Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires New Jersey Racing Commission to adopt procedures to enforce internal controls; requires annual audit.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the internal controls of the New Jersey Racing Commission, amending P.L.2001, c.199, and amending and supplementing P.L.1940, c.17 (C.5:5-22 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 14 of P.L.1940, c.17 (C.5:5-34) is amended to read as follows:
14. No person shall be licensed in any capacity whatsoever by the Racing Commission or employed in any capacity whatsoever at any place, track or enclosure where a horse race meeting is permitted who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. Each person seeking licensure or employment shall submit to the executive director the person's name, address and written consent for a criminal history record background check to be performed. The applicant shall submit to being fingerprinted in accordance with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations. The commission shall implement monitoring to ensure licensees fingerprints are updated and licensees are notified of renewals on a timely basis. The commission shall notify a licensee in writing that their fingerprints are due for renewal when the licensee files an application to renew their license for that calendar year. The commission shall suspend the racing licenses of all individuals who fail to update their fingerprints prior to expiration. The licensee shall not be permitted to participate or be re-licensed until fingerprints are updated by the commission in accordance with all applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations, and proof of renewal is on file with the Racing Commission and recorded in the Racing Commission s system. The executive director is authorized to receive criminal history record information from the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation consistent with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations. Upon receipt of such notification, the executive director shall make a determination regarding the person's eligibility for licensure or employment. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check. The Division of State Police shall promptly notify the executive director in the event a current or prospective licensee or employee, who was the subject of a criminal history record background check pursuant to this section, is convicted of a crime or offense in this State after the date the background check was performed.
(cf: P.L.2003, c.199, s.2)
2. Section 17 of P.L.1940, c.17 (C.5:5-37) is amended to read as follows:
17. a. The commission shall appoint a State steward and two or more associate State stewards in the case of a running race meeting and a State steward, presiding judge, and two or more associate judges in the case of a harness race meeting, which stewards and judges shall meet qualifications and standards established by the commission in rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.); and a State veterinarian and such associate State veterinarians as the commission deems necessary, who shall be licensed or approved to practice in this State by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, to serve at each horse race meeting held under a permit issued under this act. These officials shall devote full-time to their duties during each meeting at which they serve; shall be in the unclassified service under Title 11A (Civil Service) of the New Jersey Statutes and serve at the pleasure of the commission; and shall, where practicable, be rotated among the running race and harness tracks as appropriate. The compensation of these officials shall be fixed by the commission and shall be paid weekly by the holder of a permit at whose horse race track the officials shall serve. These officials shall have full and free access to any portion of the space or enclosure where such horse race meeting is held and shall have such powers and duties as the commission may from time to time delegate to them under the provisions of this act.
b. The commission shall employ persons to supervise the operation of mutuels at each horse race meeting held under a permit issued pursuant to P.L.1940, c.17 (C.5:5-22 et seq.). These employees shall be in the unclassified service under Title 11A (Civil Service) of the New Jersey Statutes. The compensation of these employees shall be paid by the commission, which shall be reimbursed by the permitholders at whose racetracks these persons serve. Such compensation shall be computed based on the number of days that each person has worked at each track and shall be remitted to the commission on a monthly basis. The persons employed by the commission to supervise the operation of mutuels shall have full and free access to any portion of the space or enclosure where such horse race meeting is held and shall have such powers and duties as the commission may from time to time delegate to them under the provisions of P.L.1940, c.17 (C.5:5-22 et seq.).
c. The commission and the Department of Law and Public Safety Information Technology Unit shall monitor all employees who have access to use the New Jersey Racing Commission Licensing, Mutuels, and Breeder s system, which records revenue billed and collected, rulings and fines issued, and related horse data. The commission shall review, every six months, access privileges granted to employees who use the system to determine whether access rights are commensurate with the employees job duties and classification. The commission shall develop and adopt a formal written policy establishing rules to grant and remove employee access privileges to the system. The written policy shall establish and document formal account creation, registration, and removal processes including a written or electronic request from an appropriate authorized manager. The executive director of the commission or his or her designee shall be designated as the person responsible for the oversight and administration of monitoring employee access privileges. The executive director shall document and implement internal controls sufficient to ensure the safe and proper access to the system and to mitigate the potential for fraud and abuse.
(cf: P.L.1992, c.120, s.2)
3. (New section) a. To maintain proper oversight of the general health of race horses and to observe trends in racing-related fatalities of race horses, verbal notification of the death of a race horse shall be reported to the State Steward or a New Jersey Racing Commission veterinarian within one hour of the race horse s death. The race horse s carcass shall not be removed without the written authorization of the State Steward or the Chief State Veterinarian, or their designee. To prevent the unauthorized removal of the remains of a deceased race horse and to ensure that complete and adequate information is provided to the commission, the carcass of a race horse that died on the racetrack shall be transported to a facility identified by the commission as qualified to conduct a post-mortem necropsy. The post-mortem necropsy shall be conducted by a qualified veterinarian on the remains of any race horse that died on the racetrack during racing or training, or which died within one hour after racing or training on a racetrack, to determine the cause of death.
b. An equine fatality report shall be submitted to the commission regarding any equine death occurring on the grounds of any licensed racetrack or approved off-track stabling fac