(a) Notwithstanding Sections 19611 and 19612, and except for an association that qualifies pursuant to Section 19612.6, for a fair conducting a live racing meeting, 1 percent of the total amount handled on live races, excluding wagering at a satellite facility, shall be retained by the fair association for payment to the state as a license fee.
(b) Additionally, 0.48 percent of the total amount handled on live racing, excluding wagering at a satellite facility, shall be deposited with the official registering agency pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 19617.2, and shall thereafter be distributed in accordance with subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of Section 19617.2.
(c) (1) After distribution of the applicable amounts as set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b) and the payments made pursuant to other relevant sections of this chapter, all funds remaining from the deductions provided in Section 19610 shall be distributed 47.5 percent as commissions and 52.5 percent as purses. From the amount distributed as thoroughbred purses, a sum equal to 0.07 percent of the total handle shall be held by the association to be deposited with the official registering agency pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 19617.2, and shall thereafter be distributed in accordance with subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of Section 19617.2.
(2) Any additional amount generated for purses and not distributed during the previous corresponding meeting shall be added to the purses at the current meeting.
(d) In addition to the amounts deducted pursuant to Section 19610, any fair racing association shall deduct 1 percent from the total amount handled in its daily conventional and exotic parimutuel pools. The additional 1 percent shall be deposited in the Fair and Exposition Fund and is hereby appropriated for the purposes specified in Section 19630, except as specified in subdivision (e).
(e) (1) A fair conducting a live racing meeting at a fair in the northern zone or a joint powers authority designated by a fair racing association in the northern zone involved in conducting live racing meetings at fairs in the northern zone may retain the funds described in subdivision (d) for the purposes of improving a fair enclosure, racetrack maintenance, safety at fairs, or other similar activities if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(A) The administrative costs do not exceed 7.5 percent of the funds retained.
(B) An annual audit of the funds is conducted by an independent third party to ensure compliance with the law and approved standards and policies that shall be filed with the Department of Food and Agriculture, the board, and the Senate and Assembly Committees on Governmental Organization.
(2) This subdivision shall apply retroactively to January 1, 2016.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 817, Sec. 2. (AB 460) Effective January 1, 2018.)