N.Y. Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law § 115-a: Fee for the start of a horse in New York state pari-mutuel races

§ 115-a. Fee for the start of a horse in New York state pari-mutuel

races. 1. In order to provide supplemental funding to support the

operations of the commission, a fee in the amount of ten dollars shall

be assessed and paid upon every horse entered in a pari-mutuel race in

New York state that actually starts in the race. Beginning January

first, two thousand twenty-seven, an amount as determined by the

commission to support the standardbred total carbon dioxide on-track

drug testing program outlined in section nine hundred two-a of this

chapter shall be added to such fee upon every standardbred horse entered

in a pari-mutuel race in New York state that actually starts in the

race. Such fee shall be refunded to the owner or credited to the owner's

account in the event the horse does not actually start in the race. The

commission shall, as a condition of racing, require any corporation

authorized under this chapter to conduct pari-mutuel betting at a race

meeting or races run thereat, to require that each owner racing a horse

shall have placed on deposit at the time of entry with the horsemen's

bookkeeper or similar office of such corporation the required fee in the

amount of ten dollars per horse entered in a pari-mutuel race. Unless

refunded or credited, the total fee amount collected during the

preceding month by the horsemen's bookkeeper or similar office of such

corporation shall be paid to the commission on the first business day of

each month. Payment shall be accompanied by a report, under oath,

showing such information as the commission may require. A penalty of

five percent, and interest at the rate of one percent per month from the

date the report is required to be filed to the date of the payment of

the fee, shall be payable in case any fee imposed by this subdivision is

not paid when due. If the commission determines that any fees received

by it under this subdivision were paid in error, the commission may

cause the same to be refunded without interest out of any monies

collected hereunder, provided an application therefor is filed with the

commission within one year from the time the erroneous payment is made.

2. The commission or its duly authorized representatives shall have

the power to examine or cause to be examined the books and records of

such corporations required to pay over the fee imposed by this section

for the purpose of examining and checking the same and ascertaining

whether the proper amount or amounts due are being paid. If in the

opinion of the commission, after such examination, any such report is

incorrect, the commission is authorized to issue an assessment fixing

the correct amount of such fee. Such assessments may be issued within

three years from the filing of any report. Any such assessment shall be

final and conclusive unless an application for a hearing is filed by the

reporting entity within thirty days of the assessment. The action of the

commission in making such final assessment shall be reviewable in the

supreme court in the manner provided by and subject to the provisions of

article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.

3. The commission shall pay into the racing regulation account, under

the joint custody of the comptroller and the commission, the total

amount of the fees collected pursuant to this section. With the approval

of the director of the budget, monies to be utilized to pay the costs

and expenses of the operations of the commission shall be paid out of

such account on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers,

certified and approved by the director of the budget or his or her duly

designated official.