§ 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\nraces. 1. In order to provide supplemental funding to support the\noperations of the commission, a fee in the amount of ten dollars shall\nbe assessed and paid upon every horse entered in a pari-mutuel race in\nNew York state that actually starts in the race. Such fee shall be\nrefunded to the owner or credited to the owner's account in the event\nthe horse does not actually start in the race. The commission shall, as\na condition of racing, require any corporation authorized under this\nchapter to conduct pari-mutuel betting at a race meeting or races run\nthereat, to require that each owner racing a horse shall have placed on\ndeposit at the time of entry with the horsemen's bookkeeper or similar\noffice of such corporation the required fee in the amount of ten dollars\nper horse entered in a pari-mutuel race. Unless refunded or credited,\nthe total fee amount collected during the preceding month by the\nhorsemen's bookkeeper or similar office of such corporation shall be\npaid to the commission on the first business day of each month. Payment\nshall be accompanied by a report, under oath, showing such information\nas the commission may require. A penalty of five percent, and interest\nat the rate of one percent per month from the date the report is\nrequired to be filed to the date of the payment of the fee, shall be\npayable in case any fee imposed by this subdivision is not paid when\ndue. If the commission determines that any fees received by it under\nthis subdivision were paid in error, the commission may cause the same\nto be refunded without interest out of any monies collected hereunder,\nprovided an application therefor is filed with the commission within one\nyear from the time the erroneous payment is made.\n 2. The commission or its duly authorized representatives shall have\nthe power to examine or cause to be examined the books and records of\nsuch corporations required to pay over the fee imposed by this section\nfor the purpose of examining and checking the same and ascertaining\nwhether the proper amount or amounts due are being paid. If in the\nopinion of the commission, after such examination, any such report is\nincorrect, the commission is authorized to issue an assessment fixing\nthe correct amount of such fee. Such assessments may be issued within\nthree years from the filing of any report. Any such assessment shall be\nfinal and conclusive unless an application for a hearing is filed by the\nreporting entity within thirty days of the assessment. The action of the\ncommission in making such final assessment shall be reviewable in the\nsupreme court in the manner provided by and subject to the provisions of\narticle seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.\n 3. The commission shall pay into the racing regulation account, under\nthe joint custody of the comptroller and the commission, the total\namount of the fees collected pursuant to this section. With the approval\nof the director of the budget, monies to be utilized to pay the costs\nand expenses of the operations of the commission shall be paid out of\nsuch account on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers,\ncertified and approved by the director of the budget or his or her duly\ndesignated official.\n