Help For Horse Farms

I always enjoy reading Larry Dale Keeling in the Herald-Leader and I have to agree with his take on Steve Beshear’s paying his debt to the horse and gambling industry.

FRANKFORT --Kentucky's horse industry played a significant role in electing Gov. Steve Beshear. So, Beshear no doubt felt an obligation to propose casino gambling legislation in keeping with the wishes of the industry.

OK. Fine. Beshear's obligation has been met. The industry's bill has been introduced. Now, let's all prepare for the return trip to the real world.

As might be expected from an industry that has never been able to get its act together on expanded gambling -- and please, let's call it gambling, not gaming -- the legislation Beshear unveiled Thursday is unrealistic, over the top, bizarre even.

Perhaps Beshear and the General Assembly could benefit from those with more experience in writing this kind of law. Below is an example from Nevada.

NRS 244.345 Dancing halls, escort services, entertainment by referral services and gambling games or devices; limitation on licensing of houses of prostitution.

1. Every natural person wishing to be employed as an entertainer for an entertainment by referral service and every natural person, firm, association of persons or corporation wishing to engage in the business of conducting a dancing hall, escort service, entertainment by referral service or gambling game or device permitted by law, outside of an incorporated city, must:

(a) Make application to the license board of the county in which the employment or business is to be engaged in, for a county license of the kind desired. The application must be in a form prescribed by the regulations of the license board.

(b) File the application with the required license fee with the county license collector, as provided in chapter 364 of NRS, who shall present the application to the license board at its next regular meeting.

The board, in counties whose population is less than 400,000, may refer the petition to the sheriff, who shall report upon it at the following regular meeting of the board. In counties whose population is 400,000 or more, the board shall refer the petition to the metropolitan police department. The department shall conduct an investigation relating to the petition and report its findings to the board at the next regular meeting of the board. The board shall at that meeting grant or refuse the license prayed for or enter any other order consistent with its regulations. Except in the case of an application for a license to conduct a gambling game or device, the county license collector may grant a temporary permit to an applicant, valid only until the next regular meeting of the board. In unincorporated towns and cities governed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 269 of NRS, the license board has the exclusive power to license and regulate the employment and businesses mentioned in this subsection.

2. The board of county commissioners, and in a county whose population is less than 400,000, the sheriff of that county constitute the license board, and the county clerk or other person designated by the license board is the clerk thereof, in the respective counties of this state.

3. The license board may, without further compensation to the board or its clerk:

(a) Fix, impose and collect license fees upon the employment and businesses mentioned in this section.

(b) Grant or deny applications for licenses and impose conditions, limitations and restrictions upon the licensee.

(c) Adopt, amend and repeal regulations relating to licenses and licensees.

(d) Restrict, revoke or suspend licenses for cause after hearing. In an emergency the board may issue an order for immediate suspension or limitation of a license, but the order must state the reason for suspension or limitation and afford the licensee a hearing.

4. The license board shall hold a hearing before adopting proposed regulations, before adopting amendments to regulations, and before repealing regulations relating to the control or the licensing of the employment or businesses mentioned in this section. Notice of the hearing must be published in a newspaper published and having general circulation in the county at least once a week for 2 weeks before the hearing.

5. Upon adoption of new regulations the board shall designate their effective date, which may not be earlier than 15 days after their adoption. Immediately after adoption a copy of any new regulations must be available for public inspection during regular business hours at the office of the county clerk.

6. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 241.0355, a majority of the members constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

7. Any natural person, firm, association of persons or corporation who engages in the employment of any of the businesses mentioned in this section without first having obtained the license and paid the license fee as provided in this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

8. In a county whose population is 400,000 or more, the license board shall not grant any license to a petitioner for the purpose of operating a house of ill fame or repute or any other business employing any person for the purpose of prostitution.

9. As used in this section:

(a) “Entertainer for an entertainment by referral service” means a natural person who is sent or referred for a fee to a hotel or motel room, home or other accommodation by an entertainment by referral service for the purpose of entertaining the person located in the hotel or motel room, home or other accommodation.

(b) “Entertainment by referral service” means a person or group of persons who send or refer another person to a hotel or motel room, home or other accommodation for a fee in response to a telephone or other request for the purpose of entertaining the person located in the hotel or motel room, home or other accommodation.

[1:50:1923; NCL § 2037] + [2:50:1923; NCL § 2038] + [3:50:1923; NCL § 2039] + [4:50:1923; NCL § 2040]—(NRS A 1959, 838; 1961, 364; 1971, 11; 1973, 923; 1975, 562; 1979, 20, 305, 511, 728, 730, 732, 733; 1989, 1899; 1991, 166; 2001, 1124)

If our Kentucky legislators followed this model, think of all the new business and extra income folks at KEEP like Brereton Jones and his Airdrie Stud could generate.

Like ranching in Nevada, this kind of law would bring a whole new meaning to the term Stud Farm in Kentucky.