HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	29
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

concerning permission of raffles as a means of fundraising for charitable organizations.

     WHEREAS, charitable organizations provide important social services and valuable resources to persons in need including services and resources that the State may otherwise be required to provide; and

     WHEREAS, charitable organizations often lack adequate funding to function effectively and to provide the services requested of them; and

     WHEREAS, selling tickets and conducting raffles is often an effective and easily implemented way to fundraise; and

     WHEREAS, current state law prohibits raffles if money is charged for the raffle tickets, similar to a lottery, but does not prohibit raffles if the tickets are distributed at no charge after participants pay an entrance fee or ticket fee to a fundraising event; and

     WHEREAS, conducting a raffle within a larger fundraising event is not always possible, and consists of much more work and planning than conducting a stand-alone raffle; and

     WHEREAS, other charitable organizations as well as the communities that they serve would benefit from being allowed to conduct fundraising raffles; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that this body recognizes that fundraising raffles conducted by charitable organizations should be permitted; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General is requested to examine the possibility of permitting the conduct of fundraising raffles by charitable organizations including by making recommendations for legislation, ordinance, or administrative rules necessary to implement such a policy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body reaffirms that it does not support gambling, betting, or lotteries; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Mayors of each of the counties.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Recognizes that raffles conducted by veteran's organizations and charitable groups for fundraising purposes should be permitted.