Relates to vendor fees for video lottery gaming for certain vendor tracks located within Oneida county, within fifteen miles of a Native American class III gaming facility.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6243--A
Cal. No. 1511
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 11, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. BONACIC, GRIFFO, AKSHAR, FUNKE, VALESKY -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering -- reported favorably from
said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee
discharged and said bill committed to the Committee on Rules --
reported favorably from said committee, ordered to a third reading,
passed by Senate and delivered to the Assembly, recalled, vote recon-
sidered, restored to third reading, amended and ordered reprinted,
retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to vendor fees for video
lottery gaming
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph 1 of subdivision b of
2 section 1612 of the tax law, is amended by adding a new clause (F-1) to
3 read as follows:
4 (F-1) notwithstanding clauses (A), (B), (C), (D), (E) and (F) of this
5 subparagraph, when the vendor track is located within Oneida county, is
6 within fifteen miles of a Native American class III gaming facility, and
7 maintains at least ninety percent of full time equivalent employees as
8 they employed in the year two thousand sixteen, as determined by the
9 gaming commission, at a rate of fifty-five percent for the first thirty
10 million dollars annually, and forty-one percent thereafter of the total
11 revenue wagered at the vendor track after payout for prizes pursuant to
12 this chapter;
13 § 2. Clause (H) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (1) of subdivision b
14 of section 1612 of the tax law, as amended by section 1 of part QQ of
15 chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
16 (H) notwithstanding clauses (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F) and (G) of
17 this subparagraph, the track operator of a vendor track and in the case
18 of Aqueduct, the video lottery terminal facility operator, shall be
19 eligible for a vendor's capital award of up to four percent of the total
20 revenue wagered at the vendor track after payout for prizes pursuant to
21 this chapter, which shall be used exclusively for capital project
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11459-02-7
S. 6243--A 2
1 investments to improve the facilities of the vendor track which promote
2 or encourage increased attendance at the video lottery gaming facility
3 including, but not limited to hotels, other lodging facilities, enter-
4 tainment facilities, retail facilities, dining facilities, events
5 arenas, parking garages and other improvements that enhance facility
6 amenities; provided that such capital investments shall be approved by
7 the division, in consultation with the state racing and wagering board,
8 and that such vendor track demonstrates that such capital expenditures
9 will increase patronage at such vendor track's facilities and increase
10 the amount of revenue generated to support state education programs. The
11 annual amount of such vendor's capital awards that a vendor track shall
12 be eligible to receive shall be limited to two million five hundred
13 thousand dollars, except for Aqueduct racetrack, for which there shall
14 be no annual limit, provided, however, that any such capital award for
15 the Aqueduct video lottery terminal facility operator shall be one
16 percent of the total revenue wagered at the video lottery terminal
17 facility after payout for prizes pursuant to this chapter until the
18 earlier of the designation of one thousand video lottery devices as
19 hosted pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision a of section sixteen
20 hundred seventeen-a of this chapter or April first, two thousand nine-
21 teen and shall then be four percent of the total revenue wagered at the
22 video lottery terminal facility after payout for prizes pursuant to this
23 chapter, provided, further, that such capital award shall only be
24 provided pursuant to an agreement with the operator to construct an
25 expansion of the facility, hotel, and convention and exhibition space
26 requiring a minimum capital investment of three hundred million dollars.
27 Except for tracks having less than one thousand one hundred video gaming
28 machines, and except for a vendor track located west of State Route 14
29 from Sodus Point to the Pennsylvania border within New York, and except
30 for Aqueduct racetrack each track operator shall be required to co-in-
31 vest an amount of capital expenditure equal to its cumulative vendor's
32 capital award. For all tracks, except for Aqueduct racetrack, the amount
33 of any vendor's capital award that is not used during any one year peri-
34 od may be carried over into subsequent years ending before April first,
35 two thousand eighteen. Any amount attributable to a capital expenditure
36 approved prior to April first, two thousand eighteen and completed
37 before April first, two thousand twenty; or approved prior to April
38 first, two thousand twenty-two and completed before April first, two
39 thousand twenty-four for a vendor track located west of State Route 14
40 from Sodus Point to the Pennsylvania border within New York, shall be
41 eligible to receive the vendor's capital award. In the event that a
42 vendor track's capital expenditures, approved by the division prior to
43 April first, two thousand eighteen and completed prior to April first,
44 two thousand twenty, exceed the vendor track's cumulative capital award
45 during the five year period ending April first, two thousand eighteen,
46 the vendor shall continue to receive the capital award after April
47 first, two thousand eighteen until such approved capital expenditures
48 are paid to the vendor track subject to any required co-investment. In
49 no event shall any vendor track that receives a vendor fee pursuant to
50 clause (F), (F-1) or (G) of this subparagraph be eligible for a vendor's
51 capital award under this section. Any operator of a vendor track which
52 has received a vendor's capital award, choosing to divest the capital
53 improvement toward which the award was applied, prior to the full depre-
54 ciation of the capital improvement in accordance with generally accepted
55 accounting principles, shall reimburse the state in amounts equal to the
56 total of any such awards. Any capital award not approved for a capital
S. 6243--A 3
1 expenditure at a video lottery gaming facility by April first, two thou-
2 sand eighteen shall be deposited into the state lottery fund for educa-
3 tion aid; and
4 § 3. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph 1 of subdivision b of section 1612
5 of the tax law, is amended by adding a new clause (J) to read as
6 follows:
7 (J) In the event that the operator of a vendor track who receives a
8 vendor fee pursuant to clause (F-1) of this subparagraph has any remain-
9 ing funds in their vendor capital award account, any claim by the opera-
10 tor of the vendor track on these funds shall immediately be forfeited,
11 and the funds shall be transferred to the state lottery fund as created
12 by section ninety-two-c of the state finance law.
13 § 4. Paragraph 2 of subdivision b of section 1612 of the tax law, as
14 amended by section 1 of part OO of chapter 59 of the laws of 2014, is
15 amended to read as follows:
16 2. As consideration for the operation of a video lottery gaming facil-
17 ity, the division, shall cause the investment in the racing industry of
18 a portion of the vendor fee received pursuant to paragraph one of this
19 subdivision in the manner set forth in this subdivision. With the
20 exception of Aqueduct racetrack or a facility in the county of Nassau or
21 Suffolk operated by a corporation established pursuant to section five
22 hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law, each
23 such track shall dedicate a portion of its vendor fees, received pursu-
24 ant to clause (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (F-1), or (G) of subpara-
25 graph (ii) of paragraph one of this subdivision, for the purpose of
26 enhancing purses at such track, in an amount equal to eight and three-
27 quarters percent of the total revenue wagered at the vendor track after
28 pay out for prizes. One percent of the gross purse enhancement amount,
29 as required by this subdivision, shall be paid to the gaming commission
30 to be used exclusively to promote and ensure equine health and safety in
31 New York. Any portion of such funding to the gaming commission unused
32 during a fiscal year shall be returned to the video lottery gaming oper-
33 ators on a pro rata basis in accordance with the amounts originally
34 contributed by each operator and shall be used for the purpose of
35 enhancing purses at such track. One and one-half percent of the gross
36 purse enhancement amount at a thoroughbred track, as required by this
37 subdivision, shall be paid to an account established pursuant to section
38 two hundred twenty-one-a of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breed-
39 ing law to be used exclusively to provide health insurance for jockeys.
40 In addition, with the exception of Aqueduct racetrack or a facility in
41 the county of Nassau or Suffolk operated by a corporation established
42 pursuant to section five hundred two of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering
43 and breeding law, one and one-quarter percent of total revenue wagered
44 at the vendor track after pay out for prizes, received pursuant to
45 clause (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (F-1), or (G) of subparagraph (ii)
46 of paragraph one of this subdivision, shall be distributed to the appro-
47 priate breeding fund for the manner of racing conducted by such track.
48 Provided, further, that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent each
49 track from entering into an agreement, not to exceed five years, with
50 the organization authorized to represent its horsemen to increase or
51 decrease the portion of its vendor fee dedicated to enhancing purses at
52 such track during the years of participation by such track, or to race
53 fewer dates than required herein.
54 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.