MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Gaming; Ways and Means
By: Representatives Walker, Gibbs (36th), Stamps
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI HORSE RACING ACT OF 2021; TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI STATE RACING COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION SHALL ESTABLISH A LICENSE TO OPERATE A HORSE RACE TRACK AND HORSE RACE MEETINGS IN ANY COUNTY IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI THAT HAS A FACILITY THAT MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COMMISSION; TO AMEND SECTION 97-33-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE AN EXCEPTION TO THE PROHIBITION ON GAMING FOR THE PREMISES OF A HORSE RACE TRACK LICENSED BY THE MISSISSIPPI STATE RACING COMMISSION AND THE MISSISSIPPI STATE GAMING COMMISSION FOR THE PARI-MUTUEL BETTING OF HORSE RACING; TO AMEND SECTIONS 75-76-28 AND 75-76-33, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 1 through 3 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Horse Racing Act of 2021."
SECTION 2. (1) There is hereby created a racing commission, to be known as the "Mississippi State Racing Commission." The commission shall have the powers and duties specified in this act and all other powers necessary and proper to enable it to execute fully and effectually all of the objects, purposes, duties, and policies of this act. It shall be composed of five (5) members, one person from each congressional district and the remaining person or persons from the state at large. The members shall be appointed by the Governor. Each appointment by the Governor shall be submitted to the Senate for confirmation. The Governor shall select one member of the commission to serve as chairman. The commission shall select from among its membership a vice-chairman and a second vice-chairman for two-year terms. Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power.
(2) (a) Members shall be residents of Mississippi, over the age of thirty (30), and shall possess good moral character. Each shall have resided in Mississippi for at least five (5) years immediately preceding his or her appointment.
(b) (i) No member shall be an official, member of any board of directors, or person financially interested in any race track or race meeting licensed by the commission. Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, no member may directly or indirectly own racehorses which participate in any race meeting licensed by the commission.
(ii) Two (2) members shall be owners of racehorses which participate in any race meeting licensed by the commission.
(c) The commission shall provide by rule for investigation and resolution of alleged violation of paragraph (b) of this subsection (2). These rules shall include the suspension of the board member pending conclusion of the investigation and removal of the member in the event of a violation. Any member removed as a result of a violation of paragraph (b) of this subsection (2) shall not be eligible for reappointment for a period of five (5) years.
(d) Nothing in this subsection (2) shall prohibit a member of the Mississippi State Racing Commission from owning a horse that sired or bred a racehorse that participates in a race meeting licensed by the commission, or from participating in a breeder or stallion award.
(3) Members shall serve without salary, but shall receive a per diem at the rate of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day while attending official meetings, regular or special, of the commission called by the chairman, or in his absence, one of the vice-chairmen, not to exceed Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) per annum. The commission shall reimburse its members and employees for all travel expenses and disbursements incurred by them in the discharge of their official duties. They shall give a bond to the Governor in the amount of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), conditioned that they will faithfully and honestly perform the duties of their office. The premium for the bond shall be paid by the commission.
SECTION 3. (1) The Mississippi State Racing Commission shall establish a license for the establishment of a horse race track and horse race meetings in any county that has a horse race track that meets the requirements of the commission. The Mississippi State Racing Commission shall adopt rules and regulations necessary for establishing and implementing this section.
(2) The Mississippi State Racing Commission shall set the amount of any fees required for licensees.
(3) The Mississippi State Racing Commission shall regulate licensees as well as all persons and entities involved in a licensed horse race track or licensed horse race meeting in the State of Mississippi to ensure compliance with all requirements of this act and the rules and regulations established by the commission.
(4) The Mississippi State Racing Commission shall regulate any activity regarding licensed horse race tracks and licensed horse race meetings, except the Mississippi State Gaming Commission shall regulate the wagering and related activities in the same manner that it regulates wagering and related activities at other gaming facilities. For the purpose of such regulation, the Mississippi State Gaming Commission shall establish and implement a license for the wagering and related operations of a horse race track and horse race meeting in the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 4. Section 97-33-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-33-1. Except as otherwise provided in Section 97-33-8, if any person shall encourage, promote or play at any game, play or amusement, other than a fight or fighting match between dogs, for money or other valuable thing, or shall wager or bet, promote or encourage the wagering or betting of any money or other valuable things, upon any game, play, amusement, cockfight, Indian ball play or duel, other than a fight or fighting match between dogs, or upon the result of any election, event or contingency whatever, upon conviction thereof, he shall be fined in a sum not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00); and, unless such fine and costs be immediately paid, shall be imprisoned for any period not more than ninety (90) days. However, this section shall not apply to betting, gaming or wagering:
(a) On a cruise vessel as defined in Section 27-109-1 whenever such vessel is in the waters within the State of Mississippi, which lie adjacent to the State of Mississippi south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Sound, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay and Pascagoula Bay, and in which the registered voters of the county in which the port is located have not voted to prohibit such betting, gaming or wagering on cruise vessels as provided in Section 19-3-79;
(b) In a structure located, in whole or in part, on shore in any of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi in which the registered voters of the county have voted to allow such betting, gaming or wagering on cruise vessels as provided in Section 19-3-79, if:
(i) The structure is owned, leased or controlled by a person possessing a gaming license, as defined in Section 75-76-5, to conduct legal gaming on a cruise vessel under paragraph (a) of this section;
(ii) The part of the structure in which licensed gaming activities are conducted is located entirely in an area which is located no more than eight hundred (800) feet from the mean high-water line (as defined in Section 29-15-1) of the waters within the State of Mississippi, which lie adjacent to the State of Mississippi south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Sound, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay and Pascagoula Bay, or, with regard to Harrison County only, no farther north than the southern boundary of the right-of-way for U.S. Highway 90, whichever is greater; and
(iii) In the case of a structure that is located in whole or part on shore, the part of the structure in which licensed gaming activities are conducted shall lie adjacent to state waters south of the three (3) most southern counties in the State of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Sound, St. Louis Bay, Biloxi Bay and Pascagoula Bay. When the site upon which the structure is located consists of a parcel of real property, easements and rights-of-way for public streets and highways shall not be construed to interrupt the contiguous nature of the parcel, nor shall the footage contained within the easements and rights-of-way be counted in the calculation of the distances specified in subparagraph (ii);
(c) On a vessel as
defined in Section 27-109-1 whenever such vessel is on the Mississippi River or
navigable waters within any county bordering on the Mississippi River, and in
which the registered voters of the county in which the port is located have not
voted to prohibit such betting, gaming or wagering on vessels as provided in
Section 19-3-79; * * *
(d) On the premises of a horse race track licensed by the Mississippi State Racing Commission and the Mississippi State Gaming Commission, but this exception only applies for the pari-mutuel betting of horse racing; or
( * * *e) That is legal under the laws of the
State of Mississippi.
SECTION 5. Section 75-76-28, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-28. The commission
has full power and authority to exercise any of the powers, duties and
responsibilities set forth in Sections 97-33-51 through 97-33-81, 97-33-101
through 97-33-109, 97-33-201 * * *, 97-33-203 and the Mississippi
Horse Racing Act of 2021 to the extent authorized by that act.
SECTION 6. Section 75-76-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-33. (1) The commission shall, from time to time, adopt, amend or repeal such regulations, consistent with the policy, objects and purposes of this chapter, as it may deem necessary or desirable in the public interest in carrying out the policy and provisions of this chapter. The commission shall comply with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law when adopting, amending or repealing any regulations authorized under this section or under any other provision of this chapter.
(2) These regulations shall, without limiting the general powers herein conferred, include the following:
(a) Prescribing the method and form of application which any applicant for a license or for a manufacturer's, seller's or distributor's license must follow and complete before consideration of his application by the executive director or the commission.
(b) Prescribing the information to be furnished by any applicant or licensee concerning his antecedents, habits, character, associates, criminal record, business activities and financial affairs, past or present.
(c) Prescribing the information to be furnished by a licensee relating to his employees.
(d) Requiring fingerprinting of an applicant or licensee, and gaming employees of a licensee, or other methods of identification and the forwarding of all fingerprints taken pursuant to regulation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(e) Prescribing the manner and procedure of all hearings conducted by the commission or any hearing examiner of the commission, including special rules of evidence applicable thereto and notices thereof.
(f) Requiring any applicant to pay all or any part of the fees and costs of investigation of such applicant as may be determined by the commission under paragraph (g) of this subsection (2).
(g) Prescribing the amounts of investigative fees only as authorized by regulations of the commission under paragraph (f) of this subsection, and collecting those fees. The commission shall adopt regulations setting the amounts of those fees at levels that will provide the commission with sufficient revenue, when combined with any other monies as may be deposited into the Mississippi Gaming Commission Fund created in Section 75-76-325, to carry out the provisions of this chapter without any state general funds. In calculating the amount of such fees, the commission shall:
(i) Attempt to set the fees at levels that will create a balance in the Mississippi Gaming Commission Fund that does not exceed, at the end of any state fiscal year, two percent (2%) of the projected amount of funds that will provide the commission with such sufficient revenue; and
(ii) Demonstrate the reasonableness of the relationship between a fee and the actual costs of the investigative activity for which the fee is being prescribed.
(h) Prescribing the manner and method of collection and payment of fees and issuance of licenses.
(i) Prescribing under what conditions a licensee may be deemed subject to revocation or suspension of his license.
(j) Requiring any applicant or licensee to waive any privilege with respect to any testimony at any hearing or meeting of the commission, except any privilege afforded by the Constitution of the United States or this state.
(k) Defining and limiting the area, games and devices permitted, and the method of operation of such games and devices, for the purposes of this chapter.
(l) Prescribing under what conditions the nonpayment of a gambling debt by a licensee shall be deemed grounds for revocation or suspension of his license.
(m) Governing the use and approval of gambling devices and equipment.
(n) Prescribing the qualifications of, and the conditions under which, attorneys, accountants and others are permitted to practice before the commission.
(o) Restricting access to confidential information obtained under this chapter and ensuring that the confidentiality of such information is maintained and protected.
(p) Prescribing the manner and procedure by which the executive director on behalf of the commission shall notify a county or a municipality wherein an applicant for a license desires to locate.
(q) Prescribing the manner and procedure for an objection to be filed with the commission and the executive director by a county or municipality wherein an applicant for a license desires to locate.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each licensee shall be required to comply with the regulation that no wager may be placed by, or on behalf of, any individual or entity or group, not present on a licensed vessel or cruise vessel.
(4) From and after July 1, 2016, the expenses of this agency shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund and all user charges and fees authorized under this section shall be deposited into the State General Fund as authorized by law.
(5) From and after July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee, assessment, rent or other charge for services or resources received by authority of this section.
(6) The commission may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of the Mississippi Horse Racing Act of 2021 to the extent the commission is authorized by that act.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.