Casino Free Philadelphia v. Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

Summary

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected a facial constitutional challenge to 4 Pa.C.S. § 1102(10), which requires consideration of the public interest and social effects of gaming in decisions under the Gaming Act. The Court held that Section 1102, read as a whole, provides sufficient policy guidance and does not violate Pennsylvania's constitutional prohibition on delegating legislative power. The Court denied injunctive relief as moot and declaratory relief on the merits.

Holdings

1. Section 1102, including subsection (10), does not violate Article II, § 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution because the statute supplies sufficient policies and objectives to channel the Gaming Control Board's discretion and does not delegate the power to make basic policy choices.
2. The court would not address challenges to particular Board decisions in a proceeding limited to a facial constitutional challenge to the Gaming Act.
3. The request for injunctive relief was moot because the Gaming Control Board had issued adjudications concerning all Class 2 licenses before the court considered the application.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 4 Pa.C.S. § 1102(10), considered within the context of the policies and objectives listed in Section 1102, violates Article II, § 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution by unlawfully delegating legislative power to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
2. Whether petitioners' challenges to particular Gaming Control Board decisions could be considered in a proceeding presenting a facial constitutional challenge.
3. Whether petitioners' requested injunction concerning Class 2 license decisions was moot.

Disposition

other