NYRA Oversight Likely to Be Extended One Year
Mar 15, 2015 18:40:19 GMT -5
Post by cait on Mar 15, 2015 18:40:19 GMT -5
ugh! andy is such a control freak - even when he has no idea wtf he's doing (definitely the case re racing)
he probably wants to be sure he puts FL OOB - the jerk has the worst ego of anyone - ever! how dare they sue concerning HIS casino?!
NYRA Oversight Likely to Be Extended One Year
By Tom Precious
Bloodhorse
It appears increasingly likely that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will get his desire to extend the life of the state's control over the New York Racing Association.
The Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-run Assembly last week, in separate and often dueling resolutions outlining lawmakers' priorities in the ongoing state budget talks, signaled the chambers are in agreement with the one-year oversight extension plan Cuomo proposed in January for the private racetrack operator.
The proposal, first contained in Cuomo's budget plan for the 2015-16 fiscal year that begins April 1, seeks to keep a state government-dominated board in place to run NYRA. A majority of the state's appointments to the NYRA board are selected by Cuomo.
State control of the 17-member NYRA board was pushed through by Cuomo in 2012 after a series of missteps by the operator of three Thoroughbred racetracks—Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. Return to private hands is, by law, set for this fall after the expiration of the three-year control period. In Cuomo's budget plan in January, the governor called for the extension "in the event a prospective governing structure" is not in place before the oversight period ends.
State officials have not made the future governance of NYRA a top priority by any means. NYRA board members were starting work on a plan to present to state officials, but that appears to have slowed in recent months. The one-year extension would appear to signal either that state government leaders are unmoved by any privatization plans put forth so far by NYRA or that state officials are not satisfied with the pace of any turnaround efforts at the racing giant.
Under the law, NYRA must recommend to Cuomo and lawmakers a new governing structure no later than 180 days before the end of the state's control period. Now, as the Assembly budget bill states, that recommendation would not be required until sometime in 2016 if the final budget agreed to by Cuomo and lawmakers embraces the one-year extension to what is formally called NYRA's Reorganization Board.
At the time the control board was put in place in 2012, state officials were adamant about the need for just a three-year reorganization period.
The looming agreement for a one-year extension is buried deep in the thousands of pages of Assembly budget bills and in a non-binding Senate resolution. Though the fiscal plan approvals last week by both houses of budget measures still are under negotiations on a host of major education, health care, tax and other issues, it is noteworthy that the Senate and Assembly measures were out of their way to embrace Cuomo's timetable for state oversight of NYRA for another year. Still, in Albany, nothing is agreed to when it comes to the state budget until all elements of the overall fiscal plan come together.
In a separate provision of its one-house budget resolution, the New York Senate also said senators will "continue to examine consequences for New York's existing gaming industry and municipalities as a result of the siting of any newly licensed casino to maintain the continued viability of such industry within the state, including adjustments of vendor fees and elimination of statutory restrictions or enhancement of market opportunities. The Senate will further examine internet gaming for games of skill, reflecting recent changes in the classification of these games."
The Senate did not elaborate that position, but a host of tracks, including Finger Lakes, have been complaining about the selection of a full-blown commercial casino between Rochester and Syracuse, a development they say will harm their operations unless the state makes major changes in such things as the taxes collected by the state on their racino operations.
he probably wants to be sure he puts FL OOB - the jerk has the worst ego of anyone - ever! how dare they sue concerning HIS casino?!
NYRA Oversight Likely to Be Extended One Year
By Tom Precious
Bloodhorse
It appears increasingly likely that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will get his desire to extend the life of the state's control over the New York Racing Association.
The Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-run Assembly last week, in separate and often dueling resolutions outlining lawmakers' priorities in the ongoing state budget talks, signaled the chambers are in agreement with the one-year oversight extension plan Cuomo proposed in January for the private racetrack operator.
The proposal, first contained in Cuomo's budget plan for the 2015-16 fiscal year that begins April 1, seeks to keep a state government-dominated board in place to run NYRA. A majority of the state's appointments to the NYRA board are selected by Cuomo.
State control of the 17-member NYRA board was pushed through by Cuomo in 2012 after a series of missteps by the operator of three Thoroughbred racetracks—Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. Return to private hands is, by law, set for this fall after the expiration of the three-year control period. In Cuomo's budget plan in January, the governor called for the extension "in the event a prospective governing structure" is not in place before the oversight period ends.
State officials have not made the future governance of NYRA a top priority by any means. NYRA board members were starting work on a plan to present to state officials, but that appears to have slowed in recent months. The one-year extension would appear to signal either that state government leaders are unmoved by any privatization plans put forth so far by NYRA or that state officials are not satisfied with the pace of any turnaround efforts at the racing giant.
Under the law, NYRA must recommend to Cuomo and lawmakers a new governing structure no later than 180 days before the end of the state's control period. Now, as the Assembly budget bill states, that recommendation would not be required until sometime in 2016 if the final budget agreed to by Cuomo and lawmakers embraces the one-year extension to what is formally called NYRA's Reorganization Board.
At the time the control board was put in place in 2012, state officials were adamant about the need for just a three-year reorganization period.
The looming agreement for a one-year extension is buried deep in the thousands of pages of Assembly budget bills and in a non-binding Senate resolution. Though the fiscal plan approvals last week by both houses of budget measures still are under negotiations on a host of major education, health care, tax and other issues, it is noteworthy that the Senate and Assembly measures were out of their way to embrace Cuomo's timetable for state oversight of NYRA for another year. Still, in Albany, nothing is agreed to when it comes to the state budget until all elements of the overall fiscal plan come together.
In a separate provision of its one-house budget resolution, the New York Senate also said senators will "continue to examine consequences for New York's existing gaming industry and municipalities as a result of the siting of any newly licensed casino to maintain the continued viability of such industry within the state, including adjustments of vendor fees and elimination of statutory restrictions or enhancement of market opportunities. The Senate will further examine internet gaming for games of skill, reflecting recent changes in the classification of these games."
The Senate did not elaborate that position, but a host of tracks, including Finger Lakes, have been complaining about the selection of a full-blown commercial casino between Rochester and Syracuse, a development they say will harm their operations unless the state makes major changes in such things as the taxes collected by the state on their racino operations.
