Monday, May 27, 2024–9:00 p.m.

-David Crowder, WRGA News-

Both the Rome City and Floyd County Commissions are expected to vote on new coin-operated amusement machine ordinances when they meet Tuesday.

The gaming machines are regulated by the Georgia Lottery so there are limits on what local governments can do to regulate them.

However, city and county attorneys have been working to come up with standards that they think would withstand legal challenges.

Floyd County Manager Jamie McCord explained the county ordinance during First Reading earlier this month.

It gives definitions of what an amusement game room is versus a bona fide coin-operated amusement machine,” he said. “It defines the location, location owner, and the location of the operator.  It will, as written, require a license and may have a fee of up to $500. That’s ’may’ not ‘shall.’ It has minimum distance requirements that are equal to our alcohol regulations.”

It also requires quarterly reports for gross receipts showing that no more than 50 percent of the store’s revenue comes from gaming machines.

 “The Floyd County Alcohol Control Commission would handle the license suspension and revocation and has rules set up for that as well,” McCord said. “There are also penalties and violations for first offense, second offense, and third offense, as well as operating regulations on where an attendant has to be, loitering, inspections, kept in plain view, so forth and so on. It also has a sunset provision to come into compliance within 12 months of the enactment of this ordinance is approved.”

The city ordinance contains a lot of the same language.

You can read the city ordinance here.

The County Commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Floyd County Administration building on Fourth Avenue.

The City Commission meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Rome City Hall.

Photo by Adam Carey, Rome News-Tribune