vote of the people. B. For purposes of this section, "expansion" shall mean: 1. Any increase in the number of cardrooms or card tables beyond that as ­specified in Section 16.04.020 above; 2. The use of slot machines or devices, or gambling devices as defined­ prohibited by State gambling law; 3. Any form of gambling which was not allowed under this code on or before June 30, 1996, or which is prohibited under state gambling law on or before June 30, 1996 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, Cardrooms shall be permitted to offer any form of gambling that becomes is lawful in the State of California after July 1, 2012. The City shall review the rules for any additional permissible gambling. Section 4. Effective Date. The provisions of this Act shall become effective upon the approval of the voters of the City of San Jose pursuant to California Elections Code Section 9217. Section 5. Severability. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Act, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.