ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 197
(By Senators Wooton, Oliverio, Ross, Wagner,
Buckalew, Dittmar, Bowman and White)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported January 26, 1995.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article twenty-three,
chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the taxation of
horse and dog racing and pari-mutuel wagering and the
disposition of revenues; the greyhound breeding development
fund; and providing that awards and purses from the fund may
only be paid to an owner of a West Virginia whelped greyhound
who is a resident of this state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 23. HORSE AND DOG RACING.
PART VII. TAXATION OF HORSE AND DOG RACING AND PARI-MUTUEL
WAGERING; DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.
§19-23-10. Daily license tax; pari-mutuel pools tax; how taxes
paid; alternate tax; credits.
(a) Any racing association conducting thoroughbred racing at any
horse racetrack in this state shall pay each day upon which horse
races are run a daily license tax of two hundred fifty dollars. Any
racing association conducting harness racing at any horse racetrack
in this state shall pay each day upon which horse races are run a
daily license tax of one hundred fifty dollars. Any racing
association conducting dog races shall pay each day upon which dog
races are run a daily license tax of one hundred fifty dollars. In
the event thoroughbred racing, harness racing, dog racing or any
combination of the foregoing are conducted on the same day at the
same racetrack by the same racing association, only one daily license
tax in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars shall be paid for that
day. Any daily license tax shall not apply to any local, county or
state fair, horse show or agricultural or livestock exposition at
which horse racing is conducted for not more than six days.
(b) Any racing association licensed by the racing commission to
conduct thoroughbred racing and permitting and conducting pari-mutuel
wagering under the provisions of this article shall, in addition to
the daily license tax set forth in subsection (a) of this section,
pay to the racing commission, from the commission deducted each day
by the licensee from the pari-mutuel pools on thoroughbred racing a
tax calculated on the total daily contribution of all pari-mutuel
pools conducted or made at any and every thoroughbred race meeting
of the licensee licensed under the provisions of this article. The
tax, on the pari-mutuel pools conducted or made each day during the
months of January, February, March, October, November and December,
shall from the effective date of this section and for fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred eighty-five be calculated at two and six-tenths
percent; for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-six, be
calculated at two and three-tenths percent; for fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred eighty-seven, be calculated at two percent of
the pool; for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, be
calculated at one and one-half percent; for fiscal year one thousand
nine hundred eighty-nine, be calculated at one percent of the pool;
for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety, seven tenths of one percent; and for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one and
each fiscal year thereafter, be calculated at four tenths of one
percent of the pool; and, on the pari-mutuel pools conducted or made
each day during all other months, shall from the effective date of
this section and for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-
five, be calculated at three and six-tenths percent; for fiscal year
one thousand nine hundred eighty-six, be calculated at three and
three-tenths percent; for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
eighty-seven, be calculated at three percent of the pool; for fiscal
year one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, be calculated at two and
one-half percent; for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred eighty-
nine, be calculated at two percent of the pool; for fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred ninety, be calculated at one and seven-tenths
percent of the pool; and for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one and each fiscal year thereafter, be calculated at one and
four-tenths percent of the pool:
Provided, That out of the amount
realized from the three tenths of one percent decrease in the tax
effective for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one and
thereafter, which decrease correspondingly increases the amount of
commission retained by the licensee, the licensee shall annually expend or dedicate: (i) One half of the realized amount for capital
improvements in its barn area at the track, subject to the racing
commission's prior approval of the plans for the improvements; and
(ii) the remaining one half of the realized amount for capital
improvements as the licensee may determine appropriate at the track.
The term "capital improvement" shall be as defined by the Internal
Revenue Code:
Provided, however, That any racing association
operating a horse racetrack in this state having an average daily
pari-mutuel pool on horse racing of two hundred eighty thousand
dollars or less per day for the race meetings of the preceding
calendar year shall, in lieu of payment of the pari-mutuel pool tax,
calculated as in this subsection, be permitted to conduct pari-mutuel
wagering at the horse racetrack on the basis of a daily pari-mutuel
pool tax fixed as follows: On the daily pari-mutuel pool not
exceeding three hundred thousand dollars the daily pari-mutuel pool
tax shall be one thousand dollars plus the otherwise applicable
percentage rate imposed by this subsection of the daily pari-mutuel
pool, if any, in excess of three hundred thousand dollars:
Provided
further, That upon the effective date of the reduction of the daily
pari-mutuel pool tax to one thousand dollars from the former two thousand dollars, the association or licensee shall daily deposit
five hundred dollars into the special fund for regular purses
established by subdivision (1), subsection (b), section nine of this
article:
And provided further, That if an association or licensee
qualifying for the foregoing alternate tax conducts more than one
racing performance, each consisting of up to ten races in a calendar
day, the association or licensee shall pay both the daily license tax
imposed in subsection (a) of this section and the alternate tax in
this subsection for each performance:
And provided further, That a
licensee qualifying for the foregoing alternate tax is excluded from
participation in the fund established by section thirteen-b of this
article:
And provided further, That this exclusion shall not apply
to any thoroughbred racetrack at which the licensee has participated
in the West Virginia thoroughbred development fund for more than four
consecutive years prior to the thirty-first day of December, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-two.
(c) Any racing association licensed by the racing commission to
conduct harness racing and permitting and conducting pari-mutuel
wagering under the provisions of this article shall, in addition to
the daily license tax required under subsection (a) of this section, pay to the racing commission, from the commission deducted each day
by the licensee from the pari-mutuel pools on harness racing, as a
tax, three percent of the first one hundred thousand dollars wagered,
or any part thereof; four percent of the next one hundred fifty
thousand dollars; and five and three-fourths percent of all over that
amount wagered each day in all pari-mutuel pools conducted or made
at any and every harness race meeting of the licensee licensed under
the provisions of this article.
(d) Any racing association licensed by the racing commission to
conduct dog racing and permitting and conducting pari-mutuel wagering
under the provisions of this article shall, in addition to the daily
license tax required under subsection (a) of this section, pay to the
racing commission, from the commission deducted each day by the
licensee from the pari-mutuel pools on dog racing, as a tax, four
percent of the first fifty thousand dollars or any part thereof of
the pari-mutuel pools; five percent of the next fifty thousand
dollars of the pari-mutuel pools; six percent of the next one hundred
thousand dollars of the pari-mutuel pools; seven percent of the next
one hundred fifty thousand dollars of the pari-mutuel pools; and
eight percent of all over three hundred fifty thousand dollars wagered each day:
Provided, That the licensee shall deduct daily
from the pari-mutuel tax an amount equal to one tenth of one percent
of the daily pari-mutuel pools in dog racing in fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred ninety; fifteen hundredths of one percent in
fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one; two tenths of one
percent in fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-two; one
quarter of one percent in fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three; and three tenths of one percent in fiscal year one
thousand nine hundred ninety-four and every fiscal year thereafter.
The amounts deducted shall be paid to the racing commission to be
deposited by the racing commission in a banking institution of its
choice in a special account to be known as "West Virginia Racing
Commission-Special Account-West Virginia Greyhound Breeding
Development Fund". The purpose of the fund is to promote better
breeding and racing of greyhounds in the state through awards and
purses to resident owners of accredited West Virginia whelped
greyhounds. In order to be eligible to receive an award or purse
through the fund, the owner of the accredited West Virginia whelped
greyhound must be a resident of this state. The moneys shall be
expended by the racing commission for purses for stake races, supplemental purse awards, administration, promotion and educational
programs involving West Virginia whelped dogs owned by residents of
this state, under rules and regulations promulgated by the racing
commission. The racing commission shall pay out of the greyhound
breeding development fund to each of the licensed dog racing tracks
the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars for the fiscal year ending
the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four.
The licensee shall deposit the sum into the special fund for regular
purses established under the provisions of section nine of this
article. The funds shall be expended solely for the purpose of
supplementing regular purses under rules and regulations promulgated
by the racing commission.
Supplemental purse awards will be distributed as follows:
Supplemental purses shall be paid directly to the owner of an
accredited greyhound or, if the greyhound is leased, the owner may
choose to designate a percentage of the purse earned directly to the
lessor as agreed to via a written purse distribution form on file
with the racing commission.
The owner of accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds that
earn a purse at any West Virginia meet will receive a bonus award calculated at the end of each month as a percentage of the fund
dedicated to the owners as purse supplements, which shall be a
minimum of fifty percent of the total moneys deposited into the West
Virginia greyhound breeding development fund monthly.
The total amount of the fund available for the owners' awards
shall be distributed according to the ratio of purses earned by an
accredited greyhound to the total amount earned in races by all
accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds for that month as a
percentage of the funds dedicated to the owners' purse supplements.
The owner of an accredited West Virginia whelped greyhound shall
file a purse distribution form with the racing commission for a
percentage of his or her dog's earnings to be paid directly to the
lessor of the greyhound. Distribution shall be made on the fifteenth
day of each month for the preceding month's achievements.
In no event shall purses earned at a meet held at a track which
did not make contributions to the West Virginia greyhound breeder's
development fund out of the daily pool on the day the meet was held
qualify or count toward eligibility for supplemental purse awards.
Any balance in the purse supplement funds after all
distributions have been made for the year revert to the general account of the fund for distribution in the following year.
In an effort to further promote the breeding of quality West
Virginia whelped greyhounds, a bonus purse supplement shall be
established in the amount of fifty thousand dollars per annum, to be
paid in equal quarterly installments of twelve thousand five hundred
dollars per quarter using the same method to calculate and distribute
these funds as the regular supplemental purse awards. This bonus
purse supplement is for three years only, commencing on the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, and ending the
thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six. This
money would come from the current existing balance in the greyhound
development fund.
Each pari-mutuel greyhound track shall provide stakes races for
accredited West Virginia whelped greyhounds:
Provided, That each
pari-mutuel track shall have one juvenile and one open stake race
annually. The racing commission shall oversee and approve racing
schedules and purse amounts.
Ten percent of the deposits into the greyhound breeding
development fund beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three, and continuing each year thereafter, shall be withheld by the racing commission and placed in a special revenue
account hereby created in the state treasury called the
"administration, promotion and educational account". The racing
commission is authorized to expend the moneys deposited in the
administration, promotion and educational account at such times and
in such amounts as the commission determines to be necessary for
purposes of administering and promoting the greyhound development
program:
Provided, That beginning with fiscal year one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five and in each fiscal year thereafter in which the
commission anticipates spending any money from the account, the
commission shall submit to the executive department during the budget
preparation period prior to the Legislature convening before that
fiscal year for inclusion in the executive budget document and budget
bill, the recommended expenditures, as well as requests of
appropriations for the purpose of administration, promotion and
education. The commission shall make an annual report to the
Legislature on the status of the administration, promotion and
education account, including the previous year's expenditures and
projected expenditures for the next year.
The racing commission, for the fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-four only, may expend up to thirty-five thousand
dollars from the West Virginia greyhound breeding development fund
to accomplish the purposes of this section without strictly following
the requirements in the previous paragraph.
(e) All daily license and pari-mutuel pools tax payments
required under the provisions of this section shall be made to the
racing commission or its agent after the last race of each day of
each horse or dog race meeting and the pari-mutuel pools tax payments
shall be made from all contributions to all pari-mutuel pools to each
and every race of the day.
(f) Every association or licensee subject to the provisions of
this article, including the changed provisions of this section and
section nine of this article, shall annually submit to the racing
commission and the Legislature financial statements, including a
balance sheet, income statement, statement of change in financial
position and an audit of any electronic data system used for pari-
mutuel tickets and betting, prepared in accordance with generally
accepted auditing standards, as certified by an experienced public
accountant or a certified public accountant.