Amd SS3 & 17, ABC L; amd S519, RWB L; add S97-jjjj, St Fin L
Repeals the New York city off-track betting corporation provisions and authorizes the transfer to a private vendor; establishes registered sports bars and authorizes the use of interactive gaming devices.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7351
IN SENATE
March 31, 2010
___________
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
ment Operations
AN ACT establishing the New York city off-track betting privatization
act; to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to
registered sports bars; to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and
breeding law, in relation to interactive gaming devices; making the
New York city off-track betting corporation a private corporation and
establishing procedures for the implementation of the transfer to a
private vendor; to amend the state finance law, in relation to a New
York city off-track betting corporation retiree health insurance guar-
antee account; and to repeal article 6 of the racing, pari-mutuel
wagering and breeding law relating to the New York city off-track
betting corporation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "New York city off-track betting privatization act".
3 § 2. Section 3 of the alcoholic beverage control law is amended by
4 adding a new subdivision 29-a to read as follows:
5 29-a. "Registered sports bar" means any establishment licensed to sell
6 alcoholic beverages as defined by subdivision one of this section that
7 meets the following criteria:
8 (a) the establishment is registered with the state liquor authority as
9 a sports bar;
10 (b) the establishment has at least two television screens that are no
11 less than forty inches, diagonally across the viewable screen;
12 (c) the establishment offers patrons access to televised sporting
13 events including, but not limited to, horse racing and traditional
14 professional and collegiate sporting events such as football, hockey,
15 baseball and basketball; and
16 (d) the establishment pays an annual registration fee of four hundred
17 dollars per interactive gaming device as defined in subdivision five of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16691-03-0
S. 7351 2
1 section five hundred nineteen of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and
2 breeding law.
3 A registered sports bar may offer interactive gaming devices for the
4 purpose of placing wagers as authorized by the New York state racing and
5 wagering board.
6 § 3. Section 519 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law
7 is amended by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
8 5. "Interactive gaming device" means a kiosk or similar device such as
9 is installed in the wagering venues of the New York city off-track
10 betting corporation. For purposes of this subdivision, such devices
11 shall be defined as a small physical structure that includes a computer
12 and an interactive display screen which displays information to users
13 and may allow users to interact with the computer through an interface
14 such as a keyboard, mouse or touch screen.
15 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 17 of the alcoholic beverage control
16 law, as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as
17 follows:
18 2. To limit in its discretion the number of licenses of each class to
19 be issued within the state or any political subdivision thereof, and in
20 connection therewith to prohibit the acceptance of applications for such
21 class or classes of licenses which have been so limited. Provided
22 however, that no premises licensed pursuant to this chapter shall be
23 denied registration as a sports bar if its license to sell alcohol is in
24 good standing with the authority and it meets the qualifications set
25 forth in section three of this chapter.
26 § 5. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-jjjj
27 to read as follows:
28 § 97-jjjj. The New York city off-track betting corporation retiree
29 health insurance guarantee account. 1. There is hereby established in
30 the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxa-
31 tion and finance an account of the miscellaneous special revenue fund to
32 be known as the New York city off-track betting corporation retiree
33 health insurance guarantee account.
34 2. Such account shall consist of monies received from the annual
35 registration fee established pursuant to subdivision twenty-nine-a of
36 section three of the alcoholic beverage control law.
37 3. Monies from this account, following appropriation by the legisla-
38 ture shall be available to the state comptroller for the payment of
39 retiree health benefits for employees retired from the New York city
40 off-track betting corporation on or before the date that a vendor is
41 selected to run the New York city off-track betting corporation as a
42 reconstituted private entity pursuant to the chapter of the laws of two
43 thousand ten which added this section.
44 § 6. Article 6 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law is
45 REPEALED.
46 § 7. 1. Disposition of assets of the corporation. Notwithstanding any
47 provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a corporation to
48 be known as the "New York city off-track betting corporation" is hereby
49 established as a private corporation. Such private corporation shall
50 receive the assets of the former New York city off-track betting corpo-
51 ration as defined by section 603 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and
52 breeding law as it existed immediately prior to the effective date of
53 the chapter of the laws of 2010 which added this section; provided
54 however that such private corporation shall not be a successor in inter-
55 est to the accrued liabilities of such former New York city off-track
S. 7351 3
1 betting corporation. The selection of an operator of such private corpo-
2 ration shall be governed by the process delineated in this section.
3 2. Provision to allow submission or amendments of proposals. For 120
4 days after the effective date of this act, the governor's office shall
5 allow potential vendors to submit proposals for the acquisition and
6 management of the assets of the New York city off-track betting corpo-
7 ration.
8 3. Selection of third party reviewer. The governor's office shall,
9 within twenty days of the closing of the bidding process, contract with
10 an accountancy and professional services firm, recommended by the office
11 of the state comptroller, to review the proposals and make a recommenda-
12 tion for the selection of one of the potential operators by the gover-
13 nor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the
14 senate. No later than ten days after the closing of the bidding process,
15 the state comptroller shall recommend to the governor a firm to conduct
16 the review and make recommendations from among the ten largest interna-
17 tional accountancy and professional services firms as measured by gross
18 revenue as reported in the most recent annual financial statements of
19 such firms.
20 4. Submission for review. No later than the twenty-fifth day after the
21 closing date of the bidding process, the governor's office shall provide
22 to the accountancy and professional services firm selected the proposals
23 of potential operators submitted or deemed active pursuant to this act.
24 On the date of such transmittal, the governor's office shall reveal the
25 names and primary places of business of each such potential operator.
26 5. Recommendation. Within forty days of the closing of the bidding
27 process, the accountancy and professional services firm shall make its
28 recommendation concerning a potential operator to be selected in accord-
29 ance with the criteria established pursuant to this section. On the day
30 that the recommendation is transmitted to the governor, the temporary
31 president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly, the recommen-
32 dation shall be made public, along with the reasons for making the
33 recommendation.
34 6. Public hearing. Within ten business days of the day on which the
35 accountancy and professional services firm makes the recommendation, the
36 fiscal committees of the two houses of the legislature shall conduct a
37 joint public hearing concerning the recommendation, such hearing to be
38 conducted in the city of Albany.
39 7. Selection of vendor. Not more than fifteen business days following
40 the date of the joint public hearing, the governor, the temporary presi-
41 dent of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall select an oper-
42 ator for the newly constituted New York city off-track betting corpo-
43 ration.
44 8. Minimum bid. Minimum acceptable bid shall include a cash component.
45 Such cash component shall be remitted in the form of a cash payment that
46 is no less than 250 million dollars, provided that nothing shall prevent
47 a potential operator from including a cash payment of more than 250
48 million dollars. Funds realized pursuant to this section shall be used
49 to fulfill any unfunded New York city off-track betting corporation
50 employee pension liability that may exist at the time a vendor is
51 selected pursuant to this section.
52 9. Assessments. The new private corporation shall remit amounts as
53 required by article 5 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding
54 law, except that such corporation shall first pay its operating
55 expenses, employee pensions costs, health benefits and other obligations
56 prior to remitting such assessments.
S. 7351 4
1 10. Workforce retention. No less than twenty percent of the workforce
2 of the selected operator that will be charged with running the newly
3 privatized New York city off-track betting corporation, shall be
4 selected from employees of the former New York city off-track betting
5 entity.
6 § 8. This act shall take effect on the first of the month next
7 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law; provided that
8 within ninety days of the effective date of this act the state liquor
9 authority shall adopt rules and regulations necessary for the implemen-
10 tation of a process for the registration of sports bars as provided in
11 section two of this act.
