BILL REQ. #:  S-1696.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/21/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to Washington horse racing funds; and amending RCW 67.16.105 and 67.16.280.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 67.16.105 and 2010 c 39 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Licensees of race meets that are nonprofit in nature and are of ten days or less ((shall be)) are exempt from payment of a parimutuel tax.
     (2) Licensees that do not fall under subsection (1) of this section ((shall)) must withhold and pay to the commission daily for each authorized day of parimutuel wagering the following applicable percentage of all daily gross receipts from its in-state parimutuel machines:
     (a) If the gross receipts of all its in-state parimutuel machines are more than fifty million dollars in the previous calendar year, the licensee ((shall)) must withhold and pay to the commission daily 1.30 percent of the daily gross receipts; and
     (b) If the gross receipts of all its in-state parimutuel machines are fifty million dollars or less in the previous calendar year, the licensee ((shall)) must withhold and pay to the commission daily 1.803 percent of the daily gross receipts.
     (3)(a) In addition to those amounts in subsection (2) of this section, a licensee ((shall)) must forward one-tenth of one percent of the daily gross receipts of all its in-state parimutuel machines to the commission for payment to those nonprofit race meets as set forth in RCW 67.16.130 and subsection (1) of this section, but ((said)) the percentage ((shall)) may not be charged against the licensee.
     (b) Payments to nonprofit race meets under this subsection ((shall)) must be distributed on a per-race-day basis and used only for purses at race tracks that have been operating under RCW 67.16.130 and subsection (1) of this section in 2010 or for the five consecutive years immediately preceding the year of payment.
     (c) As provided in this subsection, the commission ((shall)) must distribute funds ((equal)) up to fifteen thousand eight hundred dollars per race day from funds generated under this subsection (3).
     (4) ((If the funds generated under subsection (3) of this section are not sufficient to fund purses equal to fifteen thousand eight hundred dollars per race day, the commission is authorized to fund these purses from the following in the order provided below:
     (a) First from fines imposed by the board of stewards and the commission in a calendar year;
     (b) Second from a commission approved percentage of any source market fee generated from advance deposit wagering as authorized in RCW 67.16.260;
     (c) Third from interest earned from the Washington horse racing commission operating account created in RCW 67.16.280; and
     (d) Fourth from the Washington horse racing commission operating account created in RCW 67.16.280.
     (5) Funds generated under subsection (3) of this section that are in excess of fifteen thousand eight hundred dollars per race day must be returned to the licensee or licensees from which the funds were collected.
     (6) Funds generated from any of the sources listed in subsection (4) of this section that are not needed in a calendar year to fund purses under subsection (3) of this section must be deposited in the Washington horse racing commission operating account.
     (7))) Beginning July 1, 1999, at the conclusion of each authorized race meet, the commission ((shall)) must calculate the mathematical average daily gross receipts of parimutuel wagering that is conducted only at the physical location of the live race meet at those race meets of licensees with gross receipts of all their in-state parimutuel machines of more than fifty million dollars. Such calculation shall include only the gross parimutuel receipts from wagering occurring on live racing dates, including live racing receipts and receipts derived from one simulcast race card that is conducted only at the physical location of the live racing meet, which, for the purposes of this subsection, is "the handle." If the calculation exceeds eight hundred eighty-six thousand dollars, the licensee ((shall)) must within ten days of receipt of written notification by the commission forward to the commission a sum equal to the product obtained by multiplying 0.6 percent by the handle. Sums collected by the commission under this subsection ((shall)) must be forwarded on the next business day following receipt thereof to the state treasurer to be deposited in the fair fund created in RCW 15.76.115.

Sec. 2   RCW 67.16.280 and 2006 c 174 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The Washington horse racing commission operating account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts collected by the commission under RCW 67.16.105(2) must be deposited into the account. The commission has the authority to receive such gifts, grants, and endowments from public or private sources as may be made from time to time in trust or otherwise for the use and purpose of regulating or supporting nonprofit race meets as set forth in RCW 67.16.130 and 67.16.105(1); such gifts, grants, and endowments must also be deposited into the account and expended according to the terms of such gift, grant, or endowment. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, expenditures from the account may be used only for operating expenses of the commission. Investment earnings from the account ((must be distributed to)) will be retained in the Washington horse racing commission ((class C purse fund)) operating account, ((created in RCW 67.16.285,)) pursuant to RCW 43.79A.040.
     (2) In order to provide funding in support of the legislative findings in RCW 67.16.101 (1) through (3), and to provide additional necessary support to the nonprofit race meets beyond the funding provided by RCW 67.16.101(4) and 67.16.102(2), the commission is authorized to spend up to three hundred thousand dollars per fiscal year from its operating account for the purpose of developing the equine industry, maintaining and upgrading racing facilities, and assisting equine health research. When determining how to allocate the funds available for these purposes, the commission ((shall)) must give first consideration to uses that regulate and assist the nonprofit race meets and equine health research. These expenditures may occur only when sufficient funds remain for the continued operations of the horse racing commission.