The Florida Senate

550.105  Occupational licenses of racetrack employees; fees; denial, suspension, and revocation of license; penalties and fines.--

(1)  Each person connected with a racetrack or jai alai fronton, as specified in paragraph (2)(a), shall purchase from the division an annual occupational license, which license is valid from May 1 until June 30 of the following year. All moneys collected pursuant to this section each fiscal year shall be deposited into the Pari-mutuel Wagering Trust Fund. Any person may, at her or his option and pursuant to the rules adopted by the division, purchase an occupational license valid for a period of 3 years if the purchaser of the license pays the full occupational license fee for each of the years for which the license is purchased at the time the 3-year license is requested. The occupational license shall be valid during its specified term at any pari-mutuel facility.

(2)(a)  The following licenses shall be issued to persons or entities with access to the backside, racing animals, jai alai players' room, jockeys' room, drivers' room, totalisator room, the mutuels, or money room, or to persons who, by virtue of the position they hold, might be granted access to these areas or to any other person or entity in one of the following categories and with scheduled annual fees as follows:

1.  Business licenses: any business such as a vendor, contractual concessionaire, contract kennel, business owning racing animals, trust or estate, totalisator company, stable name, or other fictitious name: $50.

2.  Professional occupational licenses: professional persons with access to the backside of a racetrack or players' quarters in jai alai such as trainers, officials, veterinarians, doctors, nurses, EMT's, jockeys and apprentices, drivers, jai alai players, owners, trustees, or any management or officer or director or shareholder or any other professional-level person who might have access to the jockeys' room, the drivers' room, the backside, racing animals, kennel compound, or managers or supervisors requiring access to mutuels machines, the money room, or totalisator equipment: $40.

3.  General occupational licenses: general employees with access to the jockeys' room, the drivers' room, racing animals, the backside of a racetrack or players' quarters in jai alai, such as grooms, kennel helpers, leadouts, pelota makers, cesta makers, or ball boys, or a practitioner of any other occupation who would have access to the animals, the backside, or the kennel compound, or who would provide the security or maintenance of these areas, or mutuel employees, totalisator employees, money-room employees, or any employee with access to mutuels machines, the money room, or totalisator equipment or who would provide the security or maintenance of these areas: $10.

The individuals and entities that are licensed under this paragraph require heightened state scrutiny, including the submission by the individual licensees or persons associated with the entities described in this chapter of fingerprints for a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal records check.

(b)  The division shall adopt rules pertaining to pari-mutuel occupational licenses.

(3)  Certified public accountants and attorneys licensed to practice in this state shall not be required to hold an occupational license under this section while providing accounting or legal services to a permitholder if the certified public accountant's or attorney's primary place of employment is not on the permitholder premises.

(4)  It is unlawful to take part in or officiate in any way at any pari-mutuel facility without first having secured a license and paid the occupational license fee.

(5)(a)  The division may:

1.  Deny a license to or revoke, suspend, or place conditions upon or restrictions on a license of any person who has been refused a license by any other state racing commission or racing authority;

2.  Deny, suspend, or place conditions on a license of any person who is under suspension or has unpaid fines in another jurisdiction;

if the state racing commission or racing authority of such other state or jurisdiction extends to the division reciprocal courtesy to maintain the disciplinary control.

(b)  The division may deny, suspend, revoke, or declare ineligible any occupational license if the applicant for or holder thereof has violated the provisions of this chapter or the rules of the division governing the conduct of persons connected with racetracks and frontons. In addition, the division may deny, suspend, revoke, or declare ineligible any occupational license if the applicant for such license has been convicted in this state, in any other state, or under the laws of the United States of a capital felony, a felony, or an offense in any other state which would be a felony under the laws of this state involving arson; trafficking in, conspiracy to traffic in, smuggling, importing, conspiracy to smuggle or import, or delivery, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance; or a crime involving a lack of good moral character, or has had a pari-mutuel license revoked by this state or any other jurisdiction for an offense related to pari-mutuel wagering.

(c)  The division may deny, declare ineligible, or revoke any occupational license if the applicant for such license has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in this state, in any other state, or under the laws of the United States, if such felony or misdemeanor is related to gambling or bookmaking, as contemplated in s. 849.25, or involves cruelty to animals. If the applicant establishes that she or he is of good moral character, that she or he has been rehabilitated, and that the crime she or he was convicted of is not related to pari-mutuel wagering and is not a capital offense, the restrictions excluding offenders may be waived by the director of the division.

(d)  If an occupational license will expire by division rule during the period of a suspension the division intends to impose, or if a license would have expired but for pending administrative charges and the occupational licensee is found to be in violation of any of the charges, the license may be revoked and a time period of license ineligibility may be declared. The division may bring administrative charges against any person not holding a current license for violations of statutes or rules which occurred while such person held an occupational license, and the division may declare such person ineligible to hold a license for a period of time. The division may impose a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each violation of the rules of the division in addition to or in lieu of any other penalty provided for in this section. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the division may exclude from all pari-mutuel facilities in this state, for a period not to exceed the period of suspension, revocation, or ineligibility, any person whose occupational license application has been denied by the division, who has been declared ineligible to hold an occupational license, or whose occupational license has been suspended or revoked by the division.

(e)  The division may cancel any occupational license that has been voluntarily relinquished by the licensee.

(6)  In order to promote the orderly presentation of pari-mutuel meets authorized in this chapter, the division may issue a temporary occupational license. The division shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. However, no temporary occupational license shall be valid for more than 30 days, and no more than one temporary license may be issued for any person in any year.

(7)  The division may deny, revoke, or suspend any occupational license if the applicant therefor or holder thereof accumulates unpaid obligations or defaults in obligations, or issues drafts or checks that are dishonored or for which payment is refused without reasonable cause, if such unpaid obligations, defaults, or dishonored or refused drafts or checks directly relate to the sport of jai alai or racing being conducted at a pari-mutuel facility within this state.

(8)  The division may fine, or suspend or revoke, or place conditions upon, the license of any licensee who under oath knowingly provides false information regarding an investigation by the division.

(9)  The tax imposed by this section is in lieu of all license, excise, or occupational taxes to the state or any county, municipality, or other political subdivision, except that, if a race meeting or game is held or conducted in a municipality, the municipality may assess and collect an additional tax against any person conducting live racing or games within its corporate limits, which tax may not exceed $150 per day for horseracing or $50 per day for dogracing or jai alai. Except as provided in this chapter, a municipality may not assess or collect any additional excise or revenue tax against any person conducting race meetings within the corporate limits of the municipality or against any patron of any such person.

(10)  Upon application for an occupational license, the division may require the applicant's full legal name; any nickname, alias, or maiden name for the applicant; name of the applicant's spouse; the applicant's date of birth, residence address, mailing address, residence address and business phone number, and social security number; disclosure of any felony or any conviction involving bookmaking, illegal gambling, or cruelty to animals; disclosure of any past or present enforcement or actions by any racing or gaming agency against the applicant; and any information the division determines is necessary to establish the identity of the applicant or to establish that the applicant is of good moral character. Fingerprints shall be taken in a manner approved by the division and then shall be submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or to the association of state officials regulating pari-mutuel wagering pursuant to the Federal Pari-mutuel Licensing Simplification Act of 1988. The cost of processing fingerprints shall be borne by the applicant and paid to the association of state officials regulating pari-mutuel wagering from the trust fund to which the processing fees are deposited. The division shall require each applicant for an occupational license to have the applicant's signature witnessed and notarized or signed in the presence of a division official. The division, by rule, may require additional information from licensees which is reasonably necessary to regulate the industry. The division may, by rule, exempt certain occupations or groups of persons from the fingerprinting requirements.

History.--s. 16, ch. 92-348; s. 6, ch. 95-390; s. 28, ch. 97-98; s. 784, ch. 97-103; s. 23, ch. 2000-354.