§ 237 — Capital improvements

§ 237. Capital improvements. 1. For the purposes of this section,\n"capital improvement" shall mean any addition to, replacement of or\nremodeling of the physical plant, structures and equipment now or\nhereafter owned or leased by a racing corporation that is used or is to\nbe used by such corporation in connection with the conduct of horse race\nmeetings, and shall include improvements to land but not land itself.\n 2. (a) Any non-franchised corporation authorized under this chapter to\nconduct pari-mutuel betting at a race meeting on races run thereat, may\nelect upon thirty days written notice to the commission to withhold from\nthe pari-mutuel pool in addition to any other amounts required by this\nsection, one percent of the total deposits in pools resulting from\nregular and multiple on-track bets; provided, however, that any such\ncorporation withholding pursuant to this subdivision shall use at least\nfifty percent of such one percent exclusively for capital improvements\nas defined in subdivision one of this section subject to the rules and\nregulations of the commission. An amount, not to exceed fifty percent of\nsuch one percent, may be used for advertising and promotion expenses\nsubject to the rules and regulations of the commission. For the purposes\nof this paragraph the term "advertising" shall be limited to paid\nadvertising through radio, television, the print media, direct mail or\nbillboards. Promotions shall mean activities that are intended to\nincrease the attendance at, or visibility of, any such corporation and\nshall include premium giveaways, prizes, free admission, free parking,\nfree programs, additional monies for purses or other activities of a\npromotional nature that stimulate on-track attendance. In no event shall\nthis section be construed to permit the payment of salaries to employees\nof any such corporation who are engaged in advertising or promotional\nactivities, provided, however, that monies credited to such capital\nimprovement account on or before July first, nineteen hundred\nninety-six, as certified by the commission, shall not be expended for\nany such advertising and promotion as defined herein. Such election\nshall terminate upon thirty days written notice to the commission.\n (b) At least once annually, prior to approving any plan for the\nexpenditure of such capital improvement funds pursuant to this section,\nthe commission shall, together with the track operator and\nrepresentatives of the horsemen's organization representing owners and\ntrainers using the facility and representatives of the jockeys\norganization representing licensed jockeys and apprentice jockeys\nregularly riding or exercising at such facility, inspect the entire\nfacility, including the area commonly referred to as the backstretch, in\norder to determine whether the capital improvement plan submitted by the\ncorporation for commission approval includes adequate provision for\nexpenditures relating to the continued health, safety and well-being of\npatrons, jockeys, backstretch personnel and the horses in their care.\nAfter such inspection, if the commission shall determine that such\nproposed plan does not include adequate provision for repairs and\nimprovements necessary to correct any conditions that it has determined\nto be unsafe or otherwise deleterious to the health and safety of\npatrons, jockeys, employees or horses, the commission shall require the\ntrack operator to modify its capital improvement plan to provide for the\nexpenditure of funds for such repairs and improvements.\n 3. On or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety such amounts as may\nbe withheld for the purposes of this section shall be deposited in a\ntrust fund, kept and maintained by such corporation and administered by\na trustee approved by the commission for the purpose of lending such\nsums and any interest thereon on an unsecured basis to such corporation\nexclusively for capital improvements as defined in subdivision one of\nthis section. All such amounts borrowed by such corporation from such\ntrust shall be forgiven and deemed satisfied according to a schedule of\ndepreciation deductions for federal and New York state income tax\npurposes for such related capital improvements. It is further provided\nthat at such time as such corporation shall surrender its pari-mutuel\nlicense or franchise or fail to apply for a pari-mutuel license for the\nsucceeding year by December thirty-first of the preceding year that the\ncommission may declare the trust fund at an end and all sums therein\ndeposited plus all sums due or owing from such corporation to such trust\nshall be disposed of in accordance with provisions of law to be enacted\nfor such purpose. Such trust shall be established and administered\npursuant to the rules and regulations of the commission.\n