Dear Sir/ Ma'am:

 

I am a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Alexandria.  I respectfully request that you reconsider a pending legislative proposal that would make it mandatory for each Fraternal Order to donate 40% of its net gross take-in to charity.  In general, this requirement would make it harder for organizations like the Eagles to pay our employees and other expenses.  These types of organizations are almost exclusive run by volunteers with a small number of paid employees.  Organizations such as the Eagles play a vital role in charity and building community.  They are the glue of civil society - in Edmund Burke's words the "little platoons" of a social order.  Like it or not, gaming is the best way to raise money for charitable endeavors.  Although some requirement to distribute gaming proceeds is just, the general impression of the Eagles is that the proposed rules are not sensible and could cause immense hardship for volunteer-based organizations.  In practical terms, making it more difficult for civil society organizations to raise charitable funds through gaming will simply reduce the overall amount of charitable giving in the Commonwealth.  In other words, it will have the opposite effect that its proponents intend.  For these reasons, I request that the sponsors and legislators consider the following.  

 

 

 

1. Please remove the exception to salaries and wages to match the definition as defined in Code 18.2-340.16. In order to maintain gaming, our organization needs to be able to pay the employees who maintain and manage our club.

 

 

2. The requirement of the proposed 40% use of proceeds would greatly impact the financial stability of our organization and could cause us to become insolvent. A 15 to 20% rate would be much less of an impact on operations.

 

 

3. In 11VAC20-20-70 Bank account section D - modify this section from the second business day requirement to a weekly requirement. Our club is operated mostly by volunteers and the expectation for the Treasurer to make deposits essentially every other day is not feasible.

 

 

4. In 11VAC20-20-40, section B, the addition $200.00 fee specifically for electronic is redundant as we already pay a $200.00 general gaming fee. Please remove this fee from the guidance.