BILL NUMBER: AB 1180 CHAPTERED 09/22/05 CHAPTER 329 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 2005 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2005 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2005 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2005 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 15, 2005 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2005 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2005 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2005 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torrico FEBRUARY 22, 2005 An act to amend Section 19582.5 of, to add Section 19481.3 to, and to add Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 19500) to Chapter 4 of Division 8 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to horse racing. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1180, Torrico Horse racing: jockeys. Existing law, the Horse Racing Law, generally regulates horse racing. The California Horse Racing Board administers horse racing regulations. The board licenses jockeys. Violations of the Horse Racing Law are generally misdemeanors. The bill would provide that a jockey who agrees to exercise a racehorse shall be paid no less than the standard rate paid to exercise riders, unless the jockey has been employed to ride that horse in a parimutuel race or is engaged in an official timed and recorded workout. Further, this bill would require the board to adopt regulations consistent with existing practice with respect to determining whether a jockey is entitled to receive a mount fee or riding fee, as specified. The bill would preclude horses from being ridden at a racetrack unless the rider and horse are equipped with specified safety equipment. This bill would require the board to conduct an investigation regarding the use of safety reins, as specified, and adopt regulations mandating their use if it is determined that they would enhance safety. The bill would also require the board to approve and participate in a health assessment study of jockeys to provide information relevant to the determination of a scale of weights and weight control practices and to adopt regulations to establish new requirements if the current scale is determined to be detrimental to jockeys. Existing law requires the board establish safety standards governing the race tracks, equipment, medical services, and other facilities to ensure the safety of horses, riders, and workers at the racetrack. This bill would require every racing association and racing fair, as supervised by the board, to maintain specified equipment and staff for an on-track first aid facility. A qualified and licensed physician would be required to be on duty at all times during live racing, except as specified. Further, every racing association or racing fair would be required to adopt and maintain plans and contact with area hospitals to coordinate procedures for emergency hospital treatment, to designate and have on duty a health and safety manager or assistant to ensure compliance with these provisions. This bill would require the stewards to prepare reports on all on-track accidents that occur and are investigated at the racetrack. This bill would require the board to adopt regulations to implement these provisions. Existing law prohibits entry in a race of a horse that tests positive for drug substances, as specified. A positive drug test disqualifies a horse from a race and requires any purse or award be forfeited. This bill would permit a jockey to receive fees and pay, as specified, if the horse the jockey was engaged to ride tests positive for a prohibited substance if the board, including hearing officers and stewards find that a person other than the jockey administered the substance, as specified. By imposing new requirements on licensees under the Horse Racing Law, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 19481.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 19481.3. (a) Every racing association and racing fair licensed pursuant to this article shall maintain, staff, and supply an on-track first aid facility, that may be either permanent or mobile, and which shall be staffed and equipped as directed by the board. A qualified and licensed physician shall be on duty at all times during live racing, except that this provision shall not apply to any quarter horse racing at the racetrack if there is a hospital situated no more than 1.5 miles from the racetrack and the racetrack has an agreement with the hospital to provide emergency medical services to jockeys and riders. An ambulance licensed to operate on public highways provided by the track shall be available at all times during live racing and shall be staffed by two emergency medical technicians licensed in accordance with Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code, one of whom may be an Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic, as defined in Section 1797.84 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) Each racing association and racing fair shall adopt and maintain an emergency medical plan detailing the procedures that shall be used in the event of an on-track injury. The plan shall be posted in each jockey room in English and Spanish. (c) Prior to every race meeting, the racing association or racing fair shall contact area hospitals to coordinate procedures for the rapid admittance and treatment of emergency injuries. (d) Each racing association or racing fair shall designate a health and safety manager and assistant manager, who shall be responsible for compliance with the provisions of this section and one of whom shall be on duty at all times when live racing is conducted. The health and safety manager may, at the discretion of the racing association, be the person designated to perform risk management duties on behalf of the association. (e) The stewards shall investigate and prepare a report with respect to all on-track accidents involving jockeys that occur during the performance of their duties. The report shall, at a minimum, identify the circumstances of the accident, the likely causes, and the extent of any injuries. The investigation shall be commenced no later than the next live racing day and shall be completed expeditiously. Upon completion of the report, it shall immediately be sent by facsimile or electronic mail to the entity certified to provide health and welfare for jockeys pursuant to Section 19612.9, to the jockey or his or her representative, the racing association, and the owner and trainer of the horse the jockey was riding at the time of the accident. (f) The board shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section no later than July 1, 2007. SEC. 2. Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 19500) is added to Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to read: Article 4.5. Jockeys 19500. (a) A jockey who agrees to exercise a racehorse shall be paid no less than the standard rate that is paid to exercise riders unless the jockey has been employed to ride that racehorse in a parimutuel race or the jockey is engaged in an official timed and recorded workout. If there is a dispute over the standard rate for exercising a horse, the steward shall determine the rate. (b) The board shall adopt regulations no later than July 1, 2007, consistent with existing practice of the stewards, that provide both of the following: (1) Establish the circumstances under which a jockey is entitled to receive a mount fee when he or she is removed from a mount prior to scratch time. (2) Establish the circumstances under which a jockey is entitled to receive both a mount fee and the riding fee when he or she is removed from a mount after scratch time. (c) The paymaster of a racing association or racing fair shall not disburse any sum from a jockey's compensation to any person other than the jockey except with the written permission of the jockey, upon order of the board, or pursuant to a court or administrative order. (d) For the purposes of this section the following definitions apply: (1) "Scratch time" means the time designated by the purse agreement when final changes in racing programs must be made. (2) "Riding fee" means the amount of money, whether calculated as a percentage of the purse or by any other means, that is due to a jockey in addition to the jockey mount fee as a result of the performance of a racehorse in a race. (3) "Mount fee" is the fee that is paid a jockey who accepts a mount on a racehorse. 19504. (a) No racehorse shall be ridden at a racetrack unless the rider is equipped with a safety helmet and safety vest. (b) No later than July 1, 2006, the board shall conduct an investigation, including at least one public hearing, to determine whether the use of safety reins would provide jockeys and exercise riders greater protection from accidents and injuries than conventional reins. Should the board determine that the use of safety reins would provide greater protection for jockeys and exercise riders than conventional reins, it shall adopt a regulation no later than July 1, 2007, mandating the use of approved safety reins whenever a racehorse is ridden at a racetrack. The regulation adopted by the board may phase in the use of safety reins, but in the event safety reins are mandated, the board shall not permit the use of conventional reins in a parimutuel race for longer than 18 months following the adoption of the regulation. (c) The board shall approve any model of safety helmet, safety vest, and mandatory safety rein, if required, in use at a racetrack. (d) For the purposes of this section, a "safety rein" is a type of rein that is reinforced with a wire cable, nylon strap, or other safety device or material that is attached to the bit and designed to maintain control of the horse should the rein break. (e) For the purposes of this section, a "conventional rein" is any rein other than a safety rein. 19506. No later than July 1, 2006, the board shall approve and participate in a health assessment study of jockeys that will provide information relevant to the determination of an appropriate jockey scale of weights and weight control practices that will maximize jockey health and safety. (a) The study shall be conducted under accepted scientific principles, shall be peer reviewed, and shall be performed under the auspices of a university based director with expertise in sports medicine, nutrition, or occupational safety and health. The study director shall be independent of the horse racing industry. (b) The board shall form a committee to provide input and advice on the design of the study. The committee shall include members of the board, and representatives of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, the Jockey's Guild, the California Thoroughbred Trainers, the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association, the California Authority of Racing Fairs and of the racetracks. However, the board shall insure that no member of the committee nor any other person shall attempt to improperly interfere with study design or execution or compromise its integrity. (c) The study shall be funded by private sources. Nothing in this section shall prevent the participation of racing regulatory bodies outside of California in the study. (d) Upon completion of the study the board shall review the findings at a public hearing. If the board determines, upon review of the study, that the current scale of weights for jockeys is detrimental to jockey health and safety, it shall adopt regulations to establish weight or body composition requirements appropriate to maintain jockeys in a healthy and safe physical condition. SEC. 3. Section 19582.5 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 19582.5. The board may adopt regulations that prohibit the entry in a race of a horse that tests positive for a drug substance in violation of Section 19581. Upon a finding of a prohibited drug substance in an official test sample, a horse may be summarily disqualified from the race in connection with which the drug sample was taken. Upon the disqualification of a horse pursuant to these regulations, any purse, prize, award, or record for that race shall be forfeited. However, the board, including its hearing officers and stewards, shall have the authority to order, in the interests of justice, that a jockey be permitted to keep his or her share of the purse, prize, or award for that race upon a finding that a person, other than the jockey, willfully, and with flagrant disregard for recommended veterinary practice and the regulations of the board, administered the prohibited substance. Such an order may provide that the jockey's share of the purse, prize, or award shall be paid by the person or persons determined to be responsible for willfully administering the prohibited substance. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.