§437. Video Draw Poker Device Fund; distribution and expenditure

            A. The division shall collect all fees, fines, and penalties assessed under the provisions of this Chapter and under the rules and regulations of the division.

            B.(1)(a) All revenues and other monies received by the division, except those monies specified by the provisions of R.S. 27:435(D)(4) which shall be deposited as provided by R.S. 27:439, shall be forwarded by the division to the state treasurer for immediate deposit in the state treasury.

            (b) Funds so deposited shall first be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund in accordance with Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

            (c) Thereafter, the state treasurer shall, each fiscal year, credit to a special fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury and entitled the Video Draw Poker Device Fund, an amount equal to all revenues received by the division pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, except those funds specified by the provisions of R.S. 27:435(D)(4), which shall be deposited as provided by R.S. 27:439 and those funds withheld pursuant to R.S. 27:443(A)(2) which shall be remitted for deposit to the Compulsive and Problem Gaming Fund provided for in R.S. 28:842.

            (2) After complying with the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the state treasurer shall, each fiscal year, credit the following amounts to the following special funds:

            (a) One percent, not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars, to the Compulsive and Problem Gaming Fund established by R.S. 28:842.

            (b) To a special fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury and entitled the Video Draw Poker Device Fund, an amount equal to all revenues received by the division pursuant to the provisions of this Section, less any monies credited to another fund pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph.

            C. Except as provided in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, the monies in the Video Draw Poker Device Fund shall only be withdrawn pursuant to appropriation by the legislature and shall be distributed as follows:

            (1) Twenty-five percent to be distributed in the following priority:

            (a) First, sufficient funds shall be deposited in the state treasury to provide district attorneys and assistant district attorneys any increased compensation which may be provided to them by any law enacted in the 1992 Regular Session, not to exceed five million, four hundred thousand dollars.

            (b) Second, except as provided by R.S. 33:171(B) and (C), the money remaining after the distribution provided for in Subparagraph (1)(a) shall be distributed as follows:

            (i) To the governing authorities of municipalities in which video draw poker devices are operated, the amount of the distribution to be based upon the proportion of the total amount of fees, fines, and penalties the municipality contributes to the statewide total, to be used for enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter, offenses relating to gambling, and any other purpose.

            (ii) To the governing authority of each parish in which video draw poker devices are operated and the sheriff of each such parish, to be divided equally between them, the amount of the distribution to be based upon the proportion of the total amount of fees, fines, and penalties the parish contributes, outside of any incorporated areas, to the statewide total, to be used for enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter, offenses relating to gambling, and any other purpose.

            (iii) Amounts distributed pursuant to this Subparagraph may be redistributed among the authorized recipients pursuant to a written agreement, ratified by a vote of the governing authority of each recipient, among all affected recipients when, as a result of a change in governmental organizational circumstances, the proportionate distribution among the recipients has changed.

            (2) An amount shall be allocated to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and to the Department of Justice, pursuant to legislative appropriation, for regulatory, administrative, investigative, enforcement, legal, and such other expenses as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter and for activities associated with enforcement of laws and regulations governing video draw poker devices.

            (3) Any unexpended or unencumbered portion of the twenty-five percent remaining in the Video Draw Poker Device Fund after the allocations made pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the state general fund but shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. Any remaining portion of the seventy-five percent of the unexpended or unencumbered monies in the Video Draw Poker Device Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall revert to the state general fund.

            (4) An amount equal to all franchise payments exempted pursuant to R.S. 27:321 shall be considered to be part of the Video Draw Poker Device Fund for purposes of calculating the distribution of the fund pursuant to Paragraphs (1) and (2).

            Acts 1991, No. 1062, §1, eff. July 30, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 1045, §1, eff. July 1, 1992; Acts 1994, No. 44, §1, eff. June 7, 1994; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 12, §1, eff. July 1, 1994; Acts 1995, No. 1014, §3; Acts 1995, No. 1215, §3, eff. July 1, 1995. Redesignated from R.S. 33:4862.12 by Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §3, eff. May 1, 1996; Acts 1997, No. 585, §1, eff. July 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 176, §2, eff. June 9, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 543, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 736, §1, eff. June 25, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 1058, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2012, No. 161, §4; Acts 2022, No. 658, §1, eff. June 18, 2022.