By Wilson H.B. No. 3709
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the regulation of pari-mutuel racing.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 1.03(21), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
1-5 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 (21) "Texas-bred horse" means a horse that is [sired
1-8 by a stallion standing in Texas at the time of conception and]
1-9 foaled by a mare in Texas [except that a mare may be bred outside
1-10 Texas and brought into Texas to foal and all foals sired an foaled
1-11 under those conditions in a mare's lifetime shall be considered
1-12 "Texas-bred" if the mare is bred back to a stallion standing in
1-13 Texas.] In all instances any foal must qualify under the rules of
1-14 the commission.
1-15 SECTION 2. Section 3.07, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
1-16 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding
1-17 paragraph (h) to read as follows:
1-18 (h) The commission may by rule determine the date of
1-19 expiration of outstanding tickets and pari-mutuel vouchers.
1-20 Pari-mutuel vouchers that expire may be used by an association to
1-21 pay the charges associated with medication or drug testing. If the
2-1 amount of the expired pari-mutuel vouchers held exceeds the amount
2-2 needed to pay the charges, the association shall pay the excess to
2-3 the commission in accordance with Section 11.08 of this Act.
2-4 SECTION 3. Section 6.02, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
2-5 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding
2-6 paragraph (h) to read as follows:
2-7 (h) The commission may not grant overlapping live race dates
2-8 for the same breed of horse at Class 1 racetracks unless the
2-9 overlapping is agreed to in writing by the affected Class 1
2-10 racetracks.
2-11 SECTION 4. Section 6.08, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
2-12 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by amending
2-13 paragraph (i) and adding paragraphs (n), (o) and (p) to read as
2-14 follows:
2-15 (i) Ten percent of the total breakage from a live
2-16 pari-mutuel pool or a simulcast pari-mutuel pool is to be paid to
2-17 the commission for use by the appropriate state horse breed
2-18 registry, subject to rules promulgated by the commission. The
2-19 appropriate breed registry for Thoroughbred horses is the Texas
2-20 Thoroughbred Breeders Association, for quarter horses is the Texas
2-21 Quarter Horse Association, [for Appaloosa horses is the Texas
2-22 Appaloosa Horse Club,] for Arabian horses is the Texas Arabian
2-23 Breeders Association, and for paint horses is the Texas Paint Horse
2-24 Breeders Association.
2-25 (n) A breed registry may contract with an organization
3-1 recognized under Section 3.13 of this Act for administration of the
3-2 accredited Texas-bred program.
3-3 (o) A horse breed registry may by rule restrict the
3-4 eligibility of its horses for accredited Texas-bred awards or purse
3-5 supplements if the horse runs in mixed racing.
3-6 (p) A racetrack may reduce the amount set aside for purses
3-7 in paragraph (b) above pursuant to a written agreement with the
3-8 officially recognized organization representing horsemen at the
3-9 racetrack.
3-10 SECTION 5. Section 6.092, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
3-11 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding
3-12 paragraph (f) to read as follows:
3-13 (f) The commission shall by rule require that any
3-14 organization with over 1,000 members receiving funds generated by
3-15 live or simulcast pari-mutuel racing select its governing board
3-16 utilizing an election process that offers all members of the
3-17 organization an opportunity to participate in the selection of the
3-18 governing board of the organization. The commission shall ensure
3-19 that the nomination process for the election of the members of the
3-20 governing board is an open process and may not prohibit the use of
3-21 a nominating committee.
3-22 SECTION 6. Section 6.14, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
3-23 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding
3-24 paragraph (e) to read as follows:
3-25 (e) The commission may not approve the location of a
4-1 racetrack within 75 miles of an existing Class 1 racetrack unless
4-2 the affected Class 1 racetrack consents to the new location.
4-3 SECTION 7. Section 11.011, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
4-4 Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by amending
4-5 paragraphs (e) and (f) and adding paragraph (n) to read as follows:
4-6 (e) If intrastate wagering pools are combined between
4-7 tracks, the receiving track [where the race originates] is
4-8 responsible for the state's share of the pari-mutuel pool
4-9 regardless of whether a shortage or error occurred at the
4-10 originating track or receiving track.
4-11 (f) Nothing in this Act is to be construed to allow wagering
4-12 in Texas on simulcast races on any licensed premises of [at any
4-13 location other than] a racetrack licensed under this Act that has
4-14 been granted live race dates by the commission unless the wager is
4-15 placed through the wagering pool of a racetrack licensed under this
4-16 Act.
4-17 (n) With the approval of the commission, a racetrack may
4-18 offer wagering on interstate simulcast races of any breed of horse.
4-19 SECTION 8. Sections 11.04(a) and (c), Texas Racing Act
4-20 (Article 179e, Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) are amended
4-21 to read as follows:
4-22 (a) A [Only a] person [inside the enclosure where both live
4-23 and simulcast race meetings are authorized] may wager on the result
4-24 of a live or simulcast race presented by an [the] association in
4-25 accordance with commission rules. The commission shall adopt rules
5-1 to prohibit wagering by employees of the commission and to regulate
5-2 wagering by persons licensed under this Act.
5-3 (c) The commission shall adopt rules prohibiting an
5-4 association from accepting a wager made on credit and shall adopt
5-5 rules providing for the use of automatic banking machines within
5-6 the enclosure. [The commission shall limit the use of an automatic
5-7 banking machine to:]
5-8 [(1) allow a person to have access to only the
5-9 person's checking account at a bank or other financial institution;
5-10 and]
5-11 [(2) deliver no more than $200.]
5-12 SECTION 9. Sections 6.06(a)12, (c), (d), and (h), 6.16,
5-13 6.17(a)-(c) and 7.02(e), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e, Vernon's
5-14 Annotated Texas Civil Statutes) are repealed.
5-15 SECTION 10. Section 151.0035, Tax Code, is amended to read
5-16 as follows:
5-17 Sec. 151.0035. "DATA PROCESSING SERVICE." "Data processing
5-18 service" includes word processing, data entry, data retrieval, data
5-19 search, information compilation, payroll and business accounting
5-20 data production, but does not include the performances of a
5-21 totalisator service with the use of computational equipment
5-22 required by the Texas Racing Act (Article 179e, Vernon's Annotated
5-23 Texas Civil Statutes), and other computerized data and information
5-24 storage or manipulation. "Data processing service" also includes
5-25 the use of a computer or computer time for data processing whether
6-1 the processing is performed by the provider of the computer or
6-2 computer time or by the purchaser or other beneficiary of the
6-3 service. "Data processing service" does not include the
6-4 transcription of medical dictation by a medical transcriptionist.
6-5 SECTION 11. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
6-6 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-11 passage, and it is so enacted.