Amd §§1617-a & 1612, Tax L; rpld §1016 sub 1 ¶b, sub¶ 5 cl(E), sub¶ 6 cl(F), §1017 sub 2, amd RWB L,
generally
 
Relates to the Catskill regional off-track betting corporation including licensing, vendor fees, distribution of funds, collective bargaining, reporting and site approval.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3464
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Racing and Wagering
AN ACT to amend the tax law and the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and
breeding law, in relation to the Catskill regional off-track betting
corporation; and repealing certain provisions of the racing, pari-mu-
tuel wagering and breeding law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 1617-a of the tax
2 law, as amended by section 1 of part SS of chapter 60 of the laws of
3 2016, is amended to read as follows:
4 (1) Aqueduct, [Monticello,] Yonkers, Finger Lakes, and Vernon Downs
5 racetracks;
6 § 2. Paragraphs 3 and 4 of subdivision a of section 1617-a of the tax
7 law, as added by section 1 of part SS of chapter 60 of the laws of 2016,
8 are amended and a new paragraph 8 is added to read as follows:
9 (3) a maximum of two facilities, which shall be vendors for all
10 purposes under this article, neither to exceed one thousand video
11 lottery gaming devices, established within region three of zone one as
12 defined by section one thousand three hundred ten of the racing, pari-
13 mutuel wagering and breeding law, one each operated by a corporation
14 established pursuant to section five hundred two of the racing, pari-mu-
15 tuel wagering and breeding law in the Suffolk region and the Nassau
16 region to be located within a facility authorized pursuant to sections
17 one thousand eight or one thousand nine of the racing, pari-mutuel
18 wagering and breeding law; [and]
19 (4) Aqueduct racetrack, within the lottery terminal facility, pursuant
20 to an agreement between the corporation established pursuant to section
21 five hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law in
22 the Nassau region and the operator of video lottery gaming at Aqueduct
23 racetrack, when such agreement is approved by the gaming commission and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07788-01-1
A. 3464 2
1 as long as such agreement is in place, and when such agreement is accom-
2 panied by a detailed spending plan for the corporation established
3 pursuant to section five hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering
4 and breeding law in the Nassau region, which includes a plan for the
5 timely payment of liabilities due to the franchised corporation, and
6 when such video lottery devices are hosted by the operator of video
7 lottery gaming at Aqueduct racetrack on behalf of the corporation estab-
8 lished pursuant to section five hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel
9 wagering and breeding law in the Nassau region in lieu of the develop-
10 ment of a facility in Nassau county as authorized by paragraph three of
11 this subdivision [a of this section]. Such agreement reached by the
12 parties shall identify the agency principally responsible for funding,
13 approving or undertaking any actions of such agreement. Provided,
14 however, nothing in this paragraph shall infringe upon the rights of the
15 corporation established pursuant to section five hundred two of the
16 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law in the Nassau region to
17 develop a facility pursuant to paragraph three of this subdivision upon
18 the expiration, termination, or withdrawal of such agreement[.]; and
19 (8) a maximum of three facilities, which shall be vendors for all
20 purposes under this article, with a total of one thousand one hundred
21 ten video lottery gaming devices in the county of Broome, Chemung,
22 Chenango, Delaware, Orange, Rockland, Dutchess, Tompkins, Putnam or
23 Ulster and to be operated by a corporation established pursuant to
24 section five hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breed-
25 ing law, and located within a facility authorized pursuant to section
26 one thousand eight or one thousand nine of the racing, pari-mutuel
27 wagering and breeding law.
28 § 3. Paragraph 2 of subdivision b of section 1612 of the tax law, as
29 amended by section 2 of part S of chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is
30 amended to read as follows:
31 2. As consideration for the operation of a video lottery gaming facil-
32 ity, the division, shall cause the investment in the racing industry of
33 a portion of the vendor fee received pursuant to paragraph one of this
34 subdivision in the manner set forth in this subdivision. With the
35 exception of Aqueduct racetrack, a video lottery gaming facility author-
36 ized pursuant to paragraph five of subdivision a of section sixteen
37 hundred seventeen-a of this article or a facility in the county of
38 Nassau or Suffolk operated by a corporation established pursuant to
39 section five hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breed-
40 ing law, each such track shall dedicate a portion of its vendor fees,
41 received pursuant to clause (A), (B), (B-1), (B-2), (C), or (D) of
42 subparagraph (ii) of paragraph one of this subdivision, for the purpose
43 of enhancing purses at such track, in an amount equal to eight and
44 three-quarters percent of the total revenue wagered at the vendor track
45 after pay out for prizes. Any video lottery gaming facility in the Cats-
46 kill region, as defined in section five hundred nineteen of the
47 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law and to be operated by a
48 corporation established pursuant to section five hundred two of the
49 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, shall dedicate a portion
50 of its vendor fee for the purpose of enhancing purses at Monticello
51 racetrack in an amount equal to eight and three-quarters percent of the
52 total revenue wagered at the facility after pay out for prizes. One
53 percent of the gross purse enhancement amount, as required by this
54 subdivision, shall be paid to the gaming commission to be used exclu-
55 sively to promote and ensure equine health and safety in New York. Any
56 portion of such funding to the gaming commission unused during a fiscal
A. 3464 3
1 year shall be returned to the video lottery gaming operators on a pro
2 rata basis in accordance with the amounts originally contributed by each
3 operator and shall be used for the purpose of enhancing purses at such
4 track. One and one-half percent of the gross purse enhancement amount at
5 a thoroughbred track, as required by this subdivision, shall be paid to
6 an account established pursuant to section two hundred twenty-one-a of
7 the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law to be used exclusively
8 to provide health insurance for jockeys. In addition, with the exception
9 of Aqueduct racetrack, a video lottery gaming facility authorized pursu-
10 ant to paragraph five of subdivision a of section sixteen hundred seven-
11 teen-a of this article or a facility in the county of Nassau or Suffolk
12 operated by a corporation established pursuant to section five hundred
13 two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, one and one-
14 quarter percent of total revenue wagered at the vendor track after pay
15 out for prizes, received pursuant to clause (A), (B), (B-1), (B-2), (C),
16 or (D) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph one of this subdivision, shall
17 be distributed to the appropriate breeding fund for the manner of racing
18 conducted by such track.
19 Provided, further, that as additional consideration for the operation
20 of video lottery gaming facilities, the Catskill regional off-track-bet-
21 ting corporation shall maintain the same number of race dates at Monti-
22 cello racetrack being conducted at the time it receives a license to
23 conduct harness race meetings at such racetrack.
24 Provided, further, that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent each
25 track from entering into an agreement, not to exceed five years, with
26 the organization authorized to represent its horsemen to increase or
27 decrease the portion of its vendor fee dedicated to enhancing purses at
28 such track during the years of participation by such track, or to race
29 fewer dates than required herein.
30 § 4. Section 1612 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
31 sion i to read as follows:
32 i. As consideration for operation of a video lottery gaming facility
33 located in the county of Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Orange,
34 Rockland, Dutchess, Tompkins, Putnam, or Ulster, and operated by a
35 corporation established pursuant to section five hundred two of the
36 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, the division shall cause
37 the vendor's fee to be distributed as follows after the pay out of
38 racing support payments: (1) twenty percent shall be transferred to the
39 county in which the vendor facility is located; and (2) the remainder
40 shall be used for payment of the costs of the corporation's functions
41 pursuant to section five hundred sixteen of the racing, pari-mutuel
42 wagering and breeding law, and the net revenue remaining after payment
43 of such costs shall be divided among the participating counties listed
44 in this paragraph on the basis of population as defined in paragraph b
45 of subdivision two of section five hundred sixteen of the racing, pari-
46 mutuel wagering and breeding law.
47 § 5. Section 301 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law
48 is amended by adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
49 6. The board shall have the power to issue licenses to the Catskill
50 regional off-track betting corporation or to a subsidiary of said corpo-
51 ration for the purpose of conducting harness race meetings at Monticello
52 racetrack and to make capital improvements to said track, provided that
53 such corporation meets the terms and conditions for licensure as
54 provided under this article. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles
55 five and five-a of this chapter, said corporation shall be deemed to be
56 a harness racing corporation with respect to pari-mutuel wagering
A. 3464 4
1 conducted at said track pursuant to this chapter, except that net reven-
2 ues derived from such pari-mutuel wagering shall be distributed among
3 the counties that participate in such corporation on the basis of popu-
4 lation, as defined as the total population in each participating county
5 shown by the latest preceding decennial federal census of the calendar
6 year in which such distribution is to be made.
7 § 6. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 527 of the
8 racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, as amended by chapter 243
9 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
10 The disposition of the retained commission from pools resulting from
11 regular, multiple or exotic bets, as the case may be, whether placed on
12 races run within a region or outside a region, conducted by racing
13 corporations, harness racing associations or corporations, quarter horse
14 racing associations or corporations or races run outside the state shall
15 be governed by the tables in paragraphs a and b of this subdivision. The
16 rate denominated "state tax" shall represent the rate of a reasonable
17 tax imposed upon the retained commission for the privilege of conducting
18 off-track pari-mutuel betting, which tax is hereby levied and shall be
19 payable in the manner set forth in this section. Each off-track betting
20 corporation shall pay to the commission as a regulatory fee, which fee
21 is hereby levied, six-tenths of one percent of the total daily pools of
22 such corporation. Each corporation shall also pay twenty percent of the
23 breaks derived from bets on harness races and fifty percent of the
24 breaks derived from bets on all other races to the agriculture and New
25 York State horse breeding and development fund and to the thoroughbred
26 breeding and development fund, the total of such payments to be appor-
27 tioned fifty percent to each such fund. For the purposes of this
28 section, the New York city, Suffolk, Nassau, and the Catskill regions
29 shall constitute a single region and any thoroughbred track located
30 within the Capital District region shall be deemed to be within such
31 single region. A "regional meeting" shall refer to either harness or
32 thoroughbred meetings, or both, except that a franchised corporation
33 shall not be a regional track for the purpose of receiving distributions
34 from bets on thoroughbred races conducted by a thoroughbred track in the
35 Catskill region conducting a mixed meeting. With the exception of a
36 harness racing association or corporation first licensed to conduct
37 pari-mutuel wagering at a track located in Tioga, Saratoga, Sullivan or
38 Westchester county after January first, two thousand five, racing corpo-
39 rations first licensed to conduct pari-mutuel racing after January
40 first, nineteen hundred eighty-six or a harness racing association or
41 corporation first licensed to conduct pari-mutuel wagering at a track
42 located in Genesee County after January first, two thousand five, and
43 quarter horse tracks shall not be "regional tracks"; if there is more
44 than one harness track within a region, such tracks shall evenly divide
45 payments made pursuant to the tables in paragraphs a and b of this
46 subdivision when neither track is running. In the event a track elects
47 to reduce its retained percentage from any or all of its pari-mutuel
48 pools, the payments to the track holding the race and the regional track
49 required by paragraphs a and b of this subdivision shall be reduced in
50 proportion to such reduction. Nothing in this section shall be construed
51 to authorize the conduct of off-track betting contrary to the provisions
52 of section five hundred twenty-three of this article.
53 § 7. Section 509-a of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding
54 law, as added by chapter 681 of the laws of 1989, the opening paragraph
55 as amended by chapter 346 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as
56 follows:
A. 3464 5
1 § 509-a. Capital acquisition fund. 1. The corporation may create and
2 establish a capital acquisition fund for the purpose of financing the
3 acquisition, construction or equipping of offices, facilities or prem-
4 ises of the corporation. Such capital acquisition fund shall consist of
5 (i) the amounts specified pursuant to subdivision three-a of section
6 five hundred thirty-two of this chapter; and (ii) contributions from the
7 corporation's pari-mutuel wagering pools, subject to the following limi-
8 tations:
9 [(1)] a. no contribution shall exceed the amount of one percent of the
10 total pari-mutuel wagering pools for the quarter in which the contrib-
11 ution is made;
12 [(2)] b. no contribution shall reduce the amount of quarterly net
13 revenues, exclusive of surcharge revenues, to an amount less than fifty
14 percent of such net revenues; and
15 [(3)] c. the balance of the fund shall not exceed the lesser of one
16 percent of total pari-mutuel wagering pools for the previous twelve
17 months or the undepreciated value of the corporation's offices, facili-
18 ties and premises.
19 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation to the
20 contrary, funds in the Catskill off-track betting corporation's capital
21 acquisition fund established pursuant to this section shall be available
22 to the Catskill off-track betting corporation for corporate purposes
23 pursuant to this section until the fund has been exhausted.
24 § 8. Subdivision 2 of section 529 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering
25 and breeding law, as amended by chapter 243 of the laws of 2020, is
26 amended to read as follows:
27 2. [Ninety-five percent of the balance of such account remaining
28 unclaimed as of the last day of February of such year shall be paid to
29 the department of taxation and finance by March fifteenth. On or before
30 April tenth of each year the balance of such account and any other
31 unclaimed amounts received in the course of conducting off-track betting
32 shall be paid by such corporation to the department of taxation and
33 finance. A penalty of five percent and interest at the rate of one
34 percent per month from the due date to the date of payment of the
35 unclaimed balance due March fifteenth or April tenth, as the case may
36 be, shall be payable in case such balance is not paid when due. Such
37 amounts, interest and penalties when collected by the department of
38 taxation and finance shall be deposited into the general fund of the
39 state treasury] The balance of such account remaining unclaimed as of
40 April first of such year shall be transferred to the regional corpo-
41 ration's operating account and may be used for any corporate purposes.
42 § 9. Clause (E) of subparagraph 5 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of
43 section 1016 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law is
44 REPEALED and clause (F) is relettered clause (E).
45 § 10. Clause (F) of subparagraph 6 of paragraph b of subdivision 1 of
46 section 1016 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law is
47 REPEALED and clause (G) is relettered clause (F).
48 § 11. Subdivision 2 of section 1017 of the racing, pari-mutuel wager-
49 ing and breeding law is REPEALED.
50 § 12. Subdivision 1 of section 519 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering
51 and breeding law, paragraph e as amended by chapter 260 of the laws of
52 1987, paragraphs f, g and h as amended by chapter 125 of the laws of
53 1997, is amended to read as follows:
54 1. "Region." One or more of the following named regions comprised of
55 the counties indicated:
56 a. Suffolk: Suffolk county;
A. 3464 6
1 b. Nassau: Nassau county;
2 c. [New York city: the five counties comprising the city of New York;
3 d.] Catskill: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Orange, Rockland,
4 Sullivan, Tioga, Dutchess, Tompkins, Westchester, Putnam and Ulster
5 counties;
6 [e.] d. Capital District: Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Essex,
7 Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Onei-
8 da, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, St. Lawrence,
9 Warren and Washington counties;
10 [f.] e. Central: Lewis and Onondaga counties;
11 [g.] f. Western: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Erie,
12 Genesee, Jefferson, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Oswe-
13 go, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties;
14 [h.] g. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subdivision, when
15 and if the Central regional off-track betting corporation is estab-
16 lished, it shall include, in addition to the counties listed in para-
17 graph [f] e of this subdivision, the following: Cayuga, Chenango, Cort-
18 land, Franklin, Herkimer, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Oswego, Otsego and
19 Tompkins counties.
20 § 13. The racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law is amended by
21 adding four new sections 517-a, 517-b, 517-c and 517-d to read as
22 follows:
23 § 517-a. Catskill off-track betting corporation site approval. 1. The
24 purchase or lease of any property to be used in whole or in part as an
25 off-track betting facility by the Catskill off-track betting corporation
26 in the city of New York shall be conditioned on the approval of the
27 mayor of the city of New York; and with respect to a branch office
28 located wholly or partly within a borough of the city, approval shall
29 also be required by such borough president or their designee. The mayor
30 or borough president's failure to act within thirty days of notification
31 in writing of a proposed site shall be deemed to be approval of such
32 site.
33 2. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, the purchase or
34 lease of any property to be used in whole or in part as an off-track
35 betting facility by the Catskill off-track betting corporation in the
36 city of New York which includes or is located within a five mile radius
37 of a site that was approved prior to December sixth, two thousand ten
38 shall not require approval of the mayor or borough president.
39 § 517-b. Catskill off-track betting corporation; collective bargain-
40 ing. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, rule, or regulation to
41 the contrary, to the extent that Catskill off-track betting opens facil-
42 ities within one of the boroughs of the city of New York to engage in
43 off-track betting or the support staff thereof, such corporation shall
44 recognize the collective bargaining representative of the employees of
45 the New York city off-track betting corporation as of December sixth,
46 two thousand ten, and shall abide by agreements negotiated between such
47 representative and Catskill off-track betting corporation. Nothing
48 contained in this section shall be construed to diminish the rights of
49 employees pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section two
50 hundred nine-a of the civil service law.
51 § 517-c. Catskill off-track betting corporation; reporting. On or
52 before December thirty-first, two thousand nineteen, the Catskill off-
53 track betting corporation shall submit to the commission a report
54 setting forth: 1. the corporation's operations and accomplishments to
55 date; 2. the corporation's receipts and expenditures in accordance with
56 categories or classifications established by the corporation for its own
A. 3464 7
1 operating and capital outlay purposes; 3. the corporation's assets and
2 liabilities at the time of such report, including a schedule of its
3 bonds, notes, or other obligations and the status of reserves, depreci-
4 ations, special, sinking, or other funds; and 4. identities of branch
5 offices being planned or in the process of being constructed or other-
6 wise established and branch offices that have been constructed or estab-
7 lished.
8 § 517-d. Debts of previously established off-track betting corpo-
9 rations. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, rule, or regu-
10 lation to the contrary, the debts and obligations of the New York city
11 off-track betting corporation shall not transfer by operation of law or
12 otherwise to the Catskill off-track betting corporation.
13 § 14. Subdivisions 3 and 7 of section 532 of the racing, pari-mutuel
14 wagering and breeding law, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 243 of
15 the laws of 2020 and subdivision 7 as added by chapter 115 of the laws
16 of 2008, are amended to read as follows:
17 3. The revenues received from any surcharge imposed by subdivision one
18 of this section, plus the breaks, shall be distributed monthly, as
19 follows:
20 a. fifty percent shall be retained by the regional corporation and
21 twenty-five percent to such city, or to the counties and cities entitled
22 to receive revenues from the regional corporation pursuant to section
23 five hundred sixteen of this chapter and in the same proportion as
24 provided therein, or to an off-track betting operator; and
25 b. the balance as follows:
26 (i) where the track conducting the race on which the bet was placed is
27 located within a city with a population in excess of one hundred thou-
28 sand, but less than one million, to such city;
29 (ii) where the track conducting the race on which the bet was placed
30 is not located within a city with a population in excess of one hundred
31 thousand, to the county in which such track is located;
32 (iii) where the track conducting the race on which the bet was placed
33 is located partially within a city with a population in excess of one
34 million and partially within a county, [twenty-five percent of such
35 balance to the city and the remainder] to the county;
36 (iv) where the track conducting the race on which the bet was placed
37 is located outside the state, in the same manner as described in para-
38 graph a of this subdivision;
39 (v) where the track conducting the race is located in a thoroughbred
40 special betting district and is simulcasting pursuant to section one
41 thousand eight of this chapter outside such special betting district,
42 ninety percent to the off-track betting operator and ten percent to the
43 county in which such track is located; and
44 (vi) for the period of September first, two thousand seventeen until
45 August thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two and where the track
46 conducting the race on which the bet was placed is a harness track
47 located in the county of Erie, to such track.
48 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any payments
49 otherwise payable to a city with a population of one million or more,
50 [pursuant to this section, other than payments] pursuant to subpara-
51 graphs (i) and (iii) of paragraph b of subdivision three of this
52 section, shall be payable to the corporation and shall be available for
53 its corporate purposes, and may be distributed as net revenue pursuant
54 to section five hundred sixteen of this chapter.
55 § 15. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
56 have become a law.