Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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

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(1) Existing

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begin insert Existing end insert 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 begin insert imported end insert 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.

This bill would begin insert also end insert exempt from the 50 race per day limitation, races begin insert imported end insert that are part of the race card begin insert of the Wood Memorial end insert .

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(2) Existing 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.

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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.

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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.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

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

SECTION 1.  

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

19596.2.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other 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 the Wood
Memorial, 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 the Counties of Orange or Sacramento.

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SEC. 2.  

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
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 shall 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.

SEC. 3.  

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.

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