SENATE BILL 252
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014
INTRODUCED BY
Mary Kay Papen
AN ACT
RELATING TO HORSE RACING; REQUIRING A HEARING OFFICER TO CONDUCT AND DECIDE ADJUDICATORY HEARINGS FOR THE STATE RACING COMMISSION; PROVIDING FOR A HEARING PROCEDURE; PROVIDING FOR APPEAL ON THE RECORD TO THE DISTRICT COURT; CREATING THE HORSE RACING APPEAL FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 60-1A-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 39, Section 4) is amended to read:
"60-1A-4. COMMISSION--POWERS--DUTIES.--
A. The commission may:
(1) grant or deny, [suspend or revoke] and shall take action when required pursuant to the Horse Racing Act to suspend, revoke or not renew occupational licenses, secondary licenses and racetrack licenses; establish the terms for each classification of a racetrack license; and set fees for submitting an application for a license;
(2) exclude or compel the exclusion of a person from all horse racetracks [who] whom the commission deems detrimental to the best interests of horse racing or who willfully violates the Horse Racing Act, a rule or order of the commission or a law of the United States or New Mexico;
(3) compel the production of documents, books and tangible items, including documents showing the receipts and disbursements of a racetrack licensee;
(4) investigate the operations of a licensee and place a designated representative on the licensed premises of a racetrack licensee for the purpose of observing compliance with the Horse Racing Act and rules or orders of the commission;
(5) employ staff as required to administer the Horse Racing Act and employ staff with basic law enforcement training to be stationed at racetracks to maintain peace and order, enforce the law, conduct investigations and enforce the Horse Racing Act or rules or orders of the commission; provided that staff employed with law enforcement training may not carry firearms or other deadly weapons while on duty for the commission;
(6) summon witnesses; and
(7) administer oaths for the effective discharge of the commission's authority [and
(8) appoint a hearing officer to conduct hearings required by the Horse Racing Act or a rule adopted pursuant to that act].
B. The commission shall:
(1) make rules to hold, conduct and operate all race meets and horse races held in the state and to identify and assign racing dates;
(2) require the following information for each applicant on an application for a license:
(a) the full name, address and contact information of the applicant, and if the applicant is a corporation, the name of the state of incorporation and the names, addresses and contact information of officers, members of the board of directors and managers of the corporation;
(b) the exact location at which the applicant desires to conduct a horse race or race meet; (c) whether the horse racetrack is owned or leased, and, if leased, the name and residence of the fee owner of the land or, if the owner is a corporation, the names of the directors and stockholders;
(d) a statement of the assets and liabilities of the person or corporation making the application;
(e) the kind of racing to be conducted; (f) the beginning and ending dates desired for the race meet and the days during that time period when horse races are to be scheduled; and
(g) other information determined by the commission to be necessary to assess the potential for success of the applicant;
(3) require a statement under oath by the applicant that the information on the application is true;
(4) supervise and oversee the making of pari-mutuel pools and the distribution from those pools;
(5) make on-site inspections of horse racetracks in New Mexico at reasonable intervals;
(6) approve all improvements proposed to be completed on the licensed premises of a horse racetrack, including extensions, additions or improvements of buildings, stables or tracks;
(7) monitor and oversee the pari-mutuel machines and equipment at all horse races or race meets held in the state;
(8) approve contracts for simulcasting, pari-mutuel wagering and capital improvements funded pursuant to Section 60-1A-20 NMSA 1978 entered into by horse racetracks;
(9) regulate the size of the purses to be offered at horse races run in the state;
(10) require background investigations of employees of a racetrack licensee as set forth in the rules of the commission; [and]
(11) provide an annual report to the governor regarding the commission's administration of horse racing in the state; and
(12) contract with a hearing officer, who shall be an attorney licensed in this state, to conduct adjudicatory hearings, make findings of fact and conclusions of law and render final administrative decisions on the commission's behalf, including for appeals to the commission that are timely filed from decisions or actions of the stewards involving the suspension or revocation of a license. The commission staff shall provide administrative support to the hearing officer upon a reasonable request made by the hearing officer."
SECTION 2. Section 60-1A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 39, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"60-1A-5. COMMISSION RULES--ALL LICENSES--SUSPENSION, REVOCATION OR DENIAL OF LICENSES--HEARINGS--PENALTIES.--
A. The commission shall adopt rules to implement the Horse Racing Act and to ensure that horse racing in New Mexico is conducted January 25, 2014 with fairness and that the participants and patrons are protected against illegal practices.
B. Every license issued by the commission shall require the licensee to comply with the rules adopted by the commission. A racetrack licensee shall post printed copies of the rules in conspicuous places on the racing grounds and shall maintain them during the period when live horse races are being conducted.
C. The commission [may] shall suspend, revoke or deny renewal of a license of a person who violates the provisions of the Horse Racing Act or rules adopted pursuant to that act.
D. The commission shall provide a licensee facing suspension, revocation or denial of renewal of a license or a licensee appealing a decision or action of the stewards reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the merits before a hearing officer.
E. The commission shall prepare rules for the provision of notice and conduct of the hearing. At the hearing, the technical rules of evidence shall apply, and a party has the right to be represented by counsel, to call witnesses on the party's own behalf and to cross-examine the witnesses of other parties.
F. The hearing shall be held:
(1) in the county where the conduct leading to suspension, revocation or denial of renewal occurred; provided that a hearing on an appeal of a decision or action of the stewards pursuant to Section 60-1A-12 NMSA 1978 shall, in the discretion of the hearing officer, be held in the county in which the decision or action occurred or in a county in which a live horse racing meet is being conducted on the hearing date; and
(2) within thirty days after notice of the suspension, revocation or denial of renewal has been made or after receipt of an appeal from a decision or action of the stewards pursuant to Section 60-1A-12 NMSA 1978 unless the hearing officer sets a different date.
G. The hearing officer shall cause a record of the hearing to be made and may summon witnesses, administer oaths and compel the production of evidence in whatever form. The hearing officer may postpone or continue a hearing on the hearing officer's own motion or the motion of a party to the hearing for good cause shown for a period not to exceed ninety days from the date of notice of revocation, suspension or denial of renewal of a license from the commission or from the date of appeal from a decision or action of the stewards.
H. Within ten days after the completion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall serve upon the commission and the parties the hearing officer's findings of fact, conclusions of law and a decision on the merits that shall include penalties, if any. The decision shall be conclusive on the commission and shall become the commission's final administrative decision.
I. A party aggrieved by the commission's decision may file an appeal in the district court with jurisdiction in the county where the hearing before the hearing officer was held pursuant to the provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.
J. The suspension, revocation or denial of renewal of a license shall not relieve the licensee from criminal prosecution for the violations or from the payment of fines and penalties assessed the licensee by the commission.
[D.] K. The commission may impose civil penalty fines upon a licensee for a violation of the provisions of the Horse Racing Act or rules adopted by the commission. The fines shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or one hundred percent of a purse related to the violation, whichever is greater, for each violation.
[E.] L. Fines shall be paid into the current school fund.
[F.] M. When a penalty is imposed pursuant to this section for administering a performance-altering substance as provided in Subsection A of Section 60-1A-28 NMSA 1978, the commission shall direct its executive director to report the violation to the district attorney for the county in which the violation occurred and to the horse racing licensing authority in any other jurisdiction in which the licensee being penalized is also licensed."
SECTION 3. Section 60-1A-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 39, Section 12) is amended to read:
"60-1A-12. STEWARDS--POWERS--DUTIES--APPEALS.--
A. There shall be three stewards, licensed and employed by the commission, to supervise each horse race meet. One of the stewards shall be designated the presiding official steward of the race meet. Stewards, other than the presiding official steward, shall be employed subject to the approval of the racetrack licensee. All stewards shall be licensed or certified by a nationally recognized horse racing organization. Stewards shall exercise those powers and duties prescribed by commission rules.
B. A decision or action of a steward may be [reviewed or reconsidered by the commission] appealed in writing to the commission, within ten days of the decision or action or the right to appeal expires, upon the filing of a fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to cover the reasonable cost of the appeal and compensation for the hearing officer. The fee shall be deposited in the horse racing appeal fund. An appeal to the commission shall be heard before a hearing officer and decided in the same manner and subject to the same terms as hearings pursuant to Section 60-1A-5 NMSA 1978. Upon the filing of the fee, the commission shall stay the decision or action of the stewards until the hearing officer has entered a final decision on the merits in the appeal. If the person filing the appeal prevails on all issues raised in the appeal, the filing fee shall be refunded by the commission to the person within ten days of the final decision."
SECTION 4. A new section of the Horse Racing Act is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] HORSE RACING APPEAL FUND--APPROPRIATION--USES.--The "horse racing appeal fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and amounts designated pursuant to Subsection B of Section 60-1A-12 NMSA 1978. Income from investment of the fund shall be credited to the fund. The commission shall administer the fund, and money in the fund is appropriated to the commission to help defray the costs of adjudicatory hearings and compensation for hearing officers and to reimburse appeal fees to persons who have prevailed on all issues raised in an appeal to the commission from a decision or action of the stewards pursuant to the Horse Racing Act. Expenditures from the fund shall be made on warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the executive director of the commission."
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2014.
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