Senate Bill S8351

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8351

SPONSOR: ADDABBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, in
relation to the New York state thoroughbred breeding and development
fund

 
PURPOSE:

To enable the State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund to imple-
ment stronger financial planning practices by authorizing the Fund to
maintain a fund balance at the end of each calendar year into the next
calendar year.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends paragraph h of Section 254 of the racing, pari-mutuel
wagering and breeding law to change the statutory limitation on the Fund
carrying over from no more than $75,000 to $500,000 from year to year.

              

Section 2. Effective Date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund oversees
the registration process for foals and stallions, and distributes incen-
tives in the form of awards. There are some years where the Fund
distributes significant awards, and there are other years where there is
reason to have less distributions. Smart budgeting would enable the Fund
to plan for those more robust years and to manage the years where there
are less awards (such as was the case during COVID). The existing
$75,000 cap has been in place since the statute was enacted over forty
years ago. Adjusting the cap of $75,000 that can be carried over into
the next calendar year will promote stability and better financial plan-
ning for purposes of distributing breeding Fund awards and payments and
meeting formulated distribution schedules based on reasonable estimates.
The ability to retain monies will provide the Fund with flexibility to
adapt to economic circumstances.  There is no practical economic detri-
ment to any of the entities that are statutory beneficiaries of the
return of unused contributions as there has been no return of undistrib-
uted monies for more than twenty years.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2012: Similar to A.9778/S.7171

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.