BILL NUMBER: AB 1949 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jerome Horton
FEBRUARY 2, 2006
An act to amend Section 19613.3 of
Sections 19410, 19605.35, and 19613.3 of, and to add Sections
19605.25, 19605.46, 19605.47, and 19605.54 to, the Business and
Professions Code, relating to horse racing , and making an
appropriation therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1949, as amended, Jerome Horton Horse racing.
Existing law generally regulates horse racing, including defining
the "inclosure" of a racing association or fair's grounds where
specified wagering activities may occur. Existing law provides that
"inclosure" does not include public parking lots.
This bill would delete the public parking lot exception to the
definition of inclosure, and would further provide that a racing
association or fair may conduct satellite wagering at commercial
establishments situated within the inclosure.
Existing law provides that all revenues distributed to the state
as license fees from horse racing are required to be deposited in the
Fair and Exposition Fund and are continuously appropriated to the
Department of Food and Agriculture for various regulatory and general
governmental purposes.
This bill would authorize an additional 5 satellite wagering
facilities to be situated in Los Angeles County, as specified. This
bill would provide that no facility may be located in the City of
Santa Clarita, or north of that city within the 50th Agricultural
District, without the concurrence of the 50th Agricultural District,
and would provide that the district would be given the opportunity to
be an investor in the facility. The bill would also authorize the
Alameda County Fair to operate 2 additional satellite wagering
facilities, as specified. The bill would authorize the Los Angeles
County Fair to conduct satellite wagering at an additional location,
situated not more than 20 miles from its fairgrounds, with the
approval of the board, and of other racetracks, if necessary, as
specified. The bill would provide that satellite wagering may
continue to be conducted at a racetrack that has closed, but which
conducted horse racing for at least 20 years. The bill would further
provide that if the racetrack in the central or southern zone site is
no longer available for use as a satellite wagering facility, then
the owner of the racetrack that last conducted racing may conduct
satellite wagering at another location, as specified.
By expanding wagering on horse racing by authorizing additional
satellite wagering facilities, this bill would increase the amount of
continuously appropriated license fees, thereby making an
appropriation.
Existing law provides for the recognition of horsemen's and
horsewomen's organizations by the California Horse Racing Board. Each
organization, except for the thoroughbred horsemen's and horsewomen'
s organizations, and except an organization that solely represents
owners, or solely represents trainers, shall provide for the
representation of owners and trainers on its board of directors. Each
thoroughbred horsemen's and horsewomen's organization, except one
that solely represents trainers, shall provide for the representation
of owners and owner-trainers on its board. Existing law provides
that the organization representing owners who are also licensed as
trainers, and their spouses who are licensed as owners, shall
comprise a class of owner-trainers, which may elect 3 of its members
to the board of directors of the owner's organization, while all
other directors shall be owners and not owner-trainers. The board of
the thoroughbred owners' organization shall not exceed 15 members and
all members shall have equal standing. Existing law further provides
that the thoroughbred trainers' organization may appoint 3 persons
who qualify as owner-trainers, to the board of the thoroughbred
owners' organization. This provision will be repealed as of January
1, 2007.
This bill would require the boards of directors for the
thoroughbred trainers' organization and thoroughbred owners'
organization to appoint 3 mutually agreed-upon persons who qualify as
owner-trainers to the board of the thoroughbred owners'
organization. This bill would maintain these provisions in effect
until January 1, 2009.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no yes . Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 19410 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
19410. "Inclosure" means all areas of the racing association's or
fair's grounds and locations, as designated by the racing
association or fair licensed to conduct a live racing meeting and
approved by the board , excluding the public parking lot
. The racing association or fair may conduct satellite
wagering at commercial establishments situated within the inclosure
.
SEC. 2. Section 19605.25 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
19605.25. (a) In addition to any authorized satellite wagering
facility, the board, with the approval of the Department of Food and
Agriculture, may authorize any fair or racing association in the
central zone to operate a satellite wagering facility pursuant to
this section if it finds that it is in the best interest of horse
racing.
(b) The racing associations situated in the central zone and
southern zone may join together with the Los Angeles County Fair, the
50th Agricultural District, or the 51st Agricultural District to
site an additional five satellite wagering facilities in Los Angeles
County. The location of each of these satellite facilities shall be
mutually agreed upon by all of the entities that have a race track or
satellite facility within 20 miles of the proposed location of the
new facility. No facility may be located in the City of Santa
Clarita, or north of that city within the 50th Agricultural District,
without the concurrence of the 50th Agricultural District, and the
district shall be given the opportunity to be an investor in the
facility. Any of these entities that has a race track or satellite
facility located within the central and southern zone shall have the
opportunity to invest in the ownership and operation of that facility
at the time of approval of that facility by the board. The
organizations representing thoroughbred owners and thoroughbred
trainers may also be a party to the ownership and operation of these
proposed facilities. If the proposed satellite wagering facility is
situated at an existing business, within 20 miles of a racetrack
situated in the City of Inglewood, that business, with the approval
of the board, may be licensed to conduct satellite wagering with the
consent of the racing associations in the central and southern zones.
(c) The distribution of the handle may, with the consent of the
affected horsemen's associations and racing associations, be based on
an agreement among the parties described in subdivision (b), rather
than the usual satellite distribution. Any change in the distribution
shall only affect the portions that are intended for purses and
commissions, and shall be agreed to by all the racing associations,
fair racing associations, and horsemen's organizations in the central
and southern zones.
SEC. 3. Section 19605.35 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
19605.35. (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 19605.3, no fee or charge authorized under that paragraph
shall be paid by the operator of a satellite wagering facility
that was licensed in the northern zone at
any time prior to January 1, 2000 for the receipt of
a satellite signal for the purpose of wagering on thoroughbred races
conducted at a racing association or fair
racing association in the northern zone . Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, total on-track license fees applicable to all
wagers made within the inclosure of associations conducting
thoroughbred racing meetings in the northern zone, including wagers
on out-of-zone, out-of-state, and out-of-country races, shall be
reduced by 0.3 percent. In addition, the total on-track license fees
applicable to all wagers made within the inclosures of associations
conducting thoroughbred racing meetings in the Counties of Alameda
and San Mateo shall, beginning on January 1, 2001, and each year
thereafter, be further reduced by an additional sum equal to the
amount of impact fees respectively received by each association from
the Santa Clara County Fair during the 2000 calendar year. The
reduction in license fees provided by this section shall be
distributed solely to the association in the form of commissions. All
other distributions from handle shall be as provided elsewhere in
this chapter.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section
19605.3, no fee or charge authorized under that paragraph shall be
paid by the operator of a satellite wagering facility that was also
licensed at any time during the prior year to conduct a live
thoroughbred or quarter horse racing meeting in the central or
southern zones or a live fair racing meeting in Los Angeles County.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on-track license fees
applicable to all wagers made within the inclosure of an association
conducting a thoroughbred meet in the central or southern zones,
including wagers on out-of-zone, out-of-state, and out-of-country
races, shall be reduced by 0.15 percent. The reduction in license
fees provided by this section shall be distributed solely to the
association in the form of commissions. All other distributions from
handle shall be as provided elsewhere in this chapter.
SEC. 4. Section 19605.46 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
19605.46. Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 19605, and
Section 19605.1, the Alameda County Fair may, with the approval of
the Department of Food and Agriculture, the authorization of the
board, and subject to the conditions set forth in Section 19605.3,
operate two additional satellite wagering facilities within the
boundaries of the fair district. However, any facility situated in
the City of Oakland shall be sited only with the concurrence of the
racing association in Alameda County. The racing association in
Alameda County shall have the opportunity to invest in the ownership
and operation of any satellite wagering facility situated in the City
of Oakland or within 20 miles of the racing association's race track
in Alameda County.
SEC. 5. Section 19605.47 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
19605.47. The Los Angeles County Fair may conduct satellite
wagering at an additional location, situated not more than 20 miles
from its fairgrounds, with the approval of the board. If the
additional satellite facility is within 20 miles of another
racetrack, then the consent of that racetrack, or those racetracks,
shall be a condition precedent to the approval by the board.
SEC. 6. Section 19605.54 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
19605.54. Satellite wagering may continue to be conducted at a
racetrack in the central or southern zone that has closed, but which
conducted horse racing for at least 20 years. If the racetrack site
in the central or southern zone is no longer available for use as a
satellite wagering facility, then the owner of the racetrack that
last conducted racing may conduct satellite wagering at another
location within the city where the racetrack is located, subject to
the approval of the board. The board, prior to granting approval,
shall conduct a hearing and afford all parties an opportunity to be
heard.
SEC. 7. It is the intent of the Legislature that
the amendments in Section 2 of this measure shall only apply to the
receipt of a satellite signal for purposes of wagering in the
northern zone on thoroughbred races conducted in the northern zone by
either a racing association or a fair racing association. It is
further the intent of the Legislature that the amendments in Section
3 of this measure clarify but do not change the original intent of
the Legislature.
SECTION 1. Section 19613.3 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
19613.3. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), (c), (d),
and (e) relating to thoroughbred horsemen's organizations, each
horsemen's organization, except an organization that solely
represents owners, or an organization that solely represents
trainers, shall provide for the representation of owners and trainers
on its board of directors. The provisions setting forth the
composition of the board of directors of each organization shall be
in the bylaws of the organization and shall be submitted to the
board. The bylaws and any changes thereto shall be approved by the
board.
(b) Each thoroughbred horsemen's organization, except an
organization that solely represents trainers, shall provide for the
representation of owners and owner-trainers, as defined in
subdivision (c), on its board of directors. The provisions setting
forth the composition of the board of directors of each organization
shall be in the bylaws of the organization and shall be submitted to
the board. The bylaws and any changes thereto shall be approved by
the board.
(c) The organization representing owners shall provide in its
bylaws that owners who are also licensed as trainers, and their
spouses who are licensed as owners shall comprise a class of
owner-trainers, three members of which shall be appointed to the
board of directors of the organization representing owners. All other
directors shall be owners as defined in Section 19613, and shall not
be members of the class of owner-trainers.
(d) The board of directors of the thoroughbred owners'
organization shall not exceed 15 persons, and all members of the
board shall have equal standing. No person other than a duly elected
or appointed member of the board of directors shall be entitled to
vote on matters that are subject to the vote of the board.
(e) The board of directors of the organization representing
thoroughbred trainers and the organization representing thoroughbred
owners shall, upon the effective date of this section, appoint three
mutually agreed upon individuals who qualify as members of the class
of owner-trainers as described in subdivision (c) to the board of
directors of the organization representing thoroughbred owners. This
section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2009, and as of
that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2009, deletes or extends that date.