Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the provisions of this bill affecting the number of harness horse racing race dates must take effect prior to the commencement of this year’s harness horse racing season; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’
Amend the bill in section 5 in §267 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 3, lines 6 to 16 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill in section 8 in subsection 1 in the 9th and 10th lines (page 4, lines 4 and 5 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " is $100 or $10 per week, whichever is higher is established by the commission" and inserting the following: 'is $100 or $10 per week, whichever is higher'
Amend the bill in section 9 in subsection 2 by inserting at the end a new blocked paragraph to read:
‘ If the executive director or the commission determines that any of the criteria listed in this subsection have not been met by the licensee, the executive director shall submit a notice of the deficiency in meeting any criteria to the licensee, regardless of whether the deficiency resulted in the denial of the application for or the refusal to award race dates. The director shall also submit a copy of the notice in the same manner and at the same time to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture matters.’
Amend the bill in section 13 in subsection 1 in the first line (page 6, line 4 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "deposits" the following: '; rules'
Amend the bill in section 13 in subsection 1 in the 10th and 11th lines (page 6, lines 13 and 14 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " to provide for the allocation of purse money and oversight of the trust account" and inserting the following: ' governing the handling of trust accounts, providing for the reallocation of trust account funds to other licensed commercial tracks in the event that a track ceases operation or cancels a significant number of race days, as determined by the commission, and governing the handling of harness racing purses at any commercial track that does not have a contract with a statewide horsemen association'
Amend the bill in section 14 in subsection 1 by inserting at the end the following:
‘ For the purpose of determining the number of days a race track conducted racing under this subsection, if a race day is canceled due to a natural or other disaster, or due to a horse supply shortage as verified by the state steward, the track is considered to have conducted racing on that day.’
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 18 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 18. 8 MRSA §275-N, as amended by PL 2015, c. 200, §2, is further amended to read:
The commission may allow interstate simulcasting and license any off-track betting facility regardless of the number of race dates that were conducted in the State for any calendar year. Interstate simulcasting always must be allowed at any commercial track that conducted at least 136 race dates during the immediately preceding 2 calendar years or at an existing commercial track as defined in section 275-A, subsection 1, paragraph B at which at least 35 race dates were conducted during the preceding 2 years if the interstate simulcasting at the commercial track is conducted during the regular meeting. For the purposes of this section, any race date that the commission determines was canceled due to a natural or other disaster must be counted as a race date. For the purposes of this section and for the purpose of meeting the requirements of section 275-A, subsection 1, any race date that is canceled at a commercial race track due to the inability to meet the requirements of section 275-A, subsection 9-A because of a horse shortage, as verified by the state steward, is counted as a race date.’
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 23.
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 24 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 24. 8 MRSA §299, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 687, Pt. A, §4 and affected by Pt. B, §11, is amended to read:
Amend the bill in section 25 in subsection 3 in the 13th line (page 11, line 11 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " attended" and inserting the following: ' extended'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 27 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 27. 8 MRSA §1037, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 358, §6 and amended by c. 657, Pt. W, §6, is further amended to read:
Beginning February 15, 2012 April 1, 2018 and annually thereafter, the executive director of the State Harness Racing Commission, in consultation with the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, annually shall submit a report to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over slot machines, harness racing, agricultural fairs and appropriations and financial affairs regarding the use of slot machine revenue deposited in funds under section 1036, subsection 2, paragraphs B, C, D, H and I. The executive director and the commissioner shall obtain the information as described in this section. The report required by this section must be completed using budgeted resources. The executive director may not distribute funds listed under section 1036, subsection 2, as applicable, to harness racing tracks, off-track betting facilities, agricultural fairs or the Sire Stakes Fund under section 281 until the information required to submit the report required by this section is provided. The report required by this section may be combined with the report required under section 267.’
Amend the bill by inserting at the end before the summary the following:
‘Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
This amendment amends the bill as follows.
1. It adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause.
2. It clarifies and standardizes the reporting requirements of the State Harness Racing Commission.
3. It eliminates from the bill the proposed amendments to existing harness horse racing license fee provisions.
4. It provides that if the executive director of the State Harness Racing Commission or the commission determines that any of the criteria for race date awards have not been met by a licensee, the executive director must submit a notice of the deficiency to the licensee, regardless of whether the deficiency resulted in the denial of the application for or the refusal to award race dates. A copy of this notice must also be submitted at the same time to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture matters.
5. It clarifies the rule-making authority of the State Harness Racing Commission regarding oversight and allocation of trust account funds.
6. It removes the commission's rule-making authority in the bill to establish standards for the use of the Fund to Encourage Racing at Maine's Commercial Tracks.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)