Relates to the prohibition on members, officers and employees of the gaming commission and the office of racing promotion and development on wagering and claiming prizes in this state

This bill would amend the Tax Law and the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law ("Racing Law") to standardize the prohibition against wagering upon or claiming a prize in any racing or gaming activity conducted within New York State and to authorize the Gaming Commission to obtain criminal fingerprint histories of its employment applicants.

Summary of Provisions:

Section 1 of the bill would amend Racing Law § 107 to provide that no member, officer or employee of the Gaming Commission (or certain members, officers or employees of other State agencies) shall wager upon or claim a prize in any gaming or horse racing activities conducted within the State of New York. The bill would also place this restriction on any spouse, child, brother, sister, parent or other person residing as a member of the same household in the principal place of abode of any of the foregoing persons. The restriction upon a member, officer or employee of another State agency would apply to any member, officer or employee if the duties of such member, officer or employee directly relate to the operation of any gaming activity conducted within the State.

Section 2 would amend Tax Law § 1610 to eliminate the prohibition against certain persons playing Lottery games that is within the Lottery for Education Law (Tax Law Article 34), as such prohibition is replaced by the amended prohibition in Section 1 of the bill.

Section 3 of the bill would amend Racing Law § 104 to authorize the Gaming Commission to obtain criminal fingerprint histories of its employment applicants. It also includes language approved by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to permit national criminal background investigations for license applicants.

Section 4 would amend Tax Law § 1605 to remove the authorization of the former Division of the Lottery to conduct criminal background reviews on its licensees and license applicants from the Lottery for Education Law (Tax Law Article 34), as such authority was granted to the Gaming Commission by Racing Law § 104. Authority to obtain criminal fingerprint histories for licensees and license applicants would be consolidated into the Racing Law under Section 3 of the bill.

Section 5 of the bill makes the act effective immediately, provided, however that Sections 1 and 2 of the bill would take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have became a law. This Section would also provide that the prohibition on, claiming a prize by a prohibited person does not apply to a wager that had been placed lawfully before the effective date of this law.

Existing Law:

Racing Law § 107(3) prohibits Gaming Commission employees from wagering upon any racing or gaming activity conducted within New York State, whether or not the wager occurs beyond the State's borders, but it does not address the family and household members of such employees. When the legislation creating the Gaming Commission was enacted, it did not amend the comparable provision in Tax Law § 1610 that prohibits Lottery employees, certain Department of Taxation and Finance employees, and certain family members of their households from playing Lottery games. This created two different standards for Gaming Commission employees, one standard in Racing Law § 104 applicable to all gaming activity, and another standard in Tax Law § 1610 applicable only to Lottery games.

While Tax Law § 1605(e) authorizes the former Division of the Lottery to obtain criminal fingerprint histories of its employment applicants, Racing Law § 104 does not specifically provide the Gaming Commission with such authority. The present law also has two schemes for investigating fingerprint histories, one in Racing Law § 104 and one in Tax Law § 1605.

Prior Legislative History:

This is a new proposal.

Statement in Support:

This bill seeks to set one standard for the wagering restrictions placed upon (i) members, officers or employees of the Gaming Commission and the Office for Racing Promotion and Development, (ii) other State employees who may work on Gaming Commission operations, and (iii) members of their households. Such a standard is important to maintaining the integrity Gaming Commission operations.

Another important aspect of the Gaming Commission is the integrity of its staff While the former Division of the Lottery had authority to obtain criminal histories of its employment applicants, the authority of the Gaming Commission to do so is less clear. This bill would expressly authorize the Gaming Commission to obtain criminal histories of its employment applicants, including those seeking to transfer to the Gaming Commission from other State employment. Full scrutiny of all prospective employees of the Gaming Commission is necessary to enable the Gaming Commission to fulfill its duties with the highest integrity and public confidence.

Finally, because the Federal Bureau of Investigation requires specific authorization in order to permit the Division of Criminal Justice Services to gain access to criminal history information from the national crime database and report such findings to the Gaming Commission, the bill also provides greater specificity as to the persons whose criminal history will be checked.

Budget Implications:

None.

Local Impact:

None.

Effective Date:

This act would take effect immediately; provided, however, that sections 1 and 2 take effect 30 days after becoming law.