Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith for the continuation of the racing industry in the commonwealth, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 494 of the acts of 1978 is hereby amended by striking out sections 11 and 12 and inserting in place thereof the following two sections:-

Section 11. During the calendar years nineteen hundred and eighty-five through nineteen hundred and ninety, each running horse track licensee under section three of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws, other than a licensee holding a racing meeting in connection with a state or county fair, shall daily pay: (a) the total sum of the so-called breaks, as defined in section five of said chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A, and a sum equal to one-quarter of one per cent of the total amount wagered by patrons wagering on the speed or ability of running horses into the trust fund known as the Running Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund under the direction and supervision of the state racing commissioners, as they are individuals, as trustees of said trust; and (b) a sum equal to one-quarter of one per cent of the total amount wagered by patrons so wagering into a trust fund to be known as the Running Horse Promotional Trust Fund under the direction and supervision of the state racing commissioners, as they are individuals, as trustees of said trust. Said trustees shall deposit all monies in said trust funds in one or more banks, at interest, within the commonwealth.

Said trustees may expend without appropriation all or any part of the Running Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund to a running horse track licensee for use as all or part of a capital expenditure for alterations, additions, replacements, changes, improvements or major repairs to or upon the property owned or leased by such licensee and used by it for the conduct of racing; and said trustees may expend without appropriation all or any part of the Running Horse Promotional Trust Fund to such licensee for use in promotional marketing, to reduce the costs of admission, programs, parking and concessions, and to offer other entertainment and give-aways; provided, however, that no licensee shall receive an amount in excess of the amount attributable to said licensee in such trust funds.

Said trustees may prescribe terms and conditions for such grants, provided, however, that, prior to approving any expenditures from said trust funds, the trustees shall require the licensee to submit to them detailed business plans describing the specific promotions and capital improvements contemplated by the licensee and shall formally vote to permit such expenditures; and, provided further, that under no circumstances shall the trustees permit the expenditure of trust funds for purposes not directly related to the improvement of running horse racing or for the raising of handles and attendance. Such licensee shall comply with all applicable provisions of chapter one hundred and forty-nine of the General Laws unless such compliance is waived by the commission in writing for cause.

No such expenditure for such capital improvements or for such promotions shall be approved by the trustees if such improvements or promotions are to be accomplished pursuant to a contract with a person, corporation, partnership, trust or any combination of the same or any other entity owned wholly or in part by a person, corporation, partnership, trust or any combination of the same or any other entity which owns or operates or holds any interest in any racetrack in the commonwealth.

The trustees shall hire the services of such architectural and engineering consultants as they deem appropriate to advise them generally and to evaluate proposed capital improvement projects submitted to them for their approval.

Nothing herein contained shall preclude a running horse track from making capital improvements or undertaking promotional operations not funded in whole or in part from such funds; provided, however, that all sums approved by said trustees hereunder shall be expended in their entirety for capital improvements or for promotions; and provided, further, that any revision by said licensee in the making of capital improvements or in promotional plans as hereinbefore provided, shall require separate written approval by the trustees therefor. All financial statements required under section six of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws shall be accompanied by a statement signed under the pains and penalties of perjury by the chief financial officer of the licensee, setting forth the capital improvements made and the promotions completed with funds obtained under this section and further certifying that such expenditures are treated as capital expenditures and promotional expenditures in the accompanying financial statement.

The trustees shall require from a running horse racetrack such vouchers, cancelled checks or other documents as said trustees they deem necessary to verify that the expenditures from said funds were carried out in accordance with the provisions of this section.

Funds paid by licensees and deposited by the commission in the Running Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund and in the Running Horse Promotional Trust Fund shall remain in said funds until expended under this section; provided, however, that any amount in said accounts as of December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety which has not been so expended or as to which no binding commitment has been made by said trustees shall thereupon be deposited in the General Fund.

Section 12. During the calendar years nineteen hundred and eighty-five through nineteen hundred and ninety, each harness horse track licensee under section three of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws, other than a licensee holding a racing meeting in connection with a state or county fair shall daily pay: (a) the total sum of the so-called breaks, as defined in section five of said chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A, and a sum equal to one per cent of the total amount wagered by patrons wagering on the speed or ability of a combination of more than one harness horse in a single pool, exotic wagering, so-called, into the trust fund known as the Harness Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund and under the direction and supervision of the state racing commissioners, as they are individuals, as trustees of said trust; and (b) a sum equal to one per cent of the total amount wagered by patrons so wagering on said exotic races into a trust fund to be known as the Harness Horse Promotional Trust Fund under the direction and supervision of the state racing commissioners, as they are individuals, as trustees of said trust. Said trustees shall deposit all monies in said trust funds in one or more banks, at interest, within the commonwealth.

Said trustees may expend without appropriation all or any part of the Harness Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund to a harness horse track licensee for use as all or part of a capital expenditure for alterations, additions, replacements, changes, improvements or major repairs to or upon the property owned or leased by such licensee and used by it for the conduct of racing; and said trustees may expend without appropriation all or any part of the Harness Horse Promotional Trust Fund to such licensee for use in promotional marketing, to reduce the costs of admission, programs, parking and concessions, and to offer other entertainment and give-aways; provided, however, that no licensee shall receive an amount in excess of the amount attributable to said licensee in such trust funds.

Said trustees may prescribe terms and conditions for such grants; provided however, that prior to approving any expenditures from said trust funds, the trustees shall require the licensee to submit to them detailed business plans describing the specific promotions and capital improvements contemplated by the licensee and shall formally vote to permit such expenditures; and, provided further, that under no circumstances shall the trustees permit the expenditure of trust funds for purposes not directly related to the improvement of harness horse racing or for the raising of handles and attendance. Such licensee shall comply with all applicable provisions of chapter one hundred and forty-nine of the General Laws unless such compliance is waived by the commission in writing for cause.

No such expenditure for capital improvements or for promotions shall be approved by the trustees if such improvements or promotions are to be accomplished pursuant to a contract with a person, corporation, partnership, trust or any combination of the same or any other entity owned wholly or in part by a person, corporation, partnership, trust or any combination of the same or any other entity which owns or operates or holds any interest in any racetrack in the commonwealth.

The trustees shall hire the services of such architectural and engineering consultants as they deem appropriate to advise them generally and to evaluate capital improvement projects submitted to them for their approval.

Nothing herein contained shall preclude a harness horse track from making capital improvements or undertaking promotional operations not funded in whole or in part from such funds; provided, however, that all sums approved by said trustees hereunder shall be expended in their entirety for capital improvements or for promotions; and provided, further, that any revision by said licensee in the making of capital improvements or in promotional plans as hereinbefore provided, shall require separate written approval by the trustees therefor. All financial statements required under section six of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws shall be accompanied by a statement signed under the pains and penalties of perjury by the chief financial officer of the licensee, setting forth the capital improvements made and the promotions completed with funds obtained under this section and further certifying that such expenditures are treated as capital expenditures and promotional expenditures in the accompanying financial statement.

The trustees shall require from a harness racetrack such vouchers, cancelled checks or other documents as said trustees deem necessary to verify that the expenditures from said funds were carried out in accordance with the provisions of this section.

Funds paid by licensees and deposited by the commission in the Harness Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund and in the Harness Horse Promotional Trust Fund shall remain in said funds until expended under this section; provided, however, that any amount in said accounts as of December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety which has not been so expended or as to which no binding commitment has been made by said trustees shall thereupon be deposited in the General Fund.

SECTION 2. Section 13 of said chapter 494, as amended by section 4 of chapter 558 of the acts of 1981, is hereby further amended by striking out the introductory paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (5) of the first paragraph of section two and of clauses (a) to (q), inclusive, of the third paragraph of section three of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws, during the calendar year nineteen hundred and seventy-eight through nineteen hundred and eighty-six, for clauses (c) and (f), and during the calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-five through nineteen hundred and ninety, for clauses (a), (b), (d), (e), (g) and (h), the licenses to conduct racing meetings shall only be issued under the following conditions:-.

SECTION 3. Said section 13 of said chapter 494 is hereby further amended by striking out clause (b) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(b) no license shall be issued for more than an aggregate of four hundred and forty racing days in any one year at all harness horse racing meetings combined, including harness horse racing meetings at state or county fairs; provided, however, that one hundred and thirty such days may be awarded only for racing in Hampden county during the period between the first day of January and the fourteenth day of April and between the twenty-second day of October and the twenty-first day of December; provided, further, that ten of the remaining three hundred and ten days may be awarded only in connection with a state or county fair; and provided, further, that the harness racing days awarded in Norfolk county, not to exceed three hundred days, shall be awarded over a period of not fewer than forty-five weeks in any calendar year.

SECTION 4. Said section 13 of said chapter 494 is hereby further amended by striking out clause (d) and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-

(d) licenses shall permit racing meetings only between the hours of ten o'clock ante meridian and twelve o'clock midnight; provided, however, that in Suffolk county no dog racing meet shall be conducted prior to seven o'clock post meridian and no running horse racing meet shall be conducted after seven o'clock post meridian except as otherwise provided herein. The state racing commission shall grant authorized dates at such times that are consistent with the best interests of racing and the public; provided, however, that dates for racing meetings held in connection with a state or county fair may only be awarded during the period between the fifteenth day of June and the fifteenth day of October. Said commission may, in its discretion, on written application from a racing licensee made at least seven days prior to the date or dates of any proposed change of time stated in said racing license and without necessity for further public hearing, change the hours of conducting such race meeting between any of the aforesaid hours, notwithstanding the hours set forth on the license; provided, however, that if by reason of national emergency, night illumination is forbidden by public authority, then said commission may, in its discretion, issue a license to permit racing at such hours as said commission may determine between the hours of ten o'clock ante meridian and twelve o'clock midnight. For the purpose of imposing the fee provided for in section four of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws, computing the sums payable to the racing commission pursuant to section fourteen of this chapter, and counting the number of days authorized by clause (a), (b) or (c) of this section, any racing held after seven o'clock post meridian on the same day on which racing is held at the same racetrack prior to seven o'clock post meridian shall be considered a separate day of racing.

SECTION 5. Said section 13 of said chapter 494 is hereby further amended by striking out clause (h) and inserting in place the following clause:-

(h) in granting authorized dates hereunder the state racing commission shall take into consideration, in addition to any other appropriate and pertinent factors, the following: the maximization of state revenues, the suitability of racing facilities for operation at the time of the year for which dates are assigned; the circumstance that large groups of spectators require safe and convenient facilities; the interest of members of the public in racing competition honestly managed and of good quality; the necessity of having and maintaining proper physical facilities for racing meetings and the necessity of according fair treatment to the economic interests and investments of those who in good faith have provided and maintain such facilities.

SECTION 6. Said chapter 494 is hereby further amended by striking out section 15 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 15. During calendar years nineteen hundred and eighty-six through nineteen hundred and ninety, the state racing commission shall include in its annual report filed with the general court pursuant to section forty-eight of chapter six of the General Laws, the following information with respect to the previous calendar year: statements of monies deposited in the Running Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund, the Running Horse Promotional Trust Fund, both established pursuant to section eleven of this act, the Harness Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund and the Harness Horse Promotional Trust Fund, both established pursuant to section twelve of this act, together with a detailed account of monies disbursed from said funds, and the specific capital improvements and promotions for which the disbursements were intended, and a report on which such improvements and promotions have been accomplished; a statement of racing dates awarded to licensees, including those awarded in connection with a state or county fair; and a statement of the total amounts wagered at each racetrack, together with the monies paid to the commonwealth and the commission, purses paid to horse and dog owners and monies retained by each licensee, together with a statement of the net profit of each licensee taken from the financial statements filed under section six of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws. Copies of said report shall be transmitted to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house and the chairmen of the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on government regulations and the joint committee on taxation.

SECTION 7. Paragraph (g) of section 2 of chapter 128 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1984 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 47, the word "five" and inserting in place thereof the word:- twenty.

SECTION 8. Said paragraph (g) of said section 2 of said chapter 128, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The department is further authorized to expend up to eight per cent of the amount appropriated each fiscal year to said program for advertising, marketing and promotion of thoroughbred breeding in Massachusetts.

SECTION 9. The third paragraph of section 5 of said chapter 128A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- No other place or method of betting, poolmaking, wagering or gambling shall be used or permitted by the licensee, nor shall this chapter be deemed to authorize or legalize the pari-mutuel or certificate system of wagering on any races except horse and dog races at the track where such pari-mutuel or certificate system of wagering is conducted; provided, however, that the licensees of running horse racing tracks, harness horse racing tracks, or dog racing tracks, other than running horse racing, harness horse racing, or dog racing conducted in connection with a state or county fair, may, to the full extent permitted under federal law, enter into a contract with a duly licensed racing association in another state to accept wagers on races of national or general interest which are legally held or conducted in that other state and shown by means of live television, such acceptance of wagers and televising of races to be conducted only at the licensee's track; provided, further, that no licensee shall accept wagers on, or televise more than one such race at the licensee's track in any one racing performance; and provided, further, that nothing in this section shall require such races to be of the same kind as are conducted by the Massachusetts licensee seeking said contract and that said contract shall be filed with the commission for its information and said contract shall be considered a public document and shall be open to inspection during normal business hours.

SECTION 10. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fourteen of chapter four hundred and ninety-four of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-eight during the calendar years nineteen hundred and eighty-five through nineteen hundred and ninety, inclusive, each licensee conducting a running horse or a harness horse racing meeting shall return to the winning patrons wagering on the speed or ability of any one harness horse or of any one or more running horses in a race or races all sums so deposited as an award or dividend, according to the acknowledged and recognized rules and method under which such pari-mutuel or certificate system has been operated, less the so-called breaks, as defined in section five of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws, and less an amount not to exceed nineteen per cent of the total amount so deposited by patrons wagering on the speed or ability of any one harness horse or of any one or more running horses, and less the so-called breaks; and each licensee conducting a harness horse racing meeting shall return to the winning patrons wagering on the speed or ability of a combination of more than one harness horse in a single pool, exotic wagering, so-called, all sums so deposited as an award or dividend, according to the acknowledged and recognized rules and method under which such pari-mutuel or certificate system has been operated, less the so-called breaks and less an amount not to exceed twenty-three per cent of the total amount so deposited, and less the so-called breaks.

Each person licensed to conduct a running horse racing meeting, other than a licensee holding a racing meeting in connection with a state or county fair, shall pay to the state racing commission on the day following each day of such horse racing meeting, a sum equal to three per cent of the total amount deposited on the preceding day by the patrons so wagering at such meeting, said percentage to be paid from the nineteen per cent withheld, as provided in this section, from the total amount wagered. A sum equal to one-half of one per cent of the total amount deposited by the patrons wagering on the speed or ability of running horses at pari-mutuel running horse tracks, less the so-called breaks, and taken from the three per cent paid daily to the commission under this paragraph, shall, subject to appropriation, be allocated to the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeding Program established under the provisions of section two of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight of the General Laws; provided, however, that a sum equal to twenty per cent of this allocation shall, subject to appropriation, be expended for equine research, scholarships and loans at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine.

Each licensee conducting a running horse racing meeting, other than a licensee holding a racing meeting in connection with a state or county fair, shall allocate a sum equal to eight and one-half per cent of the total amount deposited daily by the patrons wagering at such meeting. Said percentage shall be used for the payment of purses to the horseowners in accordance with the rules and established customs of conducting running horse racing meetings provided, however, that not less than seven and one-half per cent of the sum so allocated shall be used for the payment of purses on stakes races; and said eight and one-half per cent shall be paid from the nineteen per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered. On and after the effective date of this act, the payment of all purses shall be computed in accordance with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall affect contractual provisions, except provisions relating to the payment of purses on stakes races, in existence before the effective date of this act for payment of monies from purses to the association representing a majority of horseowners at the racetrack.

Each such licensee may retain as its commission on the total of all sums so deposited, a sum not exceeding the balance of the nineteen per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered after deducting therefrom the amount hereinbefore required to be paid to said commission, after deducting therefrom the amount required to be paid for purses at running horse racing meetings, and after deducting therefrom the amounts required to be paid into the Running Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund and into the Running Horse Promotional Trust Fund.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this section, once a licensee conducting a running horse racing meeting has reached the level of the total amount wagered during the previous year, such licensee shall retain daily as its commission a sum not exceeding the balance of the nineteen per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered in the current year after deducting therefrom three per cent to be paid to the commission and after deducting therefrom seven per cent to be paid as purses, and less the so-called breaks to be paid into the Running Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund. For purposes of this paragraph, the total amount wagered at a running horse racing meeting during the previous year shall be the product of the average amount wagered at such licensee's track during the previous year multiplied by the number of available racing days for the current year.

Each person licensed to conduct a harness horse racing meeting, including a licensee holding a harness racing meeting in connection with a state or county fair, shall pay to the commission on the day following each day of such horse racing meeting, a sum equal to three per cent of the total amount deposited on the preceding day by the patrons so wagering at such meeting, said percentage to be paid from the nineteen per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered, or from the twenty-three per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered on exotic races, excluding races conducted in connection with a state or county fair. A sum equal to one per cent of the total amount deposited by the patrons wagering on the speed or ability of harness horses at pari-mutuel harness horse racing meetings in the commonwealth, less the so-called breaks, and taken from the three per cent paid daily to the commission under this paragraph, shall, subject to appropriation, be allocated to the Massachusetts standardbred agricultural fair and breeding fund committee established under the provisions of section ten of chapter twenty of the General Laws.

Each licensee conducting a harness racing meeting, including a licensee holding a racing meeting in connection with a state or county fair, shall allocate a sum equal to eight per cent of the total amount deposited daily by the patrons wagering at such meeting, and a sum equal to ten per cent of the total amount deposited daily by patrons wagering on the speed or ability of a combination of more than one harness horse in a single pool, exotic wagering, so-called, said percentages to be used for the payment of purses to the horseowners in accordance with the rules and established customs of conducting harness racing meetings. Said eight per cent is to be paid from the nineteen per cent withheld, as provided in this section from the total amount wagered. Said ten per cent is to be paid from the twenty-three per cent withheld, as provided in this section, from the total amount wagered on exotic races. On and after the effective date of this act the payment of all purses is to be computed in accordance with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall affect contractual provisions for payment of monies from purses, except purses on exotic races, so-called, to the association representing a majority of horseowners at the racetrack.

Each such licensee may retain as its commission on the total of all sums so deposited, a sum not exceeding the balance of the nineteen or twenty-three per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered after deducting therefrom the amount hereinbefore required to be paid to the racing commission, after deducting therefrom the applicable amount required to be paid for purses at harness racing meetings, and after deducting therefrom, as applicable, the amounts required to be paid into the Harness Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund and into the Harness Horse Promotional Trust Fund.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this section, once a licensee conducting a harness horse racing meeting has reached the level of the total amount wagered during the previous year, such licensee shall retain daily as its commission a sum not exceeding the balance of the nineteen or twenty-three per cent withheld as provided in this section from the total amount wagered in the current year after deducting therefrom the amount hereinbefore required to be paid to the racing commission and after deducting therefrom the applicable amounts required to be paid as purses, and less the so-called breaks to be paid into the Harness Horse Capital Improvements Trust Fund. For purposes of this paragraph, the total amount wagered at a harness horse racing meeting during the previous year shall be the product of the average amount wagered at such licensee's track during the previous year multiplied by the number of available racing days for the current year.

SECTION 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of clauses (a) to (q), inclusive, of the third paragraph of section three of chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A of the General Laws, any person licensed to conduct a harness horse racing meet, not including harness horse meetings held in connection with a state or county fair, may, within seven days of the effective date of this act, make application for additional racing dates for the remainder of nineteen hundred and eighty-five to the state racing commission. The commission shall award no more than the additional dates authorized by this act for calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-five to said licensee and issue a license therefor upon application so filed for such racing meet to be held or conducted in calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-five. Said commission's procedures for hearings upon all such applications shall be the same as the procedures on supplementary applications for racing meetings filed under said chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A; provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph shall authorize the commission to change the hours or dates of any racing meet granted to any licensee prior to the effective date of this act.

For racing dates authorized for the calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-six, a harness track licensee who held or conducted racing meetings during calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-five may submit, resubmit, or amend its application for a license to hold or conduct racing meetings for calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-six within fifteen days after the effective date of this act, notwithstanding the provisions of said chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A. The commission may award such racing meetings and issue a license therefor upon application so filed for all harness racing meetings to be held in calendar year nineteen hundred and eighty-six; provided, however, that said commission's procedures shall be the same as for original applications for racing meetings filed under the provisions of said chapter one hundred and twenty-eight A.

SECTION 12. There is hereby established a special commission, to consist of four members of the senate, seven members of the house of representatives and ten persons to be appointed by the governor, for the purpose of making an investigation and study of current issues and problems in the greyhound racing industry within the commonwealth.

Said commission shall, in the course of its investigation and study, consider the general impact of the greyhound racing industry on the Massachusetts economy, the new competitive conditions resulting from the reopening of Rockingham Park in the state of New Hampshire, trends in the total amounts wagered at greyhound racetracks operating within the commonwealth and the greyhound pari-mutuel tax structure.

Said commission shall report to the house of representatives the results of its investigation and study, and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerk of the house of representatives on or before April thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eighty-six.