80R6150 JPL-F
 
  By: Flores H.B. No. 2701
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of horse and dog racing.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 1.03, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subdivisions
(36) and (53) and adding Subdivision (79) to read as follows:
             (36)  "Trainer" means a person who is licensed by the
commission to train racehorses or greyhounds.
             (53)  "Judge" means a racing official with general
authority and supervision over:
                   (A)  the conduct of a licensed race meeting; and
                   (B)  all licensees at a racetrack during a race
meeting [an executive official of a greyhound racetrack].
             (79)  "Executive director" means the executive
secretary of the Texas Racing Commission.
       SECTION 2.  Section 2.12, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Subsection
(a-1) to read as follows:
       (a-1)  The commission and the executive secretary may use the
title "executive director" for any purpose in referring to the
office of executive secretary.
       SECTION 3.  Section 3.07(e), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
       (e)  To pay the charges associated with the medication or
drug testing, an association may use the money held by the
association to pay outstanding tickets and pari-mutuel vouchers.
If additional amounts are needed to pay the charges, the
association shall pay those additional amounts. [If the amount
held exceeds the amount needed to pay the charges, the association
shall pay the excess to the commission in accordance with Section
11.08 of this Act.]
       SECTION 4.  Section 3.16(b), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
       (b)  The commission [may require prerace testing and] shall
require [postrace] testing to determine whether a prohibited
substance has been used.  The testing may be prerace or postrace as
determined by the commission. The testing may be by an invasive or
noninvasive method. The commission's rules shall require
state-of-the-art testing methods.
       SECTION 5.  Section 5.01, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Subsection (d)
to read as follows:
       (d)  The commission by rule shall set fees in amounts
reasonable and necessary to cover the commission's costs of
regulating, overseeing, and licensing live and simulcast racing at
racetracks.
       SECTION 6.  Section 5.03(b), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
       (b)  If a complete set of fingerprints is required by the
commission, the commission shall, not later than the 10th business
[next] day after the date the commission receives [receiving] the
prints, forward the prints to the Department of Public Safety or the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.  If the prints are forwarded to the
Department of Public Safety, the department shall classify the
prints and check them against its fingerprint files and shall
report to the commission its findings concerning the criminal
record of the applicant or the lack of such a record.  A racetrack
license may not be issued until the report is made to the
commission.  A temporary occupational license may be issued before
a report is made to the commission.
       SECTION 7.  Section 6.09(c), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
       (c)  On each racing day, the association shall pay[:
             [(1)]  the fee due the state to the comptroller[; and
             [(2)  the 50 percent of the breakage due the state to
the commission].
       SECTION 8.  Section 6.091(a), Texas Racing Act (Article
179e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as
follows:
       (a)  An association shall distribute from the total amount
deducted as provided by Sections 6.08(a) and 6.09(a) of this Act
from each simulcast pari-mutuel pool and each simulcast
cross-species pool the following shares:
             (1)  [(A) until January 1, 1999, an amount equal to 0.25
percent of each simulcast pari-mutuel pool and each simulcast
cross-species simulcast pool as the amount set aside to reimburse
the general revenue fund for amounts that are appropriated for the
administration and enforcement of this Act and that are in excess of
the cumulative amount of funds deposited in the Texas Racing
Commission fund, until the excess amount and interest on the excess
amount are fully reimbursed;
                   [(B)]  an amount equal to one percent of each
simulcast pool as the amount set aside for the state; [and]
             (2) [(C)]  an amount equal to 1.25 percent of each
simulcast cross-species [simulcast] pool as the amount set aside
for the state;
             [(2)  an amount equal to 0.25 percent of each pool set
aside to reimburse the general revenue fund for amounts that are
appropriated for the administration and enforcement of this Act and
that are in excess of the cumulative amount of funds deposited in
the Texas Racing Commission fund, until the excess amount and
interest on the excess amount are fully reimbursed;]
             (3)  if the association is a horse racing association,
an amount equal to one percent of a multiple two wagering pool or
multiple three wagering pool as the amount set aside for the
Texas-bred program to be used as provided by Section 6.08(f) of this
Act;
             (4)  if the association is a greyhound association, an
amount equal to one percent of a multiple two wagering pool or a
multiple three wagering pool as the amount set aside for the
Texas-bred program for greyhound races, to be distributed and used
in accordance with rules of the commission adopted to promote
greyhound breeding in this state; and
             (5)  the remainder as the amount set aside for purses,
expenses, the sending association, and the receiving location
pursuant to a contract approved by the commission between the
sending association and the receiving location.
       SECTION 9.  Section 6.13(b), Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
       (b)  Each transaction that involves an acquisition or a
transfer of a pecuniary interest in the association must receive
prior approval from the commission. A transaction that changes the
ownership of the association requires submission of updated
information of the type required to be disclosed under Subsection
(a) of Section 6.03 of this Act and payment of a fee to recover the
costs of the criminal background check.
       SECTION 10.  Section 6.16(a), Texas Racing Act (Article
179e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as
follows:
       (a)  An association may not employ any person who has been a
member of the commission, the executive secretary of the
commission, or an employee employed by the commission in a position
in the state employment classification plan of grade 12 or above, or
any person related within the second degree by affinity or the third
degree by consanguinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
Government Code [Article 5996h, Revised Statutes], to such a member
or employee, during the one-year [two-year] period immediately
preceding the employment by the association.
       SECTION 11.  Section 11.07, Texas Racing Act (Article 179e,
Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection
(a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
       (a)  A person who claims to be entitled to any part of a
distribution from a pari-mutuel pool [and who fails to claim the
money due the person before the completion of the race meeting at
which the pool was formed] may, not later than the first anniversary
of the [60th] day the ticket was purchased [after the closing day of
the meeting], file with the association a claim for the money
together with a substantial portion of the pari-mutuel ticket
sufficient to identify the association, race, and horse or
greyhound involved and sufficient to show the amount wagered and
the type of ticket.
       (a-1)  A person who claims to be entitled to money from a
pari-mutuel voucher may before the first anniversary of the day the
voucher was issued file with the association a claim for the money
together with a substantial portion of the pari-mutuel voucher
sufficient to identify the association, the serial number, the date
issued, and the amount of the voucher.
       SECTION 12.  Sections 6.19 and 11.08, Texas Racing Act
(Article 179e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are repealed.
       SECTION 13.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.