SB299: AN ACT relating to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and declaring an emergency.

Legislative Summary

Repeals and reenacts KRS 230.210, 230.225, 230.230, and 230.260 to replace the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission with the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, to establish definitions, to grant the corporation jurisdiction over all forms of horse racing, horse breed integrity, sports wagering, charitable gaming, and pari-mutuel wagering and exclude the state lottery established under KRS Chapter 154A, to set the corporation and president’s powers and duties, to direct the Governor to appoint the corporation president from a list of three names provided by the board, to abolish the racing commission and the Department of Charitable Gaming on July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, respectively, and to transfer all personnel, equipment, and funding to the corporation; creates new sections of KRS Chapter 230 to provide that the president may establish offices run by office managers to address corporation topics, to establish a board of directors to administer the corporation, to set up board appointments and composition, to create the powers and duties of the board and its members, to require a criminal background check for board members and staff, to make the board, president, managers, and staff of the corporation subject to KRS Chapter 11A but exempt from KRS Chapters 18A and 64, and to maintain employee participation in state employee retirement, health insurance, life insurance, and deferred compensation; amends KRS 230.215 to establish a policy to strictly regulate charitable gaming; amends sections of KRS Chapters 138, 230, and 238 to conform with the transfer to the corporation; amends KRS 11A.010, 11A.040, 12.020, 12.252, 15.380, 15.728, 18A.115, 68.182, 91.202, 92.282, 137.170, 139.200, 243.262, 243.500, 247.220, 257.196, 257.472, 321.185, 528.010, and 528.110 to conform; repeals KRS 230.250; makes sections applying to the racing commission effective on July 1, 2024, and amendments related to charitable gaming effective on July 1, 2025; transfers records, files, and documents for racing and charitable gaming on those same dates; keeps the executive director of the racing commission serving on January 1, 2024, as the interim president of the corporation for two years starting on July 1, 2024; requires that the Public Protection Cabinet assist in the transitions of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the Department of Charitable Gaming into parts of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation; establishes a charity game ticket moratorium from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, that applies only to playing electronic charity game tickets at additional locations beyond a charity’s office, at licensed bingo locations, and at pre-approved charitable fundraising event locations; and prevents any changes to names of agencies and officers from voiding amendments in other bills enacted during the 2024 Regular Session; EMERGENCY.