Amended in Assembly April 28, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2592

Introduced by Assembly Members Chesbro and Levine

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section 19530 of begin insert , and to add Section 19549.5 to, end insert the Business and Professions Code, relating to horse racing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2592, as amended, Chesbro. California Horse Racing Board: begin delete racing dates: end delete begin insert fair horse racing calendar: end insert economic analysis.

Existing law, the Horse Racing Law, provides for the operation of live horse racing in this state and for wagering thereon, and for the operation of satellite wagering facilities, subject to regulation and oversight by the California Horse Racing Board. That law also requires the board to allocate racing weeks to begin delete an applicant, to specify racing days, dates, and hours for horse racing meetings as will be in the public interest, and provides that the decision of the board is subject to change, limitation, or restriction only by the board end delete begin insert a fair and to hold a public hearing and take testimony when making all determinations on the allocation of racing dates to a fair end insert .

This bill would require the board, when it receives a proposal begin delete from an applicant end delete to make a substantial change, as defined, to the number of begin delete racing dates allocated to a fair or racetrack, end delete begin insert days a fair conducts races or to the weeks in the horse racing calendar allocated to that fair end insert to conduct begin delete an end delete begin insert a specified end insert economic analysis of the proposal’s effect on begin delete other end delete begin insert those end insert fairs begin delete and racetracks end delete begin insert end insert begin insert whose horse racing calendar would be impacted end insert and to consider all proposed alternative racing dates based on that economic analysis before the board votes on the proposal or any alternative option to the original proposal. begin insert The bill would make other, nonsubstantive changes to the Horse Racing Law. end insert

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 19530 of the Business and Professions
Code is amended to read:

19530.  

begin delete (a) end delete begin delete   end delete The board shall have the authority to allocate racing
weeks to an applicant or applicants pursuant to the provisions of
this article and Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 19540) and
to specify those racing days, dates, and hours for horse racing
meetings as will be in the public interest, and will subserve the
purposes of this chapter. The decision of the board as to racing
days, dates, and hours shall be subject to change, limitation, or
restriction only by the board. A municipality or county shall not
adopt or enforce any ordinance or regulation that has or may have
the effect of directly or indirectly regulating, limiting, or restricting
the racing days and dates of horse racing meetings.

begin delete

(b) When the board receives a proposal from an applicant to
make a substantial change to the number of racing dates allocated
to a fair or racetrack, the board shall conduct an economic analysis
of the proposal’s effect on other fairs and racetracks and shall
consider all proposed alternative racing dates based on that
economic analysis before the board votes on the proposal or any
alternative option to the original proposal.

end delete begin delete

(c) As used in this section, “substantial change” means any race
date change that changes the dates more than three days from the
prior year’s horse racing dates.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. end insert begin insert 2 end insert begin insert . end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 19549.5 is added to the end insert begin insert Business and
Professions Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 19549.5. end insert   

(a) When the board considers a proposal to make a
substantial change to the number of days a fair conducts races or
to the weeks in the horse racing calendar allocated to that fair,
the board shall conduct an economic analysis of the proposal’s
effect on those fairs whose horse racing calendar would be
impacted. The economic analysis shall include, but is not limited
to, all of the following:

(1) The financial loss or gain to each fair impacted by the
proposed fair horse racing calendar changes, including the impact
on fair admissions, concessions, and sponsorship.

(2) Jobs generated or lost due to the proposed fair horse racing
calendar changes.

(3) Availability of seasonable workers as a result of the fair
horse racing calendar changes.

(4) Impact on agricultural education programs, if applicable.

(5) Financial impact on the community at large due to the
changes to the fair horse racing calendar.

(b) The board shall consider all proposed alternative racing
dates based on that economic analysis before the board votes on
the proposal or any alternative option to the original proposal.

(c) As used in this section, “substantial change” means any
change within the fair horse racing calendar that changes the
allocation of racing dates to that fair by more than three days from
the prior year’s horse racing dates.

end insert