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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | September 16, 2019 04:20 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Martin T. Causer |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Cosponsor - Horse Racing Sunset |
| In the very near future, I will introduce legislation that will amend the Race Horse Industry Reform chapter of the Agriculture Code to eliminate a sunset date and continue the status quo for how the costs of racehorse medication testing are paid. Medication testing is a necessary aspect of enforcing the integrity of horse racing. Without it, horse racing cannot occur. When the entire horse racing law was amended and added to the Agriculture Code in 2016, it included a four-year provision that the funding for the expenses associated with the collection and research of testing racehorses for medication would come from a transfer from the Race Horse Development Trust Fund (RHDTF). The RHDTF is funded from a tax on slot machine play at our casinos. After June 30, 2020, the funding for medication testing will revert to the State Racing Fund (SRF), which is funded by horse racing-related license fees and a tax on pari-mutuel handle (betting activity). The SRF is not solvent enough to support the amount necessary to cover the costs of medication testing (approximately $10 million). My proposal will eliminate the sunset date and the source of funding to pay for medication testing will continue to be the RHDTF. Please consider cosponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB1983