House Bill 0979c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 979

        By the Committee on Regulated Services and Representative
    Andrews





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to pari-mutuel wagering;

  3         creating s. 550.654, F.S.; creating the

  4         Pari-mutuel Consolidation Act of 2000;

  5         providing legislative intent; providing for the

  6         consolidation of live operations under certain

  7         circumstances; providing for intertrack

  8         wagering; providing limitations; providing a

  9         definition; providing requirements for

10         operation under the act; providing for

11         application; providing for deconsolidation;

12         amending s. 849.086, F.S.; conforming to the

13         act; providing requirements if more than one

14         permitholder operates at a facility; providing

15         an effective date.

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17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Section 550.654, Florida Statutes, is

20  created to read:

21         550.654  Consolidation of live pari-mutuel operations

22  authorized.--

23         (1)  This section may be cited as the "Pari-mutuel

24  Consolidation Act of 2000."

25         (2)  It is the intent of the Legislature to allow the

26  pari-mutuel industry to participate in emerging technology and

27  to consolidate live operations in overlapping market areas in

28  order to better utilize and maintain facilities through

29  economies of scale.

30         (3)  In the event that any two permitholders with the

31  same class of permit are located in overlapping market areas,

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  1  by mutual agreement either one of them may, at any time,

  2  consolidate live operations with the other by leasing the

  3  other permitholder's pari-mutuel facilities for the operation

  4  of its entire live meet. For purposes of this subsection and

  5  s. 550.475, "same class" of permit means, with respect to

  6  harness or standardbred horse permitholders, any horse track

  7  permitholder. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent more

  8  than one permitholder from consolidating live operations with

  9  one or more permitholders at a single pari-mutuel facility.

10         (4)  Provided that the lessee permitholder has operated

11  a full schedule of live racing or games during the preceding

12  year, it shall be entitled to be licensed to conduct

13  intertrack wagering at either the consolidated pari-mutuel

14  facilities or at a separate intertrack facility located within

15  its market area, provided that pari-mutuel wagering continues

16  to be authorized in the county in which the intertrack

17  facility is located and provided that the intertrack facility

18  does not operate within the market area of any other

19  permitholder of the same class during that permitholder's live

20  meet unless it first obtains the written consent of the same

21  class operating permitholder.

22         (5)  The number of locations with pari-mutuel wagering

23  after any consolidation of pari-mutuel permits shall not be

24  expanded beyond the number of locations that would be

25  permissible if all pari-mutuel permitholders were to conduct

26  live performances at facilities of their own.

27         (6)  An "intertrack facility" means a pari-mutuel

28  facility used by a permitholder to conduct intertrack wagering

29  as defined in s. 550.002(17), and shall constitute a guest

30  track as defined in s. 550.002. Intertrack facilities shall be

31  permitted to conduct intertrack wagering at any time on the

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  1  same class of races or games as their permitholders and on

  2  those pari-mutuel events on which the permitholders would be

  3  able to accept intertrack wagers if they were conducting live

  4  operations at the locations of their intertrack facilities,

  5  and except as provided in this section, shall be subject to

  6  the provisions of ss. 550.3551, 550.615, 550.625, and

  7  550.6305. A wager at an intertrack facility authorized by this

  8  section constitutes an intertrack wager as this term is

  9  defined in s. 550.002. The provisions of s. 565.02 shall also

10  apply to each intertrack facility.

11         (7)  Two or more permitholders participating in a

12  consolidation of live operations may form a business entity to

13  operate one or more intertrack facilities, provided that in no

14  event shall the total number of live pari-mutuel and

15  intertrack facilities exceed the number of pari-mutuel

16  facilities that would exist if all pari-mutuel permitholders

17  were conducting live operations at their own facilities, and

18  further provided that no person, firm, or entity except a

19  pari-mutuel entity shall own, directly or indirectly, any

20  interest in an intertrack facility.

21         (8)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

22  chapter, a permitholder which has consolidated and is

23  conducting its live performances at the facility of another

24  same class permitholder shall pay taxes on live and intertrack

25  handle at a rate which is no higher than any other same class

26  permitholder which operates at the same facility. This

27  subsection does not apply to a consolidation between

28  thoroughbred permitholders.

29         (9)  The provisions of this section apply equally to

30  every consolidation of live pari-mutuel operations resulting

31

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  1  in more than one permitholder operating at the same location,

  2  regardless of the date of such consolidation.

  3         (10)  Nothing contained within this chapter shall

  4  prevent a permitholder which has consolidated its live

  5  operations at the location of another permitholder from

  6  deconsolidating and operating its live performances at any

  7  other location permitted by law.

  8         Section 2.  Paragraphs (b) and (d) of subsection (5) of

  9  section 849.086, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

10         849.086  Cardrooms authorized.--

11         (5)  LICENSE REQUIRED; APPLICATION; FEES.--No person

12  may operate a cardroom in this state unless such person holds

13  a valid cardroom license issued pursuant to this section.

14         (b)  After the initial cardroom license is granted, the

15  application for the annual license renewal shall be made in

16  conjunction with the applicant's annual application for its

17  pari-mutuel license.  In order for a cardroom license to be

18  renewed the applicant must have requested, as part of its

19  pari-mutuel annual license application, to conduct at least 90

20  percent of the total number of live performances conducted by

21  such permitholder during either the state fiscal year in which

22  its initial cardroom license was issued or the state fiscal

23  year immediately prior thereto, or, in the event that more

24  than one permitholder is operating at a facility, each of the

25  permitholders must have applied for a license to conduct a

26  full schedule of live racing.

27         (d)  The annual cardroom license fee for each facility

28  shall be $1,000 for the first table and $500 for each

29  additional table to be operated at the cardroom.  This license

30  fee shall be deposited by the division with the Treasurer to

31  the credit of the Pari-mutuel Wagering Trust Fund.

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  1         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  2  law.

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