H. B. 4633
(By Delegate Faircloth)
[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections ten and thirteen, article
twenty-three, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to horse and dog racing generally; clarifying the term
resident owner of accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds;
clarifying the disposition of unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets
from horse and dog racetracks; providing that unredeemed
pari-mutuel tickets at horse tracks shall be used to
supplement breeders, owners, sires, thoroughbred development
funds and purse money for West Virginia bred or sired horses;
increasing the amounts transferred to the greyhound breeding
development fund; and increasing the amount transferred for stakes races for West Virginia bred greyhounds at dog
racetracks.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections ten and thirteen, article twenty-three, chapter
nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 23. HORSE AND DOG RACING.
PART VII. TAXATION OF HORSE AND DOG RACING AND PARI-MUTUEL
WAGERING; DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.
§19-23-10. Daily license tax; pari-mutuel pools tax; how taxes
paid; alternate tax; credits.
(a) Any racing association conducting thoroughbred racing at
any horse racetrack in this state shall pay each day upon which
horse races are run a daily license tax of two hundred fifty
dollars. Any racing association conducting harness racing at any
horse racetrack in this state shall pay each day upon which horse
races are run a daily license tax of one hundred fifty dollars.
Any racing association conducting dog races shall pay each day upon
which dog races are run a daily license tax of one hundred fifty
dollars. In the event thoroughbred racing, harness racing, dog
racing, or any combination of the foregoing are conducted on the same day at the same racetrack by the same racing association, only
one daily license tax in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars
shall be paid for that day. Any daily license tax shall not apply
to any local, county or state fair, horse show or agricultural or
livestock exposition at which horse racing is conducted for not
more than six days.
(b) Any racing association licensed by the racing commission
to conduct thoroughbred racing and permitting and conducting
pari-mutuel wagering under the provisions of this article shall, in
addition to the daily license tax set forth in subsection (a) of
this section, pay to the racing commission, from the commission
deducted each day by the licensee from the pari-mutuel pools on
thoroughbred racing a tax calculated on the total daily
contribution of all pari-mutuel pools conducted or made at any and
every thoroughbred race meeting of the licensee licensed under the
provisions of this article. The tax, on the pari-mutuel pools
conducted or made each day during the months of January, February,
March, October, November and December, shall from the effective
date of this section and for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
eighty-five, be calculated at two and six-tenths percent; for
fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-six, be calculated at two and three-tenths percent; for fiscal year one thousand nine
hundred eighty-seven, be calculated at two percent of the pool; for
fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, be calculated
at one and one-half percent; for fiscal year one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine, be calculated at one percent of the pool; for
fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety, seven tenths of one
percent, and for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one
and each fiscal year thereafter be calculated at four tenths of one
percent of the pool; and, on the pari-mutuel pools conducted or
made each day during all other months, shall from the effective
date of this section and for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
eighty-five, be calculated at three and six-tenths percent; for
fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-six, be calculated at
three and three-tenths percent; for fiscal year one thousand nine
hundred eighty-seven, be calculated at three percent of the pool;
for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, be
calculated at two and one-half percent; for fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, be calculated at two percent of
the pool; for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety, be
calculated at one and seven-tenths percent of the pool; and for
fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one and each fiscal year thereafter, be calculated at one and four-tenths percent of
the pool:
Provided, That out of the amount realized from the three
tenths of one percent decrease in the tax effective for fiscal year
one thousand nine hundred ninety-one and thereafter, which decrease
correspondingly increases the amount of commission retained by the
licensee, the licensee shall annually expend or dedicate: (i) One
half of the realized amount for capital improvements in its barn
area at the track, subject to the racing commission's prior
approval of the plans for the improvements; and (ii) the remaining
one half of the realized amount for capital improvements as the
licensee may determine appropriate at the track. The term "capital
improvement" shall be as defined by the Internal Revenue Code:
Provided, however, That any racing association operating a horse
racetrack in this state having an average daily pari-mutuel pool on
horse racing of two hundred eighty thousand dollars or less per day
for the race meetings of the preceding calendar year shall, in lieu
of payment of the pari-mutuel pool tax, calculated as in this
subsection, be permitted to conduct pari-mutuel wagering at the
horse racetrack on the basis of a daily pari-mutuel pool tax fixed
as follows: On the daily pari-mutuel pool not exceeding three
hundred thousand dollars the daily pari-mutuel pool tax shall be one thousand dollars plus the otherwise applicable percentage rate
imposed by this subsection of the daily pari-mutuel pool, if any,
in excess of three hundred thousand dollars:
Provided further,
That upon the effective date of the reduction of the daily
pari-mutuel pool tax to one thousand dollars from the former two
thousand dollars, the association or licensee shall daily deposit
five hundred dollars into the special fund for regular purses
established by subdivision (1), subsection (b), section nine of
this article:
And provided further, That if an association or
licensee qualifying for the foregoing alternate tax conducts more
than one racing performance, each consisting of up to ten races in
a calendar day, the association or licensee shall pay both the
daily license tax imposed in subsection (a) of this section and the
alternate tax in this subsection for each performance:
And
provided further, That a licensee qualifying for the foregoing
alternate tax is excluded from participation in the fund
established by section thirteen-b of this article:
And provided
further, That this exclusion shall not apply to any thoroughbred
racetrack at which the licensee has participated in the West
Virginia thoroughbred development fund for more than four
consecutive years prior to the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two.
(c) Any racing association licensed by the racing commission
to conduct harness racing and permitting and conducting pari-mutuel
wagering under the provisions of this article shall, in addition to
the daily license tax required under subsection (a) of this
section, pay to the racing commission, from the commission deducted
each day by the licensee from the pari-mutuel pools on harness
racing, as a tax, three percent of the first one hundred thousand
dollars wagered, or any part thereof; four percent of the next one
hundred fifty thousand dollars; and five and three-fourths percent
of all over that amount wagered each day in all pari-mutuel pools
conducted or made at any and every harness race meeting of the
licensee licensed under the provisions of this article.
(d) Any racing association licensed by the racing commission
to conduct dog racing and permitting and conducting pari-mutuel
wagering under the provisions of this article shall, in addition to
the daily license tax required under subsection (a) of this
section, pay to the racing commission, from the commission deducted
each day by the licensee from the pari-mutuel pools on dog racing,
as a tax, four percent of the first fifty thousand dollars or any
part thereof of the pari-mutuel pools, five percent of the next fifty thousand dollars of the pari-mutuel pools, six percent of the
next one hundred thousand dollars of the pari-mutuel pools, seven
percent of the next one hundred fifty thousand dollars of the
pari-mutuel pools, and eight percent of all over three hundred
fifty thousand dollars wagered each day:
Provided, That the
licensee shall deduct daily from the pari-mutuel tax an amount
equal to one tenth of one percent of the daily pari-mutuel pools in
dog racing in fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety; fifteen
hundredths of one percent in fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one; two tenths of one percent in fiscal year one thousand
nine hundred ninety-two; one quarter of one percent in fiscal year
one thousand nine hundred ninety-three; and three tenths of one
percent in fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-four and
every fiscal year thereafter. The amounts deducted shall be paid
to the racing commission to be deposited by the racing commission
in a banking institution of its choice in a special account to be
known as "West Virginia Racing Commission-Special Account-West
Virginia Greyhound Breeding Development Fund". The purpose of the
fund is to promote better breeding and racing of greyhounds in the
state through awards and purses to
bonafide resident owners of
accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds. In order to be eligible to receive an award or purse through the fund, the owner
of the accredited West Virginia whelped greyhound must be a
bonafide resident of this state
and who does not claim residence in
any other state or country. The commission shall require proof
from the West Virginia owner effective the first day of September,
two thousand two that the owner filed personal income tax returns
in West Virginia for the most recent tax year and the previous tax
year and has real or personal property in this state on which the
owner has paid real and personal property taxes during the most
recent tax year and the previous tax year. An owner providing
proof of payment of the taxes as set forth above is a bonafide
resident of this state for the purposes of this article. The
moneys shall be expended by the racing commission for purses for
stake races, supplemental purse awards, administration, promotion
and educational programs involving West Virginia whelped dogs,
owned by residents of this state under rules
and regulations
promulgated by the racing commission. The racing commission shall
pay out of the greyhound breeding development fund to each of the
licensed dog racing tracks the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars
for the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-four. The licensee shall deposit the sum into the special fund for regular purses established under the
provisions of section nine of this article. The funds shall be
expended solely for the purpose of supplementing regular purses
under rules
and regulations promulgated by the racing commission.
Supplemental purse awards will be distributed as follows:
Supplemental purses shall be paid directly to the owner of an
accredited greyhound or, if the greyhound is leased, the owner may
choose to designate a percentage of the purse earned directly to
the lessor as agreed to via a written purse distribution form on
file with the racing commission.
The owner of accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds that
earn a purse at any West Virginia meet will receive a bonus award
calculated at the end of each month as a percentage of the fund
dedicated to the owners as purse supplements, which shall be a
minimum of fifty percent of the total moneys deposited into the
West Virginia greyhound breeding development fund monthly.
The total amount of the fund available for the owners' awards
shall be distributed according to the ratio of purses earned by an
accredited greyhound to the total amount earned in races by all
accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds for that month as a
percentage of the funds dedicated to the owners' purse supplements.
The owner of an accredited West Virginia whelped greyhound
shall file a purse distribution form with the racing commission for
a percentage of his or her dog's earnings to be paid directly to
the lessor of the greyhound. Distribution shall be made on the
fifteenth day of each month for the preceding month's achievements.
In no event shall purses earned at a meet held at a track
which did not make contributions to the West Virginia greyhound
breeder's development fund out of the daily pool on the day the
meet was held qualify or count toward eligibility for supplemental
purse awards.
Any balance in the purse supplement funds after all
distributions have been made for the year revert to the general
account of the fund for distribution in the following year.
In an effort to further promote the breeding of quality West
Virginia whelped greyhounds, a bonus purse supplement shall be
established in the amount of fifty thousand dollars per annum, to
be paid in equal quarterly installments of twelve thousand five
hundred dollars per quarter using the same method to calculate and
distribute these funds as the regular supplemental purse awards.
This bonus purse supplement is for three years only, commencing on
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, and ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-six. This money would come from the current existing
balance in the greyhound development fund.
Each pari-mutuel greyhound track shall provide stakes races
for accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds:
Provided, That
each pari-mutuel track shall have one juvenile and one open stake
race annually. The racing commission shall oversee and approve
racing schedules and purse amounts.
Ten percent of the deposits into the greyhound breeding
development fund beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three and continuing each year thereafter, shall be
withheld by the racing commission and placed in a special revenue
account hereby created in the state treasury called the
"administration, promotion and educational account". The racing
commission is authorized to expend the moneys deposited in the
administration, promotion and educational account at such times and
in such amounts as the commission determines to be necessary for
purposes of administering and promoting the greyhound development
program:
Provided, That beginning with fiscal year one thousand
nine hundred ninety-five and in each fiscal year thereafter in
which the commission anticipates spending any money from the account, the commission shall submit to the executive department
during the budget preparation period prior to the Legislature
convening before that fiscal year for inclusion in the executive
budget document and budget bill, the recommended expenditures, as
well as requests of appropriations for the purpose of
administration, promotion and education. The commission shall make
an annual report to the Legislature on the status of the
administration, promotion and education account, including the
previous year's expenditures and projected expenditures for the
next year.
The racing commission, for the fiscal year one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four only, may expend up to thirty-five thousand
dollars from the West Virginia greyhound breeding development fund
to accomplish the purposes of this section without strictly
following the requirements in the previous paragraph.
(e) All daily license and pari-mutuel pools tax payments
required under the provisions of this section shall be made to the
racing commission or its agent after the last race of each day of
each horse or dog race meeting, and the pari-mutuel pools tax
payments shall be made from all contributions to all pari-mutuel
pools to each and every race of the day.
(f) Every association or licensee subject to the provisions of
this article, including the changed provisions of sections nine and
ten of this article, shall annually submit to the racing commission
and the Legislature financial statements, including a balance
sheet, income statement, statement of change in financial position
and an audit of any electronic data system used for pari-mutuel
tickets and betting, prepared in accordance with generally accepted
auditing standards, as certified by an experienced public
accountant or a certified public accountant.
§19-23-13. Disposition of funds for payment of outstanding and
unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets; publication of
notice; irredeemable tickets; stake races for dog
tracks.
(a) All moneys held by any licensee for the payment of
outstanding and unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets, if not claimed
within ninety days after the close of a horse or dog race meeting
or the televised racing day, as the case may be, in connection with
which the tickets were issued, shall be turned over by the licensee
to the racing commission within fifteen days after the expiration
of the ninety-day period, and the licensee shall give any
information required by the racing commission concerning the
outstanding and unredeemed tickets. The moneys shall be deposited by the racing commission in a banking institution of its choice in
a special account to be known as "West Virginia Racing Commission
Special Account - Unredeemed Pari-Mutuel Tickets." Notice of the
amount, date and place of each deposit shall be given by the racing
commission, in writing, to the state treasurer. The racing
commission shall then cause to be published a notice to the holders
of the outstanding and unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets, notifying
them to present their unredeemed tickets for payment at the
principal office of the racing commission within ninety days from
the date of the publication of the notice. The notice shall be
published within fifteen days following the receipt of the
outstanding and unredeemed pari-mutuel ticket moneys by the
commission from the licensee as a Class I legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine
of this code, and the publication area for the publication shall be
the county in which the horse or dog race meeting was held and the
county in which the televised racing day wagering was conducted in
this state.
(b) Any outstanding and unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets that
are not presented for payment within ninety days from the date of
the publication of the notice are thereafter irredeemable, and the moneys theretofore held for the redemption of the pari-mutuel
tickets shall become the property of the racing commission and
shall be expended as provided in this subsection. The racing
commission shall maintain separate accounts for each licensee and
shall record in each separate account the moneys turned over by the
licensee and the amount expended at the licensee's track for the
purposes set forth in this subsection. The moneys in the West
Virginia racing commission special account - unredeemed pari-mutuel
tickets shall be expended as follows:
(1)
From unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from horse racetracks
pay to the owner of the winning horse in any horse race at a horse
race meeting held or conducted by any licensee:
Provided, That the
owner of the horse is at the time of the horse race a bona fide
resident of this state, a sum equal to ten percent of the purse won
by the horse at that race. The commission may require proof that
the owner was, at the time of the race, a bona fide resident of
this state. Upon proof by the owner that he or she filed a
personal income tax return in this state for the previous two years
and that he or she owned real or personal property in this state
and paid taxes in this state on real or personal property for the
previous two years, he or she shall be presumed to be a bona fide
resident of this state; and
(2)
From unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from horse racetracks
pay to
the breeder (that is, the owner of the mare) of the winning
horse in any horse race at a horse race meeting held or conducted
by any licensee: Provided, That the mare foaled in this state, a
sum equal to ten percent of the purse won by the horse; and
(3) From unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from horse racetracks
pay to
the owner of the stallion which sired the winning horse in
any horse race at a horse race meeting held or conducted by any
licensee: Provided, That the mare which foaled the winning horse
was served by a stallion standing and registered in this state, a
sum equal to ten percent of the purse won by the horse; and
(4) From unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from horse racetracks
pay to
those horse racing licensees not participating in the
thoroughbred development fund authorized in section thirteen-b of
this article, the unexpended balance of the licensee's account not
expended as provided in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3) of this
subsection: Provided, That all moneys distributed under this
subdivision shall be expended solely for capital improvements at
the licensee's track: Provided, however, That the capital
improvements must be approved, in writing, by the West Virginia
racing commission before funds are expended by the licensee for that capital improvement; and
(5) From horse racetracks when the moneys in the special
account, known as the West Virginia racing commission special
account - unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets will more than satisfy the
requirements of subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this
subsection, the West Virginia racing commission shall have the
authority to expend the excess moneys from unredeemed horse racing
pari-mutuel tickets as purse money in any race conditioned
exclusively for West Virginia bred or sired horses; and to expend
the excess moneys from unredeemed dog racing pari-mutuel tickets in
supplementing purses and establishing stake races and dog racing
handicaps at the dog tracks: Provided, That subject to the
availability of funds, the commission shall, after the requirements
of subdivisions (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this subsection have been
satisfied.
(A) (6) From unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from dog
racetracks
transfer annually two four hundred thousand dollars to
the West Virginia racing commission special account - West Virginia
greyhound breeding development fund;
(B) (7) From unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from dog
racetracks
transfer annually two three hundred thousand dollars
into a separate account to be used for stakes races for West Virginia bred greyhounds at dog racetracks; and
(C) Transfer annually two hundred thousand dollars to a trust
maintained and administered by the organization which is recognized
by the West Virginia racing commission, pursuant to a legislative
rule proposed for promulgation by the commission and authorized by
the Legislature, as the representative of the majority of the
active jockeys in West Virginia, for the purpose of providing
health and disability benefits to eligible active or disabled West
Virginia jockeys and their dependents in accordance with
eligibility criteria established by said organization. For
purposes of this section in determining health benefits, an
eligible active jockey is one who rides at least one hundred mounts
per calendar year of which fifty-one must be in the state of West
Virginia: Provided, That a jockey is not eligible for health
benefits if he or she receives health benefits from any other
state; and
(D) After all payments to satisfy the requirements of (A), (B)
and (C) of this proviso have been satisfied, the commission shall
have authority to transfer one hundred fifty thousand dollars left
from all uncashed pari-mutuel tickets to the trust maintained and
administered by the organization which is recognized by the West
Virginia racing commission, pursuant to legislative rule proposed for promulgation by the commission and authorized by the
Legislature as the representative of the majority of the active
jockeys in West Virginia
(8) When the moneys from dog racetracks in the special
account, known as the West Virginia racing commission special
account - unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets exceeds the requirements
of subdivisions six and seven of this subsection, the West Virginia
racing commission shall have the authority to expend the excess
moneys from the unredeemed dog racing pari-mutuel tickets as purse
money for stakes races at dog tracks.
(c) The commission shall submit to the legislative auditor a
quarterly report and accounting of the income, expenditures and
unobligated balance in the special account created by this
section known as the West Virginia racing commission special
account - unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets.
(d) Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit one
person from qualifying for all or more than one of the aforesaid
awards or for awards under section thirteen-b of this article.
(e) The cost of publication of the notice provided for in this
section shall be paid from the funds in the hands of the state
treasurer collected from the pari-mutuel pools' tax provided for in
section ten of this article, when not otherwise provided in the budget; but no such costs shall be paid unless an itemized account
thereof, under oath, be first filed with the state auditor.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
clarify the term
resident owner of accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds and
to clarify the disposition of unredeemed pari-mutuel tickets from
horse and dog racetracks. The bill provides that unredeemed pari-
mutuel tickets at horse tracks shall be used to supplement
breeders, owners, sires, thoroughbred development fund and purse
money for West Virginia bred or sired horses. The bill eliminates
the provision transferring annually two hundred thousand dollars to
a special trust fund disability benefits for jockeys. It increases
the amount of unredeemed pari-mutuel funds transferred to the
greyhound breeding development fund and it increases the amount
transferred for stakes races for West Virginia bred greyhounds at
dog racetracks.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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