US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

 
    §  213-a.  New  York Jockey Injury Compensation Fund, Inc. 1. There is
  created a not-for-profit corporation to be known as The New York  Jockey
  Injury  Compensation  Fund, Inc. and referred to in this section as "the
  fund".  To  the  extent  that  the  provisions  of  the   not-for-profit
  corporation  law do not conflict with the provisions of this article, or
  the  plan  of  operation  of  the  fund  hereunder,  the  not-for-profit
  corporation  law  shall apply to the fund and the fund shall be a type C
  corporation pursuant  to  the  not-for-profit  corporation  law.  If  an
  applicable  provision  of  this  article or the plan of operation of the
  fund hereunder relates to a  matter  embraced  in  a  provision  of  the
  not-for-profit  corporation  law  but is not in conflict therewith, both
  provisions shall apply. The fund shall perform its functions  under  the
  plan  of operation established and approved under this section and shall
  exercise its powers through a board of directors established under  this
  section.
    2.  a.  The  board of directors shall consist of seven members, six of
  whom are to be selected from the general membership of  the  fund  in  a
  manner and for terms to be prescribed by the initial fund board. For the
  purposes  of  establishing and organizing the fund, at least one hundred
  fifty days prior to the date that this article shall  take  effect,  the
  boards  of  directors  of  the  horsemen's organizations representing at
  least fifty-one percent of the horsemen utilizing the facilities of  any
  racing  associations  or  corporations,  shall designate six members who
  shall serve as the initial board of directors of the fund.  The  seventh
  member  shall  be elected every two years on the second Tuesday of June,
  or  as  designated  by  the  fund,  pursuant  to  paragraph  b  of  this
  subdivision  by  a  vote of jockeys and apprentice jockeys duly licensed
  pursuant to this article or article four of this chapter. The members of
  the board shall elect annually from the  members  a  chairperson  and  a
  vice-chairperson  who  shall  act  as  chairperson in the absence of the
  chairperson. Each member of the board  of  directors  shall  have  equal
  voting rights with the others.
    b.  (i) The election of the seventh board member shall be conducted by
  an election administrator selected by the fund no  later  than  November
  fifteenth  of the year preceding the election. The fund shall inform the
  state racing and wagering board of its selection thereof. The fund shall
  enter into a contract with  the  election  administrator  at  least  one
  hundred twenty days prior to the date of the election. The fund shall be
  responsible  for  costs  associated  with the contract with the election
  administrator.
    (ii) The election administrator may be the  individual,  organization,
  or  corporation  under  contract  with  the  fund  to provide management
  services as of November fifteenth of the year  preceding  the  election.
  The election administrator shall devise and provide nominating petitions
  to candidates, shall validate such petitions upon submittal by verifying
  the  eligibility  of  the  jockeys  and  apprentice jockeys to sign such
  petitions, and shall be responsible  for  the  printing,  dissemination,
  validation,  and  tabulation  of  ballots  for  such election. The state
  racing and wagering board shall provide a  list  of  all  duly  licensed
  jockeys  and  apprentice  jockeys to the fund for purposes of validating
  nominating petitions  and  ballots.  The  election  administrator  shall
  report  the  results  of  the  election to the state racing and wagering
  board, which shall then  certify  the  election  of  the  seventh  board
  member.
    (iii)  Any  individual  seeking  election pursuant to this subdivision
  shall provide a nominating petition  containing  the  signatures  of  no
  fewer  than  ten duly licensed jockeys or apprentice jockeys eligible to
  sign such petition. To be eligible to sign such petition,  a  jockey  or
  apprentice  jockey  shall  possess  a valid jockey's license as of March
  first in the year of the election.  Such  petitions  may  be  signed  by
  eligible  jockeys  or  apprentice  jockeys  beginning  April first of an
  election  year  and  shall be returned to the election administrator for
  validation no later than the first Monday of May of an election year. If
  a jockey's license expires between March second and the first Monday  of
  May  and  has  not  been  renewed  by  the  latter  date,  the  election
  administrator shall invalidate such jockey's signature on the nominating
  petition so submitted.
    (iv) To be eligible to vote in the election,  jockeys  and  apprentice
  jockeys must possess a valid jockey's license at least thirty days prior
  to the date of the election. If such jockey's license expires during the
  thirty days preceding the election and such license has not been renewed
  as  of  the  date  of the election, such jockey shall not be eligible to
  vote.
    (v) If, following an election of the seventh board member, such member
  is unable to discharge his or  her  duties  as  a  board  member  or  is
  otherwise  unable  to  complete  his or her term, the fund's chairperson
  shall offer the seventh board member's position  to  the  candidate  who
  received  the  highest  total number of votes following that received by
  the elected board member during the election. If such candidate declines
  to accept such position, the chairperson shall  offer  the  position  to
  each  remaining  candidate  in  descending  order of the total number of
  votes received by each  such  candidate  during  the  election  until  a
  candidate has accepted the position. If none of the remaining candidates
  has accepted the position, the chairperson may appoint an interim member
  to  the  position  for such time as intervenes until a new seventh board
  member is elected.
    3. Members of the board of directors shall serve without  compensation
  for  their  services,  but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual
  and necessary expenses incurred in the  performance  of  their  official
  duties.
    4.  Members of the board of directors, except as otherwise provided by
  law, may engage in private employment, or in a profession or business.
    5. The affirmative vote of four members  of  the  board  of  directors
  shall  be  necessary for the transaction of any business or the exercise
  of any power or function of the fund. The fund may delegate  to  one  or
  more  of  its members, or its officers, agents or employees, such powers
  and duties as it may deem proper.
    6. The fund shall secure workers' compensation insurance coverage on a
  blanket basis for the benefit of all  jockeys,  apprentice  jockeys  and
  exercise  persons  licensed  pursuant to this article or article four of
  this chapter who  are  employees  under  section  two  of  the  workers'
  compensation law.
    7. In order to pay the costs of the insurance required by this section
  and  by  the workers' compensation law and to carry out its other powers
  and duties  and  to  pay  for  any  of  its  liabilities  under  section
  fourteen-a  of the workers' compensation law, the New York Jockey Injury
  Compensation Fund, Inc. shall ascertain the total funding necessary  and
  establish  the  sums  that  are  to  be  paid by all owners and trainers
  licensed or required to be licensed under section two  hundred  thirteen
  of  this  article, to obtain the total funding amount required annually.
  In order to provide that any sum required to be  paid  by  an  owner  or
  trainer  is  equitable, the fund shall establish payment schedules which
  reflect such factors as are appropriate, including where applicable, the
  geographic location of the racing association or  corporation  at  which
  the  owner  or trainer participates, the duration of such participation,
  the amount of any purse earnings, the number of horses involved, or such
  other factors as the fund shall determine to be fair, equitable  and  in
  the best interests of racing. In no event shall the amount deducted from
  an  owner's  share  of  purses  exceed  one  per centum. In the cases of
  multiple  ownerships  and  limited  racing  appearances,  the fund shall
  equitably adjust the sum required.
    The state racing and wagering board shall, as a condition  of  racing,
  require  any  racing  association or corporation or any nonprofit racing
  association or corporation or any  quarterhorse  racing  association  or
  corporation authorized under this chapter to conduct pari-mutuel betting
  at  a  race  meeting  or races run thereat, to require that each trainer
  utilizing the facilities of such association  or  corporation  and  each
  owner  racing  a  horse  shall  place or have placed on deposit with the
  horsemen's bookkeeper of such  racing  association  or  corporation,  an
  amount  to  be  established and paid in a manner to be determined by the
  fund.
    Should the fund determine that the amount which has been collected  in
  the  manner prescribed is inadequate to pay the annual costs required by
  this section, it shall notify the state racing and wagering board of the
  deficiency and the amount of the additional sum or sums necessary to  be
  paid by each owner and/or trainer in order to cover such deficiency. The
  state  racing  and  wagering  board shall, as an additional condition of
  racing, direct any racing association or corporation  or  any  nonprofit
  racing association or corporation or any quarterhorse racing association
  or  corporation  authorized  under  this  chapter to conduct pari-mutuel
  betting at a race meeting or races run thereat, to require each  trainer
  and  owner  to  place  such  additional  sum or sums on deposit with the
  respective horsemen's bookkeeper.
    All amounts collected by a  horsemen's  bookkeeper  pursuant  to  this
  section  shall be transferred to the fund created under this section and
  shall be used by the fund to purchase  workers'  compensation  insurance
  for  jockeys, apprentice jockeys and exercise persons, to pay for any of
  its liabilities under section fourteen-a of  the  workers'  compensation
  law  and  to  administer  the workers' compensation program for jockeys,
  apprentice jockeys and exercise persons required by this section and the
  workers' compensation law.
    8. a. The fund shall submit to the state racing and wagering  board  a
  plan  of  operation  and any amendments thereto necessary or suitable to
  assure the fair, reasonable and equitable administration  of  the  fund.
  Such  amendments,  if  any,  relating  to the assessment of the costs of
  insurance for the subsequent year, other  than  deficiency  assessments,
  shall be submitted to the board no later than November fifteenth of each
  year.  The  plan  of  operation  and any amendments thereto shall become
  effective upon approval in writing by the board, and shall be  published
  by  the fund upon such approval in one or more trade publications likely
  to be obtained by owners and trainers.
    b. If the fund fails to submit a suitable plan of operation within one
  hundred eighty days following the effective date of this section  or  if
  at  any  time thereafter the fund fails to submit suitable amendments to
  the  plan,  the  board  shall,  after  notice  and  hearing,  adopt  and
  promulgate  such  reasonable  rules  as  are  necessary  or advisable to
  effectuate the provisions of this article. Such rules shall continue  in
  force  until  modified by the board or superseded by a plan submitted by
  the fund and approved by the board.
    c. The plan of operation shall constitute the by-laws of the fund  and
  shall, in addition to requirements enumerated elsewhere in this article:
    (i) Establish procedures for handling the assets of the fund.
    (ii)  Establish  regular places and times for meetings of the board of
  directors.
    (iii) Establish procedures for records to be  kept  of  all  financial
  transactions of the fund, its agents and the board of directors.
    (iv) Establish a formula for determining the appropriate amount of the
  assessments under this section.
    (v)  Establish  the  rules  and procedures to govern the conduct of an
  election held pursuant  to  paragraph  b  of  subdivision  two  of  this
  section.
    (vi)  Contain such additional provisions as the board or fund may deem
  necessary or proper for the execution of the powers and  duties  of  the
  fund.
    9.  The  fund  shall  be  subject to examination and regulation by the
  board.  The fund shall submit to the board not later than May  first  of
  each  year, a financial report for the preceding calendar year in a form
  approved by the  board  and  a  report  of  its  activities  during  the
  preceding calendar year.
    10.  The  fund  shall be exempt from payment of all fees and all taxes
  levied by this state or any of its subdivisions, except taxes levied  on
  real property.
    11. The fund shall purchase such insurance as necessary to protect any
  director, officer, agent or other representative from liability.
    12.  The  fund and the state racing and wagering board shall have such
  power as is necessary to implement the provisions of this section.