The following words, terms and phrases as used in this article are defined as follows:
Applicant.
Any person, firm, company, association, franchise, or corporation that applies for an operator's game room permit under this article. The term "applicant" shall include each member of a partnership when the applicant is a partnership. If a member of the applicant partnership is not a person, the applicant shall include those persons holding a ten-percent or greater interest in the entity that constitutes that member of the partnership applicant. The term "applicant" shall include each officer, director, and holder of a ten-percent or greater interest of a corporation, firm or association when the applicant is a corporation, firm, association, or franchise. If the holder of a ten-percent or greater interest in a corporation, firm or association applicant is not a person, the applicant shall include those persons holding a ten-percent or greater interest in the entity which holds a ten-percent or greater interest in the corporation, firm or association which is the applicant. The term "applicant" shall include the franchisee, or holder of a franchise license, when the applicant is a franchised business. If a member of the applicant franchise is not a person, the applicant shall include those persons holding a ten-percent or greater interest in the entity that constitutes that member of the franchise applicant. When a permit is issued under this article, the applicant becomes the permit holder.
Chief of police.
The chief of police of the City of Rockport or his designated agent.
Coin-operated machine.
Every machine or device of any kind or character, which is operated by or with credits or points which have been purchased with anything of value, including coins, slugs, tokens, paper money, checks, credit or debit cards, or stored value cards, whether those points or credits are purchased directly at the machine or at a central station or terminal, or are transferred to the machine by any other means. When a machine or device allows more than one person to simultaneously operate the machine or device by or with credits or points which have been purchased with anything of value, including coins, slugs, tokens, paper money, checks, credit or debit cards, or stored value cards, whether those points or credits are purchased directly at the machine or at a central station or terminal, or are transferred to the machine by any other means, each station or location on the machine or device where a person can operate the machine or device shall be considered an individual "coin-operated machine." "Music coin-operated machines" and "skill or pleasure coin-operated machines" as those terms are hereinafter defined shall be included in such term.
Music coin-operated machine.
Every machine or device of any kind or character that dispenses or vends or that is used for dispensing or vending music and is operated by or with coins, metal slugs, paper money, tokens, checks, or credit or debit cards.
Operator.
Any person, firm, company, association, or corporation which exhibits, displays or permits to be exhibited or displayed, in a place of business, any coin-operated machine in the city.
Person.
Includes any natural person, association of natural persons, trustee, receiver, partnership, corporation, organization, or the manager, agent, servant, or employee of any of them.
Service coin-operated machine.
Every pay toilet, pay telephone, and all other machines which dispense service only and not merchandise, music, skill, or pleasure.
Skill or pleasure coin-operated machine.
Every coin-operated machine of any kind or character whatsoever, when such machine or machines dispenses or are used or are capable of being used or operated for amusement or pleasure or when such machines are operated for the purpose of dispensing or affording skill or pleasure or for any other purpose other than the dispensing or vending of merchandise or music or service exclusively, as those terms are defined in this section.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed or have the effect to license, permit, authorize or legalize any machine, device, table or coin-operated machine, the keeping, exhibition, operation, displaying or maintenance of which is illegal or in violation of any article of the Penal Code of this state or the constitution of this state.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
Every operator who exhibits or displays or who permits to be exhibited or displayed in the city any coin-operated machine shall pay an annual occupation tax on each coin-operated machine. All associated fees shall be set by the current fiscal budget of the city. If no fee is established by budget ordinance, a minimum fee of fifteen dollars ($15.00) occupation tax per machine shall be required.
(b) 
All occupation taxes for coin-operated machines are payable in advance. Prior to payment of the tax every operator shall register each machine by make, model, and serial number with the city secretary or designated agent.
(c) 
Every operator shall register each spare circuit board or control module by make, model, and serial number with the city secretary or designated agent, although no additional occupation tax will be levied against circuit boards or control modules which are not actually in service. Every operator shall notify the city secretary or designated agent if and when the circuit board or control module for a coin-operated machine is placed into service.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
Gas meters, pay telephones, pay toilets, food vending machines, confection vending machines, beverage vending machines, merchandise vending machines, motor vehicle fuel pumps or recharging stations, and cigarette vending machines which are now subject to an occupation or gross receipts tax, stamp vending machines, and "service coin-operated machines," as that term is defined, are expressly exempt from the tax levied herein, and the other provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
The decal issued by the city secretary to evidence payment of the tax levied herein shall be securely attached with its own adhesive to a fixed part of the coin-operated machine. The decal shall be affixed to the machine in a manner prescribed by the city secretary.
(b) 
During the last quarter of each year, operators shall pay the occupation tax, register the machines taxed, and receive a decal for each coin-operated machine to be within the city on January 1st of the following year.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
The chief of police may seal any such machine upon which the tax has not been paid in a manner that will prevent further operation. The city secretary shall charge a fee of five dollars ($5.00) for the release of any machine sealed for nonpayment of tax. The fee shall be paid to the city secretary by cashier's check or money order. It shall be unlawful to break the seal affixed in the name of the city or exhibit, display or remove from location any machine on which the seal has been broken.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
Any operator whose business operates six (6) or more skill or pleasure coin-operated machines or any operator whose principal business is the operation of skill or pleasure coin-operated machines, without regard to number, shall obtain an operator's game room permit from the city secretary.
(b) 
All associated fees for obtaining an operator's game room permit shall be set by the current fiscal budget of the city. If no fee is established by budget ordinance, a minimum fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the administrative costs of processing the operator's game room permit shall be required.
(c) 
Each time the location of a machine is changed, the operator shall notify the city secretary of the change by filing an amendment to the operator's game room permit application within ten (10) days of the change.
(d) 
An application for the renewal of an operator's game room permit must be made to the city secretary by December 31st of each year.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
An operator's game room permit application shall be obtained at the city secretary's office.
(b) 
The applicant shall be required to furnish the following information:
(1) 
The name of the applicant's business and the address of the location where the machines are to be located.
(2) 
The date of birth and full legal name, including any and all names by which the person has been known, of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article.
(3) 
If the applicant is a corporation, the exact corporate name, state of incorporation and principal place of business for the corporation.
(4) 
The current residence address and telephone number of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article.
(5) 
A copy of the driver's license, state identification card, or other forms of identification acceptable to the city secretary and sufficient to establish the truth and accuracy of the information provided in the application of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article.
(6) 
The name and home address of a local agent if the applicant is not a resident of the City of Rockport. If the applicant is a resident of the City of Rockport, the applicant may serve as the local agent or designate a separate individual as the local agent. A copy of the local agent's driver's license, state identification card, or other forms of identification acceptable to the city secretary and sufficient to establish the truth and accuracy of the information provided in the application.
(7) 
The name and home address of the manager of the applicant's business who will be primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business. A copy of the manager's driver's license, state identification card, or other forms of identification acceptable to the city secretary and sufficient to establish the truth and accuracy of the information provided in the application.
(8) 
All felony and misdemeanor convictions and deferred adjudications, except for class C traffic offenses, of the applicant and of each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article, and of the local agent and manager, including, but not limited to, any of the offenses as described in section 14-39(d)(5) of this article, except for deferred adjudications when a court has issued an order of nondisclosure.
(9) 
The maximum number of skill or pleasure coin-operated machines to be located at the business.
(10) 
The landline telephone number for the address of the location where the machines are to be located.
(11) 
The application shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the applicant, attesting to the truth and accuracy of the information provided, including each document attached to the application.
(c) 
Only one operator's game room permit may be issued for a single location and each operator's game room permit is non-transferable to any other location or address or to any person, firm, company, association, franchise, or corporation that was not originally the applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article.
(d) 
The operator shall have a continuing duty, during the term of any operator's game room permit or renewal thereof, to notify the city secretary of any change in the information required to be submitted on the application for the operator's game room permit.
(e) 
Issuance of an operator's game room permit by the city secretary is contingent on the verification of the application information with assistance of other city departments as appropriate, including, without limitation, the police, planning and zoning, code enforcement, fire marshal, environmental health, and building inspection departments.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
An applicant or permit holder shall permit representatives of the police department, building inspection department, fire department, code enforcement department and environmental health department of the city to inspect the premises of the game room business for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the law and this article at any time that the premises are occupied by one or more persons.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
The chief of police shall investigate said application and the background of the applicant. At his or her discretion, the chief of police shall be assisted in his investigation by the building official, environmental health officer, code enforcement officer, and/or the fire marshal. Within forty-five (45) days after receipt by the city secretary of the fully completed application for the permit, including all attachments or submissions as may be required, the chief of police shall report the results of the investigation to the city secretary.
(b) 
Within sixty (60) days after receipt by the city secretary of the fully completed application for the permit, including all attachments or submissions as may be required, the city secretary shall inform the applicant by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by email if elected by the applicant, as to the approval or denial of said permit.
(c) 
The city secretary shall issue a permit to the applicant which shall be valid only as to the game room activities described in the application and approved on the face of the permit, unless one or more of the following conditions exists:
(1) 
The location of the game room business or enterprise is or would be in violation of the City of Rockport, Texas zoning ordinances.
(2) 
The applicant has failed to make full disclosure, or to supply all of the information requested on the application, or the application is otherwise incomplete.
(3) 
The applicant has provided false, fraudulent or untruthful information on the application, or is attempting to acquire the permit under false pretenses.
(4) 
The application or the establishment or the venture does not meet one or more of the requirements of this article.
(5) 
The correct permit fee has not been tendered to the city and, in the case of a check or bank draft, honored with payment upon presentation.
(6) 
The structure, configuration or layout of the premises, as proposed by the applicant, if permitted, would not comply with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, the city building, zoning, fire prevention and protection, and health ordinances and regulations.
(7) 
The applicant or the manager or any other person principally in charge of the operation of the business is under eighteen (18) years of age, or is under twenty-one (21) years of age and the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages would be an aspect of the venture.
(8) 
The applicant has not demonstrated that the applicant owns, leases or otherwise has or continues to have the lawful right to occupy and use the premises for the purpose stated in the application.
(9) 
The applicant has been a permit holder, owner, manager, local agent, or an employee with managerial responsibilities for a game room business when the permit for such business has been denied or revoked, within two (2) years preceding the date of the application.
(d) 
The city secretary shall not issue a permit to the applicant which shall be valid only as to the game room activities described in the application and approved on the face of the permit, unless:
(1) 
The parking ratio of one parking space per fifty (50) square feet of gross floor area is provided on the development lot.
(2) 
The legal description of the property of the business where the machines will be located is provided.
(3) 
The name of the owner of the property where the business is located is provided.
(4) 
A copy of the lease or rental agreement is provided, if the property is leased or rented. A sublease, agreement, or contract with a person or entity other than the person or entity listed with the Rockport County Central Appraisal District as the property owner for the address where the business will be located shall not be sufficient to satisfy this requirement.
(5) 
The applicant and of [sic] each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article, the manager, and the local agent, has not been convicted or received a deferred adjudication for any offense set forth in chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code (gambling); chapter 34 of the Texas Penal Code (money laundering); chapter 71 of the Texas Penal Code (organized crime); any offense involving the manufacture, possession or delivery of a controlled substance in penalty groups 1, lA, 2, 3, or 4, or the delivery of marihuana, as more fully described in chapter 481 of the Texas Health & Safety Code; or any crime of moral turpitude.
(e) 
A business that existed on or before November 3, 1982 and has remained in continuous operation shall be permitted to obtain an operator's game room permit under this article without complying with subsection (d)(1), provided that no structural alterations are made except those required by law or ordinance. Compliance with subsection (d)(1) of this section shall be required when an exempted business is added to or enlarged. This requirement may be satisfied upon the granting of a variance by the zoning board of adjustment.
(f) 
When a permit is issued to the applicant, each person included within the definition of applicant as set forth at section 14-30 of this article shall be considered to be a permit holder.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
The chief of police may suspend a permit for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days if he determines that a permit holder or any employee of a permit holder has violated or is not in compliance with this article; or that a condition exists which would be grounds for denial of an application for a permit under this article.
(b) 
The chief of police shall inform the permit holder by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the suspension of a permit and of the permit holder's right to appeal as set forth at section 14-42 of this article. Written notice of the suspension of a permit shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the business premises. The chief of police shall inform the city secretary of the suspension.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
Any operator's game room permit issued under this article shall be subject to revocation by the city secretary for the following reasons:
(1) 
The correct operator's game room permit fee has not been tendered to the city secretary, [and] in the case of a check or bank draft, honored with payment upon presentation.
(2) 
Failure to comply with the requirements of this article.
(3) 
Operation of the coin-operated machines in a manner which violates the law.
(4) 
Any condition which would make the applicant, operator or local agent ineligible to receive an operator's game room permit, including, without limitation, conviction of any offense set forth in chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code (gambling); chapter 34 of the Texas Penal Code (money laundering); chapter 71 of the Texas Penal Code (organized crime); any offense involving the manufacture, possession or delivery of a controlled substance in penalty groups 1, 1A, 2, 3, or 4, or the delivery of marihuana, as more fully described in chapter 481 of the Texas Health & Safety Code; or any crime of moral turpitude.
(b) 
The chief of police or any other representatives of the police department, building inspection department, fire department, code enforcement department and environmental health department of the city shall inform the city secretary of an applicant's or operator's failure to comply with the requirements of this article.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
Any applicant or operator whose operator's game room permit is denied or revoked pursuant to the provisions of this article shall have ten (10) business days following receipt of the notice of such denial or revocation to appeal the denial or revocation to the City of Rockport City Council. The applicant or operator must file a written appeal with the city secretary, who shall, within ten days after the appeal is filed forward same to city council for its consideration at a public meeting following a hearing. The city council shall, within 30 days, grant such hearing to consider the action. The city council has authority to sustain, reverse, or modify the action appealed. The decision of the city council is final.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
Any operator who operates skill or pleasure coin-operated machines or any business whose principal business is the operation of skill or pleasure coin-operated machines, if such business awards any prizes or things of value, shall not:
(1) 
Operate the machines in violation of the law.
(2) 
Award any prize which includes cash.
(b) 
Any operator who operates skill or pleasure coin-operated machines or any business whose principal business is the operation of skill or pleasure coin-operated machines, if such business awards any prizes or things of value, shall:
(1) 
Maintain for public inspection a contemporaneous list of any prizes to be awarded which includes the wholesale value of each prize or prize category.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
(a) 
The operator shall not restrict the view into the area of the business in which the skill or pleasure coin-operated machines are located by obscuring any windows opening into the area with paint or opaque coverings.
(b) 
The operator shall not restrict public access to enter the business through the use of locking mechanisms on the entry doors during regular business hours.
(c) 
The operator shall permit the city secretary or designated agent, and officers of any law enforcement agency, to enter during regular business hours, for the purpose of inspection or for the preservation of the peace.
(d) 
The operator shall maintain a list of current employees, including each employee's name, home address, and date of birth. The list is to be made available during regular business hours for inspection by the city secretary or designee, and law enforcement officers.
(e) 
The operator shall maintain a working telephone landline on the premises where the machines are to be located.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
No business exhibiting skill or pleasure coin-operated machines shall be located within 300 feet of a school, church, or hospital.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)
A person who fails to comply with any requirement of this code commits a class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine not less than two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00); except that:
(a) 
Proof of a culpable mental state is not required for a conviction of an offense under this article.
(b) 
Each violation is considered a separate offense.
(c) 
Each day that a violation occurs is a separate offense.
(d) 
In addition to the penalties described in above, the city may pursue other remedies such as injunctive relief, abatement of nuisance, revocation, and removal of current license, and securing a coin-operated machine so as to render it inoperable.
(Ordinance 1863, 1-11-22)