HBA-CMT H.B. 1196 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1196
By: Brimer
Licensing & Administrative Procedures
2/23/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Texas Racing Act contains a financial incentive program designed to
improve the caliber of breeding and quality of Texas-bred horses.  An
accredited Texas-bred horse is a horse that is considered qualified for
this program, which provides incentives to owners and breeders through
supplements to purses awarded in races won by accredited Texas-bred horses.
Any horse that is bred and born (foaled) in Texas qualifies as a Texas-bred
horse.  The accredited Texas-bred horse  qualification is not lost if the
mare is bred out of state and brought back for the birth of the foal and is
bred back to a stallion in Texas. However, the Texas-bred foal crop has
declined over the last four years.  A reason for the decline is the exodus
of high quality Texas mares to other states for breeding and domicile
because of the lack of stallions in Texas that match the quality of Texas
mares.  House Bill 1196 allows a Thoroughbred Texas mare to be bred out of
state without limitation as long as the foal is born in Texas, and
reallocates existing funds to phase in, over a five year period, 25 percent
of all award funds for accredited Texas-bred horses that win against open
company.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1196 amends the Texas Racing Act to provide that an accredited
Texas-bred Thoroughbred horse is eligible for only one-half of the breakage
awarded under the Texas Racing Act.  The bill requires that the remaining
portion of the breakage be retained by the association conducting the race
to be used in stake races restricted to accredited Texas-bred horses. 

The bill requires that an accredited Texas-bred Thoroughbred horse that
finishes first, second, or third in a race other than a Texas-bred race
receive a bonus award as a purse supplement.  The bill requires the
allocation of 25 percent of the Texas-bred program funds received by the
state horse breed registry for Thoroughbred horses, excluding expenses for
administration of the Texas-bred program, to be allocated to fund the bonus
awards.  The bill establishes, notwithstanding the 25 percent allocated to
fund bonus awards, the annual percentages of the Texas-bred program funds
received by the state horse breed registry for Thoroughbred horses that
must be used to fund bonus awards for the years  2002 through 2007,
expiring on January 1, 2008. 

The bill amends the definition of "Texas-bred horse" to include a
Thoroughbred horse foaled in Texas by an accredited Texas-bred mare if the
mare was bred outside Texas and returned to Texas on or before August 15 of
the calendar year of conception.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.  Provisions related to bonus awards take
effect January 1, 2002.