Bill Text: TX HB4115 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to eligibility for membership on and the regulation of horse racing by the Texas Racing Commission and a prohibition on the conduct of greyhound or other dog racing as live events in this state; creating a criminal offense; authorizing a fee.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-11 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB4115 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB4115-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to eligibility for membership on and the regulation of horse racing by the Texas Racing Commission and a prohibition on the conduct of greyhound or other dog racing as live events in this state; creating a criminal offense; authorizing a fee.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-11 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB4115 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB4115-Introduced.html
88R14249 BEE-F | ||
By: Thompson of Harris | H.B. No. 4115 |
|
||
|
||
relating to eligibility for membership on and the regulation of | ||
horse and greyhound racing by the Texas Racing Commission; creating | ||
a criminal offense. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 2021.003, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by adding Subdivision (29-a) to read as follows: | ||
(29-a) "Occupational license" means a license issued | ||
to an individual to conduct activities prescribed for that license | ||
in the commission rules. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 2021.006, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2021.006. RELEASE OF CIVIL LIABILITY. A commission | ||
member, a commission employee, a person contracted by the | ||
commission, a steward or judge, a racetrack association, a | ||
horsemen's organization, or any other person regulated under this | ||
subtitle is not liable for a cause of action that arises out of that | ||
person's performance or exercise of discretion in the | ||
implementation or enforcement of this subtitle or a rule adopted | ||
under this subtitle if the person has acted in good faith. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 2022.004(e), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(e) A person is not eligible for appointment as a commission | ||
member or to be designated to serve as an ex officio member's | ||
designee as described by Section 2022.001(b) if: | ||
(1) the person or the person's spouse: | ||
(A) is licensed by the commission, except as a | ||
commissioner; | ||
(B) is employed by the commission or participates | ||
in the management of a business entity or other organization | ||
regulated by the commission or receiving funds from or through the | ||
commission; | ||
(C) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, | ||
more than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other | ||
organization regulated by the commission or receiving funds from or | ||
through the commission; or | ||
(D) uses or receives a substantial amount of | ||
tangible goods, services, or funds from or through the commission, | ||
other than compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for | ||
commission membership, attendance, or expenses; or | ||
(2) the person: | ||
(A) owns any financial interest in a racetrack or | ||
its operation or is related within the second degree by affinity or | ||
the third degree by consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter | ||
B, Chapter 573, Government Code, to a person who owns any financial | ||
interest in a racetrack or its operation; [ |
||
(B) has been convicted of a felony; or | ||
(C) has held a license issued by the commission | ||
during the 10-year period preceding the appointment [ |
||
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 2022.052, Occupations | ||
Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2022.052. EMPLOYEES; RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT; | ||
CONTRACTING. | ||
SECTION 5. Sections 2022.052(a) and (c), Occupations Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The commission shall hire employees or contract with | ||
persons as necessary to administer this subtitle. | ||
(c) The commission may not employ or continue to employ or | ||
contract with or continue to contract with a person who: | ||
(1) owns or controls a financial interest in a | ||
commission license holder; | ||
(2) is employed by or serves as a paid consultant to a | ||
commission license holder, an official state breed registry, or a | ||
Texas trade association, as defined by Section 2022.004(a), in the | ||
field of horse or greyhound racing or breeding; | ||
(3) owns or leases a race animal that participates in | ||
pari-mutuel racing in this state; | ||
(4) accepts or is entitled to any part of the purse or | ||
Texas-bred incentive award to be paid on a horse or a greyhound in a | ||
race conducted in this state; or | ||
(5) resides with or is related within the first degree | ||
by affinity or consanguinity to a person subject to a | ||
disqualification prescribed by this subsection. | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 2023.053(c) and (f), Occupations Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(c) Any unappropriated money exceeding $2 million | ||
[ |
||
fiscal biennium shall be transferred to the general revenue fund | ||
and may be appropriated for any purpose. | ||
(f) This section does not apply to money deposited into the | ||
Texas-bred escrow account [ |
||
Section 2028.301. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 2023.061(a), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Not later than January 31 of each year, the commission | ||
may [ |
||
and speaker of the house of representatives. The report may | ||
include, to the extent the commission considers appropriate: | ||
(1) descriptions of changes to commission programs; | ||
and | ||
(2) recommendations to the governor and the | ||
legislature. | ||
SECTION 8. Section 2024.055(b), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) This section does not apply to money deposited into the | ||
Texas-bred escrow account [ |
||
Section 2028.301. | ||
SECTION 9. Section 2025.001, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) The commission shall comply with Chapter 53 in the | ||
administration of the commission's licensing program. | ||
SECTION 10. Section 2025.262, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2025.262. GROUNDS FOR DENIAL, REVOCATION, AND | ||
SUSPENSION OF OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE. The commission may refuse to | ||
issue any original or renewal license under this subchapter or may | ||
revoke or suspend the license if, after notice and hearing, the | ||
commission finds that the applicant or license holder, as | ||
appropriate: | ||
(1) has been convicted of a violation of this subtitle | ||
or a commission rule or has aided, abetted, or conspired to commit a | ||
violation of this subtitle or a commission rule; | ||
(2) has been convicted of a felony [ |
||
person's present fitness to hold a license under this subtitle; | ||
(3) has violated or has caused to be violated this | ||
subtitle or a commission rule in a manner that involves moral | ||
turpitude, as distinguished from a technical violation of this | ||
subtitle or a rule; | ||
(4) is unqualified, by experience or otherwise, to | ||
perform the duties required of a license holder under this | ||
subtitle; | ||
(5) failed to answer or has falsely or incorrectly | ||
answered a question in an original or renewal application; | ||
(6) fails to disclose the true ownership or interest | ||
in a horse or greyhound as required by commission rules; | ||
(7) is indebted to this state for any fee or for the | ||
payment of a penalty imposed by this subtitle or a commission rule; | ||
(8) is not of good moral character or the person's | ||
reputation as a peaceable, law-abiding citizen in the community | ||
where the person resides is bad; | ||
(9) is in the habit of using alcoholic beverages to an | ||
excess or uses a controlled substance as defined in Chapter 481, | ||
Health and Safety Code, or a dangerous drug as defined in Chapter | ||
483, Health and Safety Code, or is mentally incapacitated; | ||
(10) may be excluded from an enclosure under this | ||
subtitle; | ||
(11) has improperly used a temporary pass, license | ||
certificate, credential, or identification card issued under this | ||
subtitle; | ||
(12) resides with a person whose license was revoked | ||
for cause during the 12 months preceding the date of the present | ||
application; | ||
(13) has failed or refused to furnish a true copy of | ||
the application to the commission's district office in the district | ||
in which the premises for which the license is sought are located; | ||
or | ||
(14) is engaged or has engaged in activities or | ||
practices that are detrimental to the best interests of the public | ||
and the sport of horse racing or greyhound racing. | ||
SECTION 11. Section 2026.051, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2026.051. COMMISSION RULES REGARDING EXCLUSION OR | ||
EJECTION. The commission shall adopt rules providing for the | ||
exclusion or ejection from an enclosure where horse or greyhound | ||
races are conducted, or from specified portions of an enclosure, of | ||
a person: | ||
(1) who has engaged in bookmaking, touting, or illegal | ||
wagering; | ||
(2) whose income is from illegal activities or | ||
enterprises; | ||
(3) who has been convicted of a violation of this | ||
subtitle; | ||
(4) who has been convicted of theft; | ||
(5) who has been convicted under the penal law of | ||
another jurisdiction for committing an act that would have | ||
constituted a violation of any rule described in this section; | ||
(6) who has committed a corrupt or fraudulent act in | ||
connection with horse or greyhound racing or pari-mutuel wagering | ||
or who has committed any act tending or intended to corrupt horse or | ||
greyhound racing or pari-mutuel wagering; | ||
(7) who is under suspension or has been excluded or | ||
ejected from a racetrack by the commission or a steward in this | ||
state or by a corresponding authority in another state because of | ||
corrupt or fraudulent practices or other acts detrimental to | ||
racing; | ||
(8) who has submitted a forged pari-mutuel ticket or | ||
has altered or forged a pari-mutuel ticket for cashing or who has | ||
cashed or caused to be cashed an altered, raised, or forged | ||
pari-mutuel ticket; | ||
(9) who has been convicted of committing a lewd or | ||
lascivious act [ |
||
(10) who is guilty of boisterous or disorderly conduct | ||
while inside an enclosure; | ||
(11) who is an agent or habitual associate of a person | ||
excludable under this section; or | ||
(12) who has been convicted of a felony. | ||
SECTION 12. Section 2028.103(a-1), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) The commission shall deposit money paid to the | ||
commission under Subsection (a) into the Texas-bred escrow account | ||
[ |
||
commission shall distribute the money collected under this section | ||
and deposited into the fund to the appropriate state horse breed | ||
registries for the Texas-bred program in accordance with rules | ||
adopted under Subsection (c). | ||
SECTION 13. Sections 2028.105(d) and (d-1), Occupations | ||
Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(d) The horse racetrack association shall pay to the | ||
commission for deposit into the Texas-bred escrow account | ||
[ |
||
distribution to the appropriate state horse breed registry the | ||
remaining 80 percent of the total breakage to be allocated as | ||
follows: | ||
(1) 40 percent to the owners of the accredited | ||
Texas-bred horses that finish first, second, or third; | ||
(2) 40 percent to the breeders of accredited | ||
Texas-bred horses that finish first, second, or third; and | ||
(3) 20 percent to the owner of the stallion standing in | ||
this state at the time of conception whose Texas-bred get finish | ||
first, second, or third. | ||
(d-1) The commission shall deposit the portions of total | ||
breakage paid to the commission under Subsections (b) and (d) into | ||
the Texas-bred escrow account [ |
||
Section 2028.301. The commission shall distribute the money | ||
collected under this section and deposited into the fund to the | ||
appropriate state horse breed registries in accordance with this | ||
section and with rules adopted by the commission under Section | ||
2028.103. | ||
SECTION 14. Section 2028.154(a), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) A greyhound racetrack association shall pay 50 percent | ||
of the breakage to the appropriate state greyhound breed registry. | ||
Of that breakage percentage: | ||
(1) 25 percent is to be used in stakes races; and | ||
(2) 25 percent of that total breakage from a live | ||
pari-mutuel pool or a simulcast pari-mutuel pool is to be paid to | ||
the commission for deposit into the Texas-bred escrow account | ||
[ |
||
commission shall distribute the money collected under this section | ||
and deposited into the fund to the state greyhound breed registry | ||
for use in accordance with this section and commission rules. | ||
SECTION 15. Section 2028.202(a-1), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) A racetrack association shall pay to the commission | ||
for deposit into the Texas-bred escrow account [ |
||
established under Section 2028.301 the shares to be distributed | ||
under Subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4) for the Texas-bred program. | ||
The commission shall distribute the money collected under this | ||
section and deposited into the fund to the appropriate state breed | ||
registries for use under the Texas-bred program. | ||
SECTION 16. Section 2028.301, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2028.301. TEXAS-BRED ESCROW ACCOUNT [ |
||
(a) The comptroller [ |
||
of the simulcast pari-mutuel pool [ |
||
under this chapter into a trust fund [ |
||
state treasury [ |
||
the Texas-bred escrow account. Money in the account may not be | ||
appropriated for state expenditure [ |
||
(b) The commission shall distribute money from the | ||
Texas-bred escrow account [ |
||
chapter and commission rules. | ||
SECTION 17. Section 2033.002, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2033.002. UNLAWFUL RACING. A person commits an | ||
offense if: | ||
(1) the person participates in, permits, or conducts a | ||
horse or greyhound race at a racetrack without a permit issued under | ||
Chapter 751, Health and Safety Code; | ||
(2) the person wagers on the partial or final outcome | ||
of the horse or greyhound race or knows or reasonably should know | ||
that another person is betting on the partial or final outcome of | ||
the race; and | ||
(3) the race is not part of a performance or race | ||
meeting conducted under this subtitle or commission rule. | ||
SECTION 18. Section 2033.004(a), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) A person commits an offense if the person: | ||
(1) conducts a horse or greyhound race without: | ||
(A) a racetrack license; or | ||
(B) a permit issued under Chapter 751, Health and | ||
Safety Code; and | ||
(2) knows or reasonably should know that another | ||
person is betting on the final or partial outcome of the race. | ||
SECTION 19. Section 2033.014, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person: | ||
(1) seeks to enter, train, or ride a horse for a horse | ||
race or seeks to enter or train a greyhound for a greyhound race | ||
that is part of a performance or race meeting conducted under this | ||
subtitle or commission rule; and | ||
(2) knows or reasonably should know that the horse or | ||
greyhound has participated in a performance or race meeting in this | ||
state that was not conducted: | ||
(A) under this subtitle or commission rule; or | ||
(B) under a permit issued under Chapter 751, | ||
Health and Safety Code. | ||
SECTION 20. Sections 2033.101(a) and (b), Occupations Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The executive director may issue a cease and desist | ||
order if the executive director reasonably believes a person | ||
[ |
||
likely to engage in conduct that violates this subtitle or a | ||
commission rule. | ||
(b) On issuance of a cease and desist order, the executive | ||
director shall serve a proposed cease and desist order on the person | ||
[ |
||
delivery or registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, | ||
to the person's last known address. | ||
SECTION 21. Section 2033.104, Occupations Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 2033.104. EMERGENCY CEASE AND DESIST ORDER; SEIZURE OF | ||
AFFECTED ANIMALS. (a) The executive director may issue an | ||
emergency cease and desist order if the executive director | ||
reasonably believes a person [ |
||
(1) violates this subtitle or a commission rule in a | ||
manner that threatens immediate and irreparable public harm; or | ||
(2) involves suspected cruelty to an animal in | ||
violation of commission rule or Section 42.09 or 42.092, Penal | ||
Code. | ||
(b) After issuing an emergency cease and desist order, the | ||
executive director shall serve on the person [ |
||
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the person's last | ||
known address, an order stating the specific charges and requiring | ||
the person immediately to cease and desist from the conduct that | ||
violates this subtitle or a commission rule. The order must contain | ||
a notice that a request for hearing may be filed under this section. | ||
(c) On issuance of an emergency cease and desist order, the | ||
executive director may authorize the seizure of any animal | ||
suspected of being or to have been subject to cruelty to an animal | ||
in violation of commission rule or Section 42.09 or 42.092, Penal | ||
Code. An emergency cease and desist order issued under Subsection | ||
(a)(2) satisfies the evidence requirement for a showing of probable | ||
cause for purposes of Section 821.022, Health and Safety Code. | ||
SECTION 22. Section 2034.001(c), Occupations Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(c) The commission's rules must require state-of-the-art | ||
testing methods. The testing may: | ||
(1) be conducted [ |
||
by the commission; and | ||
(2) be by an invasive or noninvasive method. | ||
SECTION 23. The following provisions of the Occupations | ||
Code are repealed: | ||
(1) Section 2021.003(19); | ||
(2) Section 2023.053(e); | ||
(3) Sections 2023.061(b) and (c); | ||
(4) Section 2025.001(a); and | ||
(5) Section 2025.260. | ||
SECTION 24. Section 2021.006, Occupations Code, as amended | ||
by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or | ||
after the effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 25. The term of a person who is serving as a member | ||
of the Texas Racing Commission immediately before the effective | ||
date of this Act and who is ineligible for appointment under Section | ||
2022.004(e), Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, expires on | ||
the effective date of the Act. | ||
SECTION 26. On September 1, 2023, money in the Texas-bred | ||
incentive fund is transferred to the Texas-bred escrow account, and | ||
the Texas-bred incentive fund is abolished. | ||
SECTION 27. The changes in law made by this Act apply only | ||
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, | ||
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred | ||
before that date. | ||
SECTION 28. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |