CHAPTER 272
HB 630-FN-A – FINAL VERSION
13Jan2010… 2009-2531h
13Jan2010… 0065h
04/14/10 1272s
19May2010 2070eba
2010 SESSION
08/04
HOUSE BILL 630-FN-A
AN ACT relative to live racing in New Hampshire.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cooney, Graf 7; Rep. Skinder, Sull 1; Rep. Reagan, Rock 1; Rep. S. Harvey, Hills 21; Rep. Gile, Merr 10
COMMITTEE: Local and Regulated Revenues
This bill prohibits dog racing in New Hampshire.
This bill also allows existing racing licensees to broadcast simulcast running and harness horse and dog races.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
13Jan2010… 2009-2531h
13Jan2010… 0065h
04/14/10 1272s
19May2010 2070eba
09-0444
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to live racing in New Hampshire.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
272:1 Limitation; Live Racing and Simulcast. RSA 284:1 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:1 Limitation. This chapter shall be construed to apply only to running or harness horse racing, whether live or simulcast, or simulcast dog racing.
272:2 Racing and Charitable Gaming Commission. RSA 284:6-a, I-II are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I. There shall be a state racing and charitable gaming commission consisting of 6 members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the council. Each member shall hold office for a term of 3 years. Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term. Annually, one member shall be chosen chairperson by the commission, and one shall be chosen as secretary.
II. The racing and charitable gaming commission shall assume the powers, rights, duties, and responsibilities granted to the state racing commission and the state greyhound racing commission under RSA 284, and any reference to the state racing commission or the state greyhound racing commission in RSA 284 or any other statutory cites shall be deemed to refer to the New Hampshire racing and charitable gaming commission. The New Hampshire racing and charitable gaming commission shall, in carrying out the purpose of this chapter, use the applicable provisions for horse racing independent of the applicable provisions for simulcast dog racing.
272:3 Rulemaking. RSA 284:12, III is repealed and reenacted as follows:
III. The operation of racetracks on which running or harness horse race meets are held and the facilities where simulcast of running or harness horse racing or dog racing are presented.
272:4 License Required; Investigation Fees. RSA 284:12-a, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I. No person, association, corporation, or any other type of entity shall hold any live running or harness race or meet, or shall conduct any simulcast running or harness horse or dog race or meet, at which pari-mutuel pools are sold without a license from the commission.
272:5 Requirements for License to Simulcast Dog Racing. RSA 284:15-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:15-a Requirements for License to Simulcast Dog Racing.
I. Subject to the provisions of RSA 284:15-a, V and VI, any person, association, or corporation desiring to simulcast a dog race at or for which pari-mutuel pools are sold, shall apply to the commission for a license to do so. The application shall be signed and sworn to by the person or executive officer of the association or corporation and shall contain the following information:
(a) The full name and address of the person, association, or corporation.
(b) If an association, the names and residences of the members of the association.
(c) If a corporation, the name of the state under which it is incorporated with its principal place of business and the names and addresses of its directors and stockholders.
(d) The location of the facility where it desires to conduct simulcast dog racing, provided, however, the location of such facility must be a place at which live dog racing was conducted in 2008 and the operator of such facility was licensed by the commission in 2010 to accept pari-mutuel wagers on simulcast races pursuant to RSA 284:22-a.
(e) Whether or not the facility is owned or leased, and if leased, the name and residence of the fee owner, or if a corporation, of the directors and stockholders thereof.
(f) A statement of the assets and liabilities of the person, association, or corporation making such application.
(g) Such other information as the commission may require.
II. It shall be the responsibility of any license applicant or holder to inform the commission immediately of any material change or anticipated material change in the information required in this section.
III. The commission shall have the power to require, at the applicant’s or holder’s expense, that any financial information provided under paragraphs I and II be verified by an audit performed by a certified public accountant. The commission shall have the further power to require that as a condition of securing a license or of continuing to hold a license the license applicant or holder make available its books and records to permit the commission to perform such independent auditing or financial analysis as the commission may deem necessary. In so doing, the commission may employ certified public accountants and any other financial analysts or investigators necessary to perform auditing and may bill the license applicant or holder for all costs associated with the auditing.
IV. A person, association, or corporation which is issued a license pursuant to RSA 284:16-a may, with the approval of the commission, accept wagers on simulcast running or harness horse racing.
V. A person, association, or corporation which is issued a license pursuant to RSA 284:16 may, with the approval of the commission, accept wagers on simulcast dog racing.
VI. In the event that a simulcast signal of dog racing is unavailable for an applicant under this section for any reason or cause, such applicant may apply for a license to simulcast horse racing only under this section and the commission may issue such a license under RSA 284:16-a allowing the applicant to simulcast horse racing only.
272:6 Issuance of Licenses. RSA 284:16-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:16-a Issuance of Licenses. If the commission is satisfied that all the provisions hereof and the rules and regulations prescribed have been and will be complied with by the applicant and that the financial backing upon which said application is predicated is sound and is committed in support of said application, it may issue a license which shall expire on the thirty-first day of December. The license shall set forth the name of the licensee, the place where the simulcast races or race meets are to be held, and the time and number of days during which simulcast racing may be conducted by said licensee. Any license issued shall not be transferable nor assignable. Said commission shall have power to revoke any license for good cause upon reasonable notice and hearing. The commission may at any time for cause require the removal of any employee or official employed by any licensee hereunder. The license of any corporation shall automatically cease upon the change in ownership, legal or equitable, of 50 percent or more of the voting stock of the corporation and the corporation shall not simulcast any racing without a new license.
272:7 License Restricted. RSA 284:16-c is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:16-c License Restricted. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission shall not issue a license pursuant to RSA 284:16-a to any applicant if the place where the simulcast dog races are to be presented is within a radius of 40 miles of Belmont, Salem, or Seabrook, New Hampshire, provided that the facilities at which simulcast dog racing was licensed by the commission are exempt from this restriction.
272:8 Laboratory Testing. RSA 284:20-g is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:20-g Contracting and Payment for Laboratory Testing.
I. Beginning April 1, 2008, the commission shall contract with a qualified laboratory to provide laboratory testing services for the commission on horses that perform live at racetracks authorized to conduct live racing in the state. The commission shall issue a request for proposals for such services that sets forth the terms and conditions of the proposed service contract, including the requirements of this section, laboratory qualifications, cost per test, and such other information determined to be relevant by the commission. The commission shall present the contract to the attorney general for review and, upon approval by the attorney general, the proposal shall be submitted to the governor and council for approval. The contract shall expire no later than June 30 of the second year of a biennium. Such laboratory test service agreement shall provide that the laboratory shall send each licensee an invoice for such testing in accordance with paragraph III.
II. The total cost of any contract under this section shall not exceed $300,000 annually. In the event that the aggregate cost of testing exceeds $300,000 based solely upon an increase in live racing within the state, the commission may request an increase in the maximum contract amount from the governor and council.
III. Each licensee shall pay the laboratory for the cost of each laboratory test conducted pursuant to the laboratory test service contract on the horse that performed live at the licensee’s track. The laboratory shall provide the licensee with an invoice for such costs within 10 days after the end of each month in which the licensee conducts live racing and the licensee shall pay the invoice within 30 days after receipt of that invoice. Each invoice shall specify the number of tests conducted during the prior month, the identity of the animal tested, the results of each test, and the cost of each test.
272:9 Penalty. RSA 284:21 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:21 Penalty. Except in cases when another penalty is provided in this chapter, any person, association, or corporation holding or conducting, or any person or persons aiding or abetting in the holding or conducting, of any running or harness horse race, whether live or simulcast, or simulcast dog race or meet for public exhibition, at which pari-mutuel pools are sold, without a license duly issued by the commission, or any person, association, or corporation who violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or who violates any of the rules and regulations prescribed by the commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.
272:10 Payment. RSA 284:22, IV is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
IV. Subject to the provisions of RSA 284:22-a, V, the commission on all win, place, and show pari-mutuel pools at tracks or race meets at which simulcast dog races are conducted for public exhibition shall be uniform throughout the state at the rate of 19 percent of each dollar wagered in such pools; and the commission on all other pari-mutuel pools at such tracks or race meets shall be at the rate of 27 percent of each dollar wagered in such pools. In addition to the above commission, 1/2 of the odd cents of all redistribution based on each dollar wagered exceeding a sum equal to the next lowest multiple of 10, known as “breakage,” shall be retained by the licensee, 1/4 paid to the state treasury for the use of the state and 1/4 shall be paid to the racing and charitable gaming commission. Each licensee shall pay the tax provided for in RSA 284:23.
272:11 Payment. RSA 284:22-a, I(c) is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
(c) “Licensee” means
(1) Any individual, association, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other organization or other entity which holds a license under RSA 284 to conduct a live running or harness horse race meet, or if the election is made pursuant to RSA 284:22-a, II(c), licensee means the individual, association, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other organization or entity which applies for a license under RSA 284 to conduct simulcasting at a facility at which live running or harness horse racing was conducted in 2008, or
(2) The individual, association, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other organization or other entity which applies for a license pursuant to RSA 284:15-a to conduct simulcasting at a facility at which live dog racing was conducted in 2008 and at which facility a license was issued to an applicant for 2010 to simulcast running and harness horse racing and dog racing.
272:12 Payment. RSA 284:22-a, II(a) is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
II.(a) During the calendar years 1941-2029, a licensee may sell pari-mutuel pools on races held at racetracks other than at the facility of the licensee, if any, provided:
(1) Such sales are within the enclosure of the facility at which the licensee holds a license;
(2) Wagers are made on races which are exhibited by television or other electronic reproduction at licensee’s facility simultaneously with the conduct of each such race at its point of origin with the agreement or approval of the racetrack which provides the transmission of the races to be simulcast and the racetrack which conducts the races to be simulcast;
(3) Unless the licensee makes the election pursuant to RSA 284:22-a, II(c), the licensee which holds a license to conduct live harness or running horse racing has scheduled at least 50 calendar days of live harness and/or running horse racing in the calendar year such licensee simulcasts; and
(4) The licensee obtains the consents and approvals set forth in RSA 284:22-a, III.
272:13 Payment. Amend RSA 284:22-a, III to read as follows:
III. A licensee may sell pari-mutuel pools on races held at other appropriately licensed racetracks, whether such racetracks are in the state of New Hampshire or outside the state of New Hampshire with the agreement or approval of the racetrack which provides the transmission of the races to be simulcast and the racetrack which conducts the races to be simulcast. A licensee may sell pari-mutuel pools under RSA 284:22-a on the same types of races that it conducts live at its racetrack with the approval of the commission. [A licensee may sell pari-mutuel pools under RSA 284:22-a on types of races different from the type of races conducted live at the licensee’s racetrack provided:
(a) The licensee obtains the approval of the commission; and
(b) The licensee shall have received city or town approval under RSA 284:17 to conduct the type of racing which is to be simulcast prior to or subsequent to the effective date of RSA 284:22-a; the type of racing which is to be simulcast shall have been approved by the city or town in which the licensee’s racetrack is located in accordance with RSA 284:17 prior to or subsequent to the effective date of RSA 284:22-a; or the acceptance of wagers or simulcast races of a type other than the type of racing which the licensee conducts live at its racetrack shall have been approved by a majority vote at an annual town meeting or special town meeting called for such purpose in the town in which the licensee’s racetrack is located.] A licensee may sell pari-mutuel pools under RSA 284:22-a on types of races different from the types of races conducted live at the licensee’s racetrack, or if such licensee holds a license pursuant to RSA 284:15-a and RSA 284:16-a, or the licensee makes the election pursuant to RSA 284:22-a, II(c) with respect to live running or harness horse racing, provided such licensee obtains the approval from the commission and the municipality in which the licensee operates its facility had approved the issuance of a license to conduct harness or running horse racing and/or dog racing, whether live or simulcast, in such municipality either prior to enactment of RSA 284:22-a or subsequent to enactment of RSA 284:22-a.
272:14 Payment. RSA 284:22-a, VIII is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
VIII. RSA 284:22, I, II, III, and IV shall apply according to the type of race on which the simulcast wagers are made, excepting, however, interstate common pools as provided in RSA 284:22-a, V(b) and that the provisions made for purses made in RSA 284:22, I shall not apply to simulcast races. The commission on simulcast race pools shall be available to the simulcasting licensee to satisfy obligations to the racing association originating or transmitting such simulcast races or to the horsemen’s group of such association.
272:15 False Entry. RSA 284:35 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:35 False Entry. No person shall knowingly enter or cause to be entered for competition, or knowingly compete with, any horse under any other than its true name, or out of its proper class, for any purse, prize, premium, stake or sweepstakes offered to the winner of a contest of speed.
272:16 Name. RSA 284:36 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:36 Name. The name of any horse for the purpose of entry for competition or performance in any contest of speed, shall be the name under which said horse has been registered and has publicly performed, and shall not be changed, except as provided by the code of printed rules of the society or association under which the contest is advertised to be conducted.
272:17 Malicious Interference with Horses. RSA 284:38 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:38 Malicious Interference with Horses. Any person who willfully or maliciously attempts to or does interfere with, tamper with, injure, or destroy by the use of narcotics, drugs, stimulants, or appliances of any kind used by any horse for the purpose of racing, whether such horse is the property of such person or another, or who willfully or maliciously causes, instigates, counsels, or in any way aids or abets any such interference, tampering, injury, or destruction shall be guilty of a class B felony if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person. The owner of any race horse engaged in racing within this state that is found to have been stimulated or doped, or any entry of which such horse is a part, shall be denied any part of the purse offered for such race, and the purse shall be distributed as in the case of a disqualification.
272:18 Trainer as Insurer. RSA 284:38-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:38-a Trainer as Insurer.
I. The trainer of record shall be responsible for and shall be the insurer of the condition of any horses used for the purposes of racing, which such trainer of record enters to race. In this section, “trainer of record” means the person registered and identified as trainer of such horse used for the purpose of racing in the records of the racing and charitable gaming commission.
II. The racing and charitable gaming commission may impose sanctions or penalties upon the trainer of record resulting from the condition of the horse entered in a race failing to comply with the rules of the commission. Any person aggrieved by a decision by the commission, shall have the right to appeal the decision to the full commission. Any appeal to the commission shall be in accordance with RSA 284:13.
272:19 Rights of Licensee. RSA 284:39 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
284:39 Rights of Licensee.
I. Any licensee under this chapter may refuse admission to, or eject from, the grounds or the enclosure of the racetrack or facility where a licensed live race or race meet or is being held or where licensed simulcasting is held, any person or persons whose presence or conduct, in the sole judgment of the licensee, is inconsistent with the orderly and proper conduct of the live or simulcast race meet, or is detrimental to the sport of racing, whether or not such presence or offensive conduct is associated with gambling.
II. The phrase “grounds or the enclosure of the racetrack or facility” means all real or personal property used by the licensee in the operation of the racetrack and the facilities for simulcasting, including without limitation, the parking lots, grandstands, stables, barn areas, and buildings at the racetrack or facility.
272:20 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 284:14-d, relative to records of greyhound injuries.
II. RSA 284:14-c, relative to records of greyhound disposition.
272:21 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 284:12, II, relative to holding dog races for public exhibition.
II. RSA 284:12, V, relative to rules regarding greyhound racing.
III. RSA 284:12, VIII, relative to rules regarding racing greyhound injury records.
IV. RSA 284:14-a, relative to breeding of greyhounds.
V. RSA 284:15-c, relative to local option relative to dog racing licenses.
VI. RSA 284:17-a, relative to the restriction on Sunday racing.
VII. RSA 284:18-a, relative to rules of racing.
VIII. RSA 284:20-b, relative to judges supervising dog races.
IX. RSA 284:23, III(a), relative to payments made to the state treasurer.
X. RSA 284:23, VI, relative to licensee reports to the racing and charitable gaming commission.
272:22 Breakage; Pari-mutual Licensees. Amend RSA 284:22, II to read as follows:
II. The commission on all win, place, and show pari-mutuel pools at tracks or race meets at which harness horse races are conducted for public exhibition, including those conducted by agricultural fairs, shall be uniform throughout the state at the rate of 19 percent of each dollar wagered in such pools, and the commission on all other pari-mutuel pools at such tracks or race meets shall be at the rate of not less than 25 percent of each dollar wagered in such pools and not more than 26 percent of each dollar wagered in such pools as determined from time to time by the licensee which conducts live harness horse racing after written notice to the commission and, in the absence of such written notice, at the rate of 25 percent of each dollar wagered in such pools. In addition to the above commission, 1/2 of the odd cents of all redistribution based on each dollar wagered exceeding a sum equal to the next lowest multiple of 10, known as “breakage”, shall be retained by the licensee, 1/4 paid to the state treasury for the use of the state in accordance with the provisions of RSA 284:2 and 1/4 shall be paid to the racing and charitable gaming commission. The racing and charitable gaming commission shall distribute such breakage to the licensee which paid such breakage [to supplement purses of live races conducted by the licensee at the location from which such breakage was paid]. Each licensee shall pay the tax provided for in RSA 284:23.
272:23 Applicability. Nothing in this act shall be construed to either allow live dog racing in New Hampshire as of January 1, 2011 or disallow a facility which was licensed to conduct dog racing as of January 1, 2009 to conduct simulcast wagering on horse racing and dog racing. If an applicant at such a facility submits an application for a license under RSA 284:15-a prior to January 1, 2011 and the racing and charitable gaming commission grants such a license for the calendar year of 2011, such applicant may utilize such license for simulcast wagering on horse racing and dog racing without the need for any further application for operation of the facility in 2011.
272:24 Effective Date.
I. Section 20 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2015.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect January 1, 2011.
Approved: July 8, 2010
Effective Date: I. Section 20 shall take effect January 1, 2015.
II. Remainder shall take effect January 1, 2011.