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A07301 Summary:

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A07301 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7301--B
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 29, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW, HEASTIE, STEVENSON, V. LOPEZ, P. RIVERA,
          LINARES,  COOK, BOYLAND, WEPRIN, KELLNER, SIMANOWITZ, PERRY, DINOWITZ,
          CAMARA,  RODRIGUEZ,  ROBINSON,  SCARBOROUGH,  ORTIZ,  TITONE,  COLTON,
          MARKEY,   N. RIVERA,  ESPINAL  --  Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M.  of  A.
          BROOK-KRASNY, CLARK, CRESPO, CUSICK, GIBSON, JACOBS, LANCMAN,  MALLIO-

          TAKIS  -- read once and referred to the Committee on Racing and Wager-
          ing -- recommitted to the Committee on Racing and Wagering in  accord-
          ance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee  --  again  reported  from said committee with amendments, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and  breeding  law,  in
          relation to extending the Catskill region to include the five counties
          comprising  the  city  of  New  York;  and  to repeal subdivision 7 of
          section 532 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding  law,  in
          relation to disposition of revenues
 
          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 519 of  the  racing,  pari-mutuel
     2  wagering  and breeding law, paragraph e as amended by chapter 260 of the
     3  laws of 1987 and paragraphs f, g and h as amended by chapter 125 of  the
     4  laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
     5    1.  "Region."  One or more of the following named regions comprised of
     6  the counties indicated:
     7    a. Suffolk: Suffolk county;
     8    b. Nassau: Nassau county;
     9    c. [New York city: the five counties comprising the city of New York;
    10    d.] Catskill: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware,  Orange,  Rockland,
    11  Sullivan,  Tioga,  Dutchess,  Tompkins,  Westchester, Putnam and Ulster,
    12  Richmond, Queens, Kings, Bronx and New York counties;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11149-04-2
        A. 7301--B                          2
 
     1    [e.] d. Capital District: Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland,  Essex,
     2  Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Onei-
     3  da,  Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, St. Lawrence,
     4  Warren and Washington counties;
     5    [f.] e. Central: Lewis and Onondaga counties;
     6    [g.]  f.  Western:  Allegany,  Cattaraugus,  Cayuga, Chautauqua, Erie,
     7  Genesee, Jefferson, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Oswe-
     8  go, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties;

     9    [h.] g. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subdivision, when
    10  and if the Central regional  off-track  betting  corporation  is  estab-
    11  lished,  it  shall  include, in addition to the counties listed in para-
    12  graph [f]  e,  the  following:  Cayuga,  Chenango,  Cortland,  Franklin,
    13  Herkimer,  Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Oswego, Otsego and Tompkins coun-
    14  ties.
    15    § 2. The racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law is  amended  by
    16  adding three new sections 517-a, 517-b and 517-c to read as follows:
    17    §  517-a. Catskill off-track betting corporation site selection board.
    18  1. The purchase or lease of any property to be used in whole or in  part
    19  as  an  off-track  betting  facility  by  the Catskill off-track betting

    20  corporation in the city  of  New  York,  shall  be  conditioned  on  the
    21  approval  of the site selection board. For purposes of this section, the
    22  site selection board shall be composed of: the chief  executive  officer
    23  of  the  urban  development  corporation; a designee of the mayor of the
    24  city of New York; with respect to a  branch  office  located  wholly  or
    25  partly  within a borough of the city, the president or presidents of the
    26  borough or boroughs, or the president's designee, in which the  proposed
    27  site is located; the chair of the community board, or the chair's desig-
    28  nee,  representing  the  neighborhood  in  which  the  proposed  site is
    29  located; and the comptroller of the city  of  New  York,  or  the  comp-
    30  troller's  designee.

    31    2.  The site selection board, as defined in this section shall operate
    32  pursuant to the following procedures:
    33    a. Every act of the board shall be by resolution adopted by a majority
    34  of the votes cast by all the members. No  resolution  shall  be  adopted
    35  except after a public hearing, notice of which shall be published in the
    36  state  register  for six consecutive business days and in a newspaper of
    37  general circulation in the city for two consecutive business days  imme-
    38  diately preceding said hearing.
    39    b.  Meetings  of the site selection board shall be called either:  (i)
    40  as directed by the board upon notice  thereof  published  in  the  state
    41  register for six consecutive business days and in a newspaper of general

    42  circulation in the city for two consecutive business days; or
    43    (ii)  upon  written  notice  to the board by the president of Catskill
    44  off-track betting corporation that  a  site  for  an  off-track  betting
    45  branch  office  is  under  consideration  by  Catskill off-track betting
    46  corporation for lease or acquisition. A  copy  of  such  written  notice
    47  shall  be  published  in the state register for six consecutive business
    48  days and in a newspaper of general  circulation  in  the  city  for  two
    49  consecutive  business  days.  All  meetings of the board shall be within
    50  seven consecutive business days of the date  on  which  notice  of  said
    51  meetings  is  first  printed  in  the state register for six consecutive

    52  business days and in a newspaper of general circulation in the city  for
    53  two consecutive business days.
    54    c.  The  site  selection board shall have power and authority to adopt
    55  and amend rules and regulations for the conduct of its business  and  to
    56  carry out its powers and duties; provided, however, that the board shall
        A. 7301--B                          3
 
     1  adopt  rules which require board action on a proposed site within thirty
     2  days of the board's public hearing provided for herein and that  by  its
     3  failure  to  act  within  thirty  days the board shall be deemed to have
     4  approved the site.
     5    3.  For proposed sites that had been approved prior to December sixth,

     6  two thousand ten, the president of  Catskill  off-track  betting  corpo-
     7  ration  shall  provide  written  notice to the site selection board that
     8  such site is under consideration by Catskill  off-track  betting  corpo-
     9  ration for lease or acquisition. If the board fails to act within thirty
    10  days  of  receiving  such  written notice from the president of Catskill
    11  off-track betting  corporation,  the  board  shall  be  deemed  to  have
    12  approved  the  site. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this
    13  section, no public notice or public hearing shall be required  prior  to
    14  the  site  selection  board's  consideration  of  a  site  that had been
    15  approved prior to December sixth, two thousand ten.

    16    § 517-b. Catskill off-track betting corporation:  collective  bargain-
    17  ing.    Notwithstanding  any other provisions of law, to the extent that
    18  Catskill off-track betting corporation opens facilities within the  five
    19  boroughs  of  the city of New York to engage in off-track betting or the
    20  support thereof, such region shall recognize the  collective  bargaining
    21  representatives  of the employees of the New York city off-track betting
    22  corporation as of December sixth, two thousand ten, and shall  abide  by
    23  agreements  negotiated  between  such  representatives and Catskill off-
    24  track betting corporation.   Nothing contained  in  this  act  shall  be
    25  construed  to diminish the rights of employees pursuant to paragraph (e)

    26  of subdivision one of section two hundred nine-a of  the  civil  service
    27  law.
    28    §  517-c.  Catskill off-track betting corporation: business plan.  The
    29  Catskill off-track betting corporation shall submit for approval to  the
    30  racing  and wagering board, or its successor, a business plan, including
    31  but not limited to, outlining investments,  projected  operating  costs,
    32  projected  revenues,  projected  locations  (both bars and real-property
    33  that would need to be acquired), projected employment  needs,  projected
    34  contracts  for services or other third parties, projected forms of pari-
    35  mutuel wagering at each location, as well as other  details  the  racing
    36  and  wagering  board,  or its successor, deems relevant to determine the

    37  success of Catskill off-track betting corporation accepting bets  within
    38  the five boroughs in New York city.
    39    Prior  to final approval, the board, or it successor, is authorized to
    40  require amendments and clarifications to the plan  to  ensure  that  the
    41  plan is financially feasible; the labor agreements are honored; and that
    42  the  interests  of the betting public are considered. Catskill off-track
    43  betting corporation shall not be authorized to  implement  any  part  of
    44  such  plan  until  the  racing  and  wagering  board,  or its successor,
    45  approves of such plan. The racing and wagering board, or its  successor,
    46  shall  act  on the Catskill off-track betting corporation's plan as soon

    47  as practical but no later than thirty days after the plan has been fully
    48  submitted to the board, or its successor.
    49    § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 532 of the racing, pari-mutuel  wagering
    50  and breeding law is REPEALED.
    51    §  4.  Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this chapter, any
    52  payments that the Catskill off-track betting corporation would otherwise
    53  make to the counties of Richmond, Queens,  Kings,  Bronx  and  New  York
    54  pursuant  to  the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law shall be
    55  payable to the general fund of the city of New York.
        A. 7301--B                          4
 
     1    § 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation  to  the
     2  contrary, two and one-half million dollars in Catskill off-track betting

     3  corporation's  capital  acquisition fund established pursuant to section
     4  509-a of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering  and  breeding  law  shall  be
     5  available  to  Catskill  off-track betting corporation for any corporate
     6  purpose.
     7    If Catskill off-track betting corporation chooses to utilize up to two
     8  and one-half million dollars in its capital acquisition fund for  corpo-
     9  rate  purposes,  it shall do so by providing written notification to the
    10  racing and wagering board, or its successor, at least  fifteen  days  in
    11  advance of its decision to utilize monies for corporate purposes. During
    12  such  time  that  Catskill off-track betting corporation uses its monies
    13  for corporate purposes, it shall not be authorized to impose the supple-
    14  mental one per  centum  surcharge  established  by  subdivision  3-a  of
    15  section 532 of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law.

    16    Catskill  off-track  betting corporation may use its monies for corpo-
    17  rate purposes until the two and one-half million dollars  authorized  by
    18  this section have been exhausted or until such time that the corporation
    19  elects to discontinue such corporate use and has notified the racing and
    20  wagering  board,  or  its  successor,  in  writing  of its decision. The
    21  supplemental one per centum surcharge established by subdivision 3-a  of
    22  section  532  of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law shall
    23  only be reinstated one year following: (i)  Catskill  off-track  betting
    24  corporation's  written  notification of discontinuance to the racing and
    25  wagering board, or its successor; or (ii) one year following  exhaustion
    26  of the two and one-half million dollars authorized by this section. Once
    27  the  supplemental  surcharge has been reimposed, the capital acquisition

    28  fund shall only be used for the purposes enumerated within section 509-a
    29  of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law.
    30    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.