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AB-2615 Horse racing : equine postmortem examinations: fatal racehorse injuries.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 02/20/2020 09:00 PM
AB2615:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2615

Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

February 20, 2020

An act to add Section 19586 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to horse racing.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2615, as introduced, Chau. Horse racing : equine postmortem examinations: fatal racehorse injuries.
Existing law, the Horse Racing Law, provides that the California Horse Racing Board has all powers necessary and proper to enable it to carry out fully and effectually the purposes of the Horse Racing Law and requires that the board be responsible for, among other things, adopting rules and regulations for the protection of the public and the control of horse racing and parimutuel wagering, and the administration and enforcement of all laws, rules, and regulations affecting horse racing and parimutuel wagering. A violation of the Horse Racing Law is a crime.
Existing regulations of the board require that, if a horse suffers a fatal injury on a racetrack in training or in competition, or dies or is euthanized within an area under the jurisdiction of the board, the horse undergo a postmortem examination at a diagnostic laboratory that is under contract with the board to determine the injury or sickness that resulted in euthanasia or natural death, as provided. Those regulations also provide for additional necropsy examinations requested by the owner or trainer, require the diagnostic laboratory to file a written report with the executive director of the board, the equine medical director, and the official veterinarian upon completion of the postmortem examination, and require that each owner and trainer accept responsibility for the postmortem examination as a requisite for maintaining their occupational license.
This bill would codify these provisions as part of the Horse Racing Law. By expanding the scope of the Horse Racing Law, a violation of which is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 19586 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

19586.
 (a) A horse that suffers a fatal injury on a racetrack in training or in competition, or that dies or is euthanized within an area under the jurisdiction of the board, shall undergo a postmortem examination at a diagnostic laboratory that is under contract with the board to determine the injury or sickness that resulted in euthanasia or natural death.
(b) Test samples may be obtained from the carcass upon which the postmortem examination is to be conducted and sent to the diagnostic laboratory for testing for foreign substances or their metabolites, and natural substances at abnormal levels. When practical, test samples shall be procured before euthanasia.
(c) The costs associated with transportation to the diagnostic laboratory of any horse that has died as described in subdivision (a) shall be the responsibility of the racing association conducting the meeting where the death occurred or the training center or racetrack where the death occurred when no meeting is in progress. The services of the official veterinarian and the laboratory testing of postmortem samples for standard necropsy and special equine necropsy examinations shall be made available by the board without charge to the owner. The cost of any additional necropsy examination requested by the owner or trainer is the responsibility of the requesting individual.
(d) Requests for each postmortem examination shall be filed with the official veterinarian by the owner’s or trainer’s veterinarian within one hour of the death and shall be submitted on a necropsy submission form, approved by the board, that shall be available at all official veterinarian offices. The trainer shall be equally responsible for providing all information necessary to complete the necropsy submission form.
(e) If the official veterinarian is not available, the owner’s or trainer’s veterinarian shall contact the diagnostic laboratory within one hour of the death and transmit a copy of the completed necropsy submission form by fax or email attachment to the laboratory as notification that the horse is due for necropsy. On the official veterinarian’s next scheduled workday, the owner’s or trainer’s veterinarian shall give the original completed necropsy submission form to the official veterinarian.
(f) The racing association, racetrack, or training center shall notify the transporter within one hour of the horse’s death to have the horse conveyed to the designated laboratory for necropsy.
(g) Upon completion of the postmortem examination, the diagnostic laboratory shall file a written report with the executive director of the board, the equine medical director, and the official veterinarian.
(h) Each owner and trainer shall accept responsibility for the postmortem examination provided in this section as a requisite for maintaining their occupational license.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.