Amended in Assembly April 16, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1347

Introduced by Assembly Member Gray

February 22, 2013

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 19596.2 and end insert 19605.73 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to horse racing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1347, as amended, Gray. Horse racing: begin insert out-of-state thoroughbred races: end insert statewide marketing organization.

begin delete

Existing

end delete begin insert

(1) Existing law authorizes a thoroughbred racing association or fair to distribute the audiovisual signal and accept wagers on the results of out-of-state thoroughbred races conducted in the United States during the calendar period the association or fair is conducting a race meeting, including days on which there is no live racing being conducted by the association or fair, without the consent of the organization that represents horsemen and horsewomen participating in the race meeting and without regard to the amount of purses. Under existing law, the total number of thoroughbred races imported by associations or fairs on a statewide basis under these provisions shall not exceed 50 per day on days when live thoroughbred or fair racing is being conducted in the state, with the exception of prescribed races, including races that are part of the race card of the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Travers Stakes, the Arlington Million, the Breeders’ Cup, the Dubai Cup, the Arkansas Derby, or the Haskell Invitational.

end insert begin insert

This bill would exempt from the 50 race per day limitation, races that are part of the race card.

end insert

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law, operative until January 1, 2014, authorizes thoroughbred racing associations, fairs, and the organization responsible for contracting with thoroughbred racing associations and fairs with respect to the conduct of racing meetings, to form a private, statewide marketing organization to market and promote thoroughbred and fair horse racing. If a marketing organization is formed, existing law requires an amount not to exceed 0.25% of the total amount handled by each satellite wagering facility to be distributed to the marketing organization, and imposes certain requirements on the marketing organization, including that the marketing organization annually submit certain information to the California Horse Racing Board.

This bill would extend the operation of those provisions to January 1, 2019. Because the bill would extend provisions of the Horse Racing Law, a violation of which is a crime, the bill would create new crimes and would thereby 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.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 19596.2 of the end insert begin insert Business and Professions
Code end insert begin insert is amended to read: end insert

19596.2.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of end delete law and
except as provided in Section 19596.4, a thoroughbred racing
association or fair may distribute the audiovisual signal and accept
wagers on the results of out-of-state thoroughbred races conducted
in the United States during the calendar period the association or
fair is conducting a race meeting, including days on which there
is no live racing being conducted by the association or fair, without
the consent of the organization that represents horsemen and
horsewomen participating in the race meeting and without regard
to the amount of purses. Further, the total number of thoroughbred
races imported by associations or fairs on a statewide basis under
this section shall not exceed 50 per day on days when live
thoroughbred or fair racing is being conducted in the state. The
limitation of 50 imported races per day does not apply to any of
the following:

(1) Races imported for wagering purposes pursuant to
subdivision (c).

(2) Races imported that are part of the race card of begin insert the Wood
Memorial, end insert the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, the Preakness
Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Travers
Stakes, the Arlington Million, the Breeders’ Cup, the Dubai Cup,
the Arkansas Derby, or the Haskell Invitational.

(3) Races imported into the northern zone when there is no live
thoroughbred or fair racing being conducted in the northern zone.

(4) Races imported into the combined central and southern zones
when there is no live thoroughbred or fair racing being conducted
in the combined central and southern zones.

(b) Any thoroughbred association or fair accepting wagers
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall conduct the wagering in
accordance with the applicable provisions of Sections 19601,
19616, 19616.1, and 19616.2.

(c) No thoroughbred association or fair may accept wagers
pursuant to this section on out-of-state races commencing after 7
p.m., Pacific standard time, without the consent of the harness or
quarter horse racing association that is then conducting a live racing
meeting in begin insert the counties of end insert Orange or Sacramento begin delete Counties end delete .

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 19605.73 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

19605.73.  

(a) Thoroughbred racing associations, fairs, and the
organization responsible for contracting with thoroughbred racing
associations and fairs with respect to the conduct of racing
meetings begin delete , end delete may form a private, statewide marketing organization
to market and promote thoroughbred and fair horse racing,
including, but not limited to, the establishment and maintenance
of an Internet Web site featuring California thoroughbred and fair
racing, the establishment and administration of players incentive
programs for those who wager on thoroughbred association and
fair races, and promotional activities at satellite wagering facilities
to increase their attendance and handle. While the promotional
activities at satellite wagering facilities shall be funded by the
marketing organization, they shall be implemented and coordinated
by representatives of the satellite wagering facilities and the
thoroughbred racing associations or fairs then conducting a live
race meet. The marketing organization shall consist of the
following members: two members, one from the northern zone
and one from the combined central and southern zones, appointed
by the thoroughbred racetracks; two members, one from the
northern zone and one from the combined central and southern
zones, appointed by the owners’ organization responsible for
contracting with associations and fairs with respect to the conduct
of racing meetings; and two members, one from the northern zone
and one from the combined central and southern zones, appointed
by the organization representing racing and satellite fairs.

(b) The marketing organization formed pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall, by November 1 of each year, submit a written report to
the board on a statewide marketing and promotion plan for the
upcoming calendar year. In addition, the marketing organization
shall annually present to the board at the board’s November
meeting a verbal report on the statewide marketing and promotion
plan for the upcoming calendar year. The plan shall be
implemented as determined by the marketing organization. The
marketing organization shall receive input from all interested
industry participants and may utilize outside consultants.

(c) In addition to the distributions specified in subdivisions (a)
and (b) of Section 19605.7, subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
19605.71, and Section 19605.72, for thoroughbred and fair
meetings only, from the amount that would normally be available
for commissions and purses, an amount not to exceed 0.25 percent
of the total amount handled by each satellite wagering facility shall
be distributed to the marketing organization formed pursuant to
subdivision (a) for the purposes set forth therein. The amounts
initially distributed to the marketing organization formed pursuant
to subdivision (a) shall be 0.2 percent of the total amount handled
by satellite wagering facilities for thoroughbred and fair meetings
only. The amount distributable to the marketing organization may
be adjusted by the board, in its discretion. However, the adjusted
amounts begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not exceed an aggregate of 0.25 percent of the
total amount handled by satellite wagering facilities for
thoroughbred and fair meetings only. Any of the promotion funds
that are not expended in the year in which they are collected may
be expended in the following year. If promotion funds expended
in any one year exceed the amount collected for that year, the funds
expended in the following year shall be reduced by the excess
amount. The marketing organization, on a quarterly basis, shall
submit to the board a written report that accounts for all receipts
and expenditures of the promotion funds for the previous three
months.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019,
and, as of that date, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that
is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.
Any moneys held by the marketing organization shall, in the event
this section is repealed, be distributed to the organization formed
pursuant to Section 19608.2, for purposes of that section.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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.