Bill Text: NY A09989 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the aftercare of retired race horses; prohibits the slaughter of race horses and race horse breeding stock; requires that race horses be microchipped; provides for gifts for thoroughbred aftercare on tax returns.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-04 - referred to agriculture [A09989 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A09989-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9989 IN ASSEMBLY March 4, 2020 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the prohibition of the slaughter of race horses and race horse breeding stock; the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in relation to requiring race horses to be microchipped; and to amend the tax law, in relation to gifts for thoroughbred aftercare The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new 2 section 382 to read as follows: 3 § 382. Prohibition of the slaughter of race horses and race horse 4 breeding stock. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall 5 be unlawful for any person, corporation, association, or other entity to 6 slaughter or have another person, corporation, association, or other 7 entity slaughter a race horse or race horse breeding stock for a commer- 8 cial purpose. 9 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful 10 for any person, corporation, association, or other entity to: 11 (a) import, export, sell, offer to sell or barter, transfer, purchase, 12 possess, transport, deliver, or receive a race horse or race horse 13 breeding stock with the intent of slaughtering or having another person, 14 corporation, association, or other entity slaughter such race horse or 15 race horse breeding stock; or 16 (b) import, export, sell, offer to sell or barter, transfer, purchase, 17 possess, transport, deliver, or receive a race horse or race horse 18 breeding stock, where such person, corporation, association, or other 19 entity knows, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence, should 20 have known, that another person, corporation, association, or other 21 entity intended to slaughter such race horse or race horse breeding 22 stock. 23 3. For the purposes of this section: 24 (a) "race horse" shall mean: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15222-01-0A. 9989 2 1 (i) a thoroughbred horse which meets or ever met the standards to be 2 eligible to race at any track licensed to operate pursuant to article 3 two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law; or 4 (ii) a standardbred horse which meets or ever met the standards to be 5 eligible to race at any track licensed to operate pursuant to article 6 three of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law; 7 (b) "race horse breeding stock" shall mean: any mare or stallion used, 8 or intended to ever be used, to produce a foal that is intended to be 9 used as a race horse as defined in this subdivision, as well as the foal 10 bred by such a mare or stallion. 11 (c) "slaughter" shall mean the possession, importation into or expor- 12 tation from the state, or the sale, purchase, donation, holding, or 13 acceptance of any race horse or race horse breeding stock with the 14 intent of killing, or having another kill, that race horse or race horse 15 breeding stock, if that person knows or should have known that any part 16 of that race horse or race horse breeding stock will be used for human 17 or animal consumption. 18 4. (a) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a 19 fine of not more than five thousand dollars per each race horse or race 20 horse breeding stock for an individual person and up to ten thousand 21 dollars per each race horse or race horse breeding stock for a corpo- 22 ration, association or other entity, for the first violation. Any subse- 23 quent violation shall be punishable by a civil penalty of up to ten 24 thousand dollars per each race horse or race horse breeding stock for an 25 individual person and up to twenty thousand dollars per each race horse 26 or race horse breeding stock for a corporation, association, or other 27 entity. 28 (b) A violation of this section will result in the immediate and 29 permanent revocation of any New York state gaming commission license, as 30 well as the violator being permanently ineligible to receive any awards 31 pursuant to section two hundred fifty-four or three hundred thirty-four 32 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law. 33 5.(a) Any and all civil penalties collected pursuant to a violation 34 involving a thoroughbred horse shall be remitted to the New York state 35 thoroughbred breeding and development fund established pursuant to 36 section two hundred fifty-two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and 37 breeding law, and shall be deposited by that fund into a dedicated 38 account to be spent by the fund solely for the purpose of the care of 39 retired race horses, consistent with paragraph h of subdivision two of 40 section two hundred fifty-four of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and 41 breeding law. 42 (b) Any and all civil penalties collected pursuant to a violation 43 involving a standardbred horse or race horse breeding stock shall be 44 remitted to the agriculture and New York state horse breeding develop- 45 ment fund established pursuant to section three hundred thirty of the 46 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, and shall be deposited by 47 that fund into a dedicated account, to be spent by the fund solely for 48 the purpose of the care of retired race horses, consistent with para- 49 graph j of subdivision one of section three hundred thirty-two of the 50 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law. 51 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each and every owner of 52 a race horse that has competed in New York state on or after January 53 first, two thousand twenty-one, or any other horse used for breeding 54 purposes in New York state on or after January first, two thousand twen- 55 ty-one, shall be liable for any violation of this section, unless there 56 is proper documentation of a transfer of ownership, and that transferA. 9989 3 1 must be to a party with no financial or familial relationship to the 2 owner. 3 § 2. Section 225 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, 4 as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as 5 follows: 6 § 225. Registration of race horses. The true name, sex and age, and 7 also the pedigree, unless such pedigree is unknown, of every horse, 8 mare, gelding, colt or filly shall be registered with the jockey club, 9 United States trotting association, American quarter horse association; 10 the national steeplechase and hunt association or such other entity as 11 the [racing and wagering board] commission may designate before it shall 12 be eligible to compete in any race conducted under a license or fran- 13 chise of the [state racing and wagering board] commission and such name 14 shall continue to be its true name unless and until the same shall be 15 changed according to the rules and regulations of such organization. The 16 class to which any such animal belongs for the purpose of the entry or 17 competition in any race shall be determined by the public performance 18 thereof in former contests or trials of speed, as prescribed by the 19 printed rules of the person, association or corporation sponsoring such 20 race. No horse, mare, gelding, colt or filly shall be eligible to 21 compete in any race, unless it is first microchipped and registered with 22 the jockey club, United States trotting association, American quarter 23 horse association, the national steeplechase and hunt association or 24 such other entity, as applicable and as the commission may designate. 25 All microchip information shall be provided and available to the public 26 in digital format accessible from the internet. 27 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 251 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering 28 and breeding law, as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 2008, is 29 amended to read as follows: 30 3. "New York-bred." A thoroughbred which is registered in the registry 31 designated and administered by such fund in accordance with such rules 32 concerning domicile and registration requirements as may be established 33 by the fund, including that each mare, stallion, and foal be micro- 34 chipped and registered pursuant to section two hundred twenty-five of 35 this article, and: was on or before December thirty-first, nineteen 36 hundred eighty, foaled in this state; or is on or after January first, 37 nineteen hundred eighty-one, either: (i) sired by a New York stallion 38 and foaled from a mare domiciled in this state; (ii) foaled from a mare 39 domiciled in this state which mare has been serviced back exclusively by 40 a New York stallion in the year of such foaling; or (iii) on or after 41 January first, nineteen hundred ninety-five foaled from a mare domiciled 42 in New York. [The fund shall report to the governor and the legislature43on or before December fifteenth, nineteen hundred ninety-nine effects of44paragraph (iii) of this subdivision on the New York state breeding45industry.] 46 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 254 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering 47 and breeding law is amended by adding a new paragraph h to read as 48 follows: 49 h. An amount as shall be determined by the fund for the care of 50 retired horses, provided, however, such amounts shall be allocated from 51 a dedicated account maintained by the fund supported by the collection 52 of fines assessed pursuant to section three hundred eighty-two of the 53 agriculture and markets law and contributions made pursuant to sections 54 two hundred nine-N and six hundred thirty-h of the tax law, and the fund 55 shall not be required to make any allocations for such purposes that are 56 in excess of the amount collected pursuant to those sections during theA. 9989 4 1 preceding year. In making such allocations, the fund shall consider 2 whether the potential recipient organization is an accredited horse 3 retirement and rescue program. 4 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 332 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering 5 and breeding law is amended by adding a new paragraph j to read as 6 follows: 7 j. An amount as shall be determined by the fund for the care of 8 retired horses, provided, however, such amounts shall be allocated from 9 a dedicated account to be funded by the collection of fines assessed 10 pursuant to section three hundred eighty-two of the agriculture and 11 markets law. 12 § 6. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 334 of the 13 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, as amended by chapter 90 14 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows: 15 The fund is further authorized and directed to conduct each year, at 16 the New York state exposition, with the approval of the director of the 17 exposition, or at any licensed pari-mutuel track in New York state, with 18 a preference given to any available licensed pari-mutuel track that is 19 five-eighths of a mile long or larger, colt, stake and overnight events 20 for standardbred horses to provide contests for two year old and three 21 year old colts and fillies at each gait of trotting and pacing. The 22 colt, stake and overnight events so conducted for two year old and three 23 year old colts and fillies at each gait of trotting and pacing hereunder 24 shall be conditioned to admit only those colts and fillies dropped from 25 a mare bred in this state and sired by a stallion owned or leased and 26 permanently standing for service at and within this state at the time of 27 the said foal's conception, provided, however, that such mare, stallion, 28 and foal shall be microchipped with such microchip information available 29 in a publicly available database pursuant to section two hundred twen- 30 ty-five of this chapter. Such colt, stake and overnight events shall be 31 opened for nomination not earlier than the first day of January in the 32 year the event is to be held and only colts and fillies and horses 33 complying with the following standards shall be eligible for such nomi- 34 nation: 35 § 7. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 209-N to read as 36 follows: 37 § 209-N. Prohibition of the slaughter of race horses and race horse 38 breeding stock. Effective for any tax year commencing on or after the 39 effective date of this section, a taxpayer in any taxable year may elect 40 to contribute to the New York state thoroughbred breeding and develop- 41 ment fund established pursuant to section two hundred fifty-two of the 42 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, for the purpose of fund- 43 ing the operation of retired race horse aftercare facilities. Any 44 contributions made to the thoroughbred breeding and development fund 45 pursuant to this section shall be deposited into a dedicated account 46 managed by the fund, which shall solely be used for funding the opera- 47 tion of retired race horse aftercare facilities, with a preference for 48 those organizations that are accredited horse retirement and rescue 49 programs. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar amount and 50 shall not reduce the amount of the state tax owed by such taxpayer. The 51 commissioner shall include space on the corporate income tax return to 52 enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstanding any other 53 provision of law, all revenues collected pursuant to this section shall 54 be credited to the New York state retirement race horse and aftercare 55 fund and shall be used only for those purposes set forth in paragraph hA. 9989 5 1 of subdivision two of section two hundred fifty-four of the racing, 2 pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law. 3 § 8. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 630-h to read as 4 follows: 5 § 630-h. Gifts for thoroughbred aftercare. Effective for any tax year 6 commencing on or after the effective date of this section, a taxpayer in 7 any taxable year may elect to contribute to the New York state thorough- 8 bred breeding and development fund established pursuant to section two 9 hundred fifty-two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, 10 for the purpose of funding the operation of retired race horse aftercare 11 facilities. Any contributions made to the thoroughbred breeding and 12 development fund pursuant to this section shall be deposited into a 13 dedicated account managed by the fund, which shall solely be used for 14 funding the operation of retired race horse aftercare facilities, with a 15 preference for those organizations that are accredited horse retirement 16 and rescue programs. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar 17 amount and shall not reduce the amount of the state tax owed by such 18 taxpayer. The commissioner shall include space on the personal income 19 tax return to enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstand- 20 ing any other provision of law, all revenues collected pursuant to this 21 section shall be credited to the New York state retirement race horse 22 and aftercare fund and shall be used only for those purposes enumerated 23 in paragraph h of subdivision two of section two hundred fifty-four of 24 the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law. 25 § 9. The New York state thoroughbred breeding and development fund and 26 the agriculture and New York state horse breeding development fund 27 shall, during calendar year 2020, expend appropriate resources to ensure 28 that the public is made aware of the prohibitions, penalties, and 29 contribution opportunities established by this act. 30 § 10. This act shall take immediately; provided that sections two, 31 three, six, seven and eight of this act shall take effect January 1, 32 2021, and shall apply to all fiscal years commencing on and after such 33 date.