Provides exceptions to the three-year prohibition of employment with the New York state gaming commission; excludes starters from the three-year prohibition; allows the commission to provide exceptions during the hiring process.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7704--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 30, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wager-
ing -- recommitted to the Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
relation to providing exceptions to the three-year prohibition of
employment with the commission
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 107 of the racing, pari-mutuel
2 wagering and breeding law, as amended by section 1 of part BB of chapter
3 59 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
4 1. [No] (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision,
5 no person shall be appointed to or employed by the commission if, during
6 the period commencing three years prior to appointment or employment,
7 such person held any direct or indirect interest in, or employment by,
8 any corporation, association or person engaged in gaming activity within
9 the state.
10 (b) (i) The restrictions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall
11 not apply to current or former employees of any corporation or associ-
12 ation engaged in gaming activity within the state if, during employment,
13 such employee held no stake in gaming outcomes as a benefit of employ-
14 ment; was not a shareholder, board member, or member of upper-management
15 of any such corporation, association, or other gaming entity; and such
16 employee's role was merely incidental to the function of the business,
17 including, but not limited to disinterested roles in gaming functions,
18 such as starters, provided such employee meets all other criteria
19 provided in this paragraph.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09882-03-5
S. 7704--A 2
1 (ii) Such current or former employee, if hired by the commission,
2 shall terminate employment with such corporation or association prior to
3 commencing employment at the commission.
4 (c) Prior to appointment or employment, each member, officer or
5 employee of the commission shall swear or affirm that [he or she] such
6 member, officer or employee possesses no interest in any corporation or
7 association holding a franchise, license, registration, certificate or
8 permit issued by the commission. Thereafter, no member or officer of the
9 commission shall hold any direct interest in or be employed by any
10 applicant for or by any corporation, association or person holding a
11 license, registration, franchise, certificate or permit issued by the
12 commission for a period of four years commencing on the date [his or
13 her] such member, officer or employee's membership with the commission
14 terminates.
15 (d) Further, no employee of the commission may acquire any direct or
16 indirect interest in, or accept employment with, any applicant for or
17 any person holding a license, registration, franchise, certificate or
18 permit issued by the commission for a period of two years commencing at
19 the termination of employment with the commission.
20 (e) The commission may, by resolution adopted by unanimous vote at a
21 properly noticed public meeting, waive for good cause the pre-employment
22 restrictions enumerated in this subdivision for a prospective employee
23 whose duties and responsibilities are primarily on racetrack grounds.
24 Such adopted resolution shall state the reasons for waiving the pre-em-
25 ployment conditions for the prospective employee, including a finding
26 that there were no other qualified candidates with the desired experi-
27 ence for the specified position.
28 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
