Goodman v. Superior Court in & for Maricopa

665 P.2d 83, 136 Ariz. 201, 1983 Ariz. LEXIS 194
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedMay 24, 1983
Docket16439-SA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 665 P.2d 83 (Goodman v. Superior Court in & for Maricopa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goodman v. Superior Court in & for Maricopa, 665 P.2d 83, 136 Ariz. 201, 1983 Ariz. LEXIS 194 (Ark. 1983).

Opinion

HAYS, Justice.

This is a petition for special action filed by the office of the Arizona Attorney General on behalf of the Arizona Racing Commission. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Art. 6, § 5(4) of the Arizona Constitution.

The Honorable Robert Pickrell, Judge of the Superior Court, is named as respondent, and the real party in interest in this action is Paul Oliver, racehorse owner and trainer. On January 3 and January 6, 1983 the department stewards issued Notices of Hearing to Oliver concerning the alleged drugging of four horses which Oliver either owns or trains. Three of the horses finished first in their respective races; one finished second. The Notices state that urine samples taken from these horses subsequent to the races contain banamine, a powerful analgesic, in violation of the rules of the Arizona Department of Racing. The Notices summoned Oliver to appear within twenty-four hours before the stewards for a hearing.

On January 6,1983, the respondent judge granted, at Oliver’s request, an ex parte order temporarily restraining the state stewards from proceeding with the hearing regarding the drugging of the horses. Petitioners in this action filed a motion for reconsideration with the trial judge and a motion to quash the restraining order. The judge denied these motions on January 25, holding that the stewards must comply with the provisions of the Administrative Proce *203 dure Act, A.R.S. title 41, chapter 6, article 1, in conducting their hearing.

The judge indicated on the record his belief that all the rules and regulations promulgated by the Arizona Racing Commission were abrogated in 1982 when the Arizona legislature amended the racing code, A.R.S. title 5, chapter 1, article 1; consequently, the newly-created Arizona Department of Racing and the Racing Commission had to reenact such rules and regulations as they wished to govern the racing industry. The judge stated that because the Racing Commission has not enacted any new rules concerning the steward’s hearings since the 1982 legislative amendments, no agency rules exist and the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act apply.

Of particular relevance is A.R.S. § 41-1009 which provides that notice shall be given at least twenty days prior to the date set for all hearings in contested cases “[ujnless otherwise provided by law.” Rules adopted by the Racing Commission prior to the 1982 amendments and pursuant to A.R.S. § 5-104 authorize steward’s hearings upon twenty-four hour notice. Based upon his view that the rule prescribing twenty-four hour notice was nugatory, the trial judge enjoined the stewards from proceeding with their hearing until they complied with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

It becomes clear that the issue before us is whether the Arizona legislature intended to abolish the existing rules and regulations of the Racing Commission when they amended the racing code in 1982. We start with the premise that a rule has the same effect and force as a “law” within the meaning of A.R.S. § 41-1009. Gibbons v. Arizona Corporation Commission, 95 Ariz. 343, 390 P.2d 582 (1964). If the rules and regulations of the Racing Commission survived the 1982 amendments, then the twenty day notice requirement of A.R.S. § 41-1009 does not apply to hearings before the state stewards. Our reading of the statutes and their legislative history leads us to conclude that the trial judge erred in holding that the Administrative Procedure Act applies to steward’s hearings.

The Arizona Racing Commission has had the authority to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to supervise the sport of horseracing since its creation in 1949. 1949 Ariz.Sess.Laws, Ch. 61, Sec. 4. The racing statutes have since been amended on several occasions but the authority to promulgate rules has remained constant. 1953 Ariz.Sess.Laws, Ch. 131, Sec. 1; 1972 Ariz.Sess.Laws, Ch. 108, Sec. 3. Former A.R.S. § 5-104(B) provided:

“The commission shall prepare and promulgate such complete rules and regulations to govern the racing meetings as may be required to protect and promote the safety and welfare of the animals participating in such racing meetings, to protect and promote public health, safety and the proper conduct of racing and pari-mutuel wagering and any other matter pertaining to the proper conduct of racing within this state.”

1972 Ariz.Sess.Laws, Ch. 108, Sec. 3, p. 498. The 1982 amendments simply redesignated this section as A.R.S. § 5-104(A) but otherwise did not alter it in any way. It is pursuant to this statutory authority that the Racing Commission promulgated the rules and regulations in question.

Authority on statutory interpretation states that provisions in an original act which are unchanged by an amendment are held to be the law since first enacted.

“Provisions of the original act or section which are repeated in the body of the amendment, either in the same or equivalent words, are considered a continuation of the original law .... The provisions of the original act or section reenacted by the amendment are held to have been the law since they were first enacted, and the provisions introduced by the amendment are considered to have been enacted at the time the amendment took effect. Thus, rights and liabilities accrued under the provisions of the original act which *204 are reenacted are not affected by the amendment.”

Sutherland Stat Const § 22.33 (4th Ed).

It is a fair interpretation of the legislative history that the Racing Commission’s authority to regulate the racing industry was unchanged by the legislative amendments. The next inquiry, then, is whether the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to that authority have also survived the recent amendments.

The Arizona legislature expressly confirmed its approval of the Racing Commission’s rules and regulations relating to the drugging of horses in the 1982 act:

“It is the intent of the legislature that the Arizona racing commission rules and regulations which currently prohibit the drugging of horses and dogs remain in effect.”

1982 Ariz.Sess.Laws, Ch. 310, Sec. 39. Those rules and regulations reflect an urgency with regard to the discovery of prohibited drugs in animals. The rules provide that:

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Bluebook (online)
665 P.2d 83, 136 Ariz. 201, 1983 Ariz. LEXIS 194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goodman-v-superior-court-in-for-maricopa-ariz-1983.