2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 44 - REVENUE - REGULATION OF ACTIVITIES (§§ 44-1-101 — 44-50-1001) › GAMING AND RACING (§§ 44-30-101 — 44-33-108) › Article 32 - RACING (§§ 44-32-101 — 44-32-901) › Part 2 - DIVISION OF RACING EVENTS (§§ 44-32-201 — 44-32-205) › Section 44-32-202 - [Effective 10/1/2024] Director - qualifications - powers and duties - rules

(1)
The director shall be qualified by training and experience to direct the work of the division; and, notwithstanding the provisions of section
24-5-101
, shall be of good character and shall not have been convicted of any felony or gambling-related offense.
(2)
The director shall not engage in any other profession or occupation that could present a conflict of interest with the director's duties as director of the division.
(3)
The director, as administrative head of the division, shall direct and supervise all administrative and technical activities of the division. In addition to the duties imposed upon the director elsewhere in this article 32, it shall be the director's duty:
(a)
To investigate, supervise, and administer the conduct of racing in accordance with the provisions of this article 32 and the rules of the commission;
(b)
To attend meetings of the commission or to appoint a designee to attend in the director's place;
(c)
To employ and direct personnel as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this article 32, but no person shall be employed who has been convicted of a felony or gambling-related offense, notwithstanding the provisions of section
24-5-101
. The director by agreement may secure and provide payment for such services as the director may deem necessary from any department, agency, or unit of the state government and may employ and compensate such consultants and technical assistants as may be required and as otherwise permitted by law. Personnel employed by the director shall include but shall not be limited to a sufficient number of veterinarians, as defined in the "Colorado Veterinary Practice Act", article
315
of title
12
, so that at least one veterinarian employed by the director, or by the operator, as provided in section
44-32-706(1)
, shall be present at every racetrack during weighing in of animals and at all times that racing is being conducted; and the director shall by rule authorize any such veterinarian to conduct physical examinations of animals, including without limitation blood and urine tests and other tests for the presence of prohibited drugs or medications, to ensure that the animals are in proper physical condition to race, to prohibit any animal from racing if it is not in proper physical condition to race, and to take other necessary and proper action to ensure the health and safety of racing animals and the fairness of races.
(d)
To confer, as necessary or desirable and not less than once each quarter, with the commission on the conduct of racing;
(e)
To make available for inspection by the commission or any member of the commission, upon request, all books, records, files, and other information and documents of the director's office;
(f)
To advise the commission and recommend such rules and such other matters as the director deems necessary and advisable to improve the conduct of racing;
(g)
To make a continuous study and investigation of the operation and the administration of similar laws that may be in effect in other states or countries, any literature on the subject that from time to time may be published or available, any federal laws that may affect the conduct of racing, and the reaction of Colorado citizens to existing and potential features of racing events in Colorado with a view to recommending or effecting changes that will tend to serve the purposes of this article 32;
(h)
(I)
To establish and adjust fees for all licenses and registrations issued pursuant to this article 32 in an amount sufficient to generate revenue that approximates the direct and indirect cost of administering this article 32; except that an increase of more than ten percent in the fee for an occupational license or registration shall be subject to ratification by the commission. Except as provided in subsection (3)(h)(II) of this section, the fees shall be credited to the racing cash fund created in section
44-32-205
.
(II)
In establishing and adjusting the source market fee defined in section
44-32-102(23)
, the director may allocate a portion of the fee to be credited to any horse purse trust account established in accordance with section
44-32-702(1)(f)
if the director determines that such an allocation is necessary to maintain a sufficient and competitive purse structure. The total fee paid under this section must not exceed the limit set forth in section
44-32-501(2)(d)
.
(i)
To perform any other lawful acts that the director and the commission may consider necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes and provisions of this article 32.
(4)
If so directed by the commission, the director may, on behalf of this state:
(a)
Negotiate, enter into, and participate in one or more interstate compacts that enable party states to act jointly and cooperatively to create more uniform, effective, and efficient practices, programs, and rules relating to:
(I)
Live horse racing; and
(II)
Pari-mutuel wagering activities, both on-track and off-track, that occur in or affect a party state;
(b)
Serve as this state's authorized representative on a commission to negotiate one or more interstate compacts as described in subsection (4)(a) of this section. If the compact commission undertakes to promulgate rules to be adopted by party states, the director shall endeavor to ensure that the process by which the rules are promulgated conforms substantially to the model state administrative procedure act of 1981, as amended, insofar as the terms of the model act are appropriate to the actions and operations of the compact commission.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 339,§ 2, eff. 10/1/2024.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 136, § 264, eff. 10/1/2019.
Amended by 2018 Ch. 115, § 1, eff. 4/12/2018.
Renumbered from C.R.S. § 12-60-202 and amended by 2018 Ch. 26, § 2, eff. 10/1/2018.
L. 2018: IP(3) and (3)(h) amended, (SB 18-182), ch. 115, p. 811, § 1, effective April 12; entire article added with relocations, (HB 18-1024), ch. 26, p. 290, § 2, effective October 1.
(1) This section is similar to former § 12-60-202 as it existed prior to 2018.
(2) Subsection IP(3) was amended in SB 18-182. Those amendments were superseded by the amendment of subsection IP(3) in HB 18-1024.
(3) Subsection (3)(h) of this section was numbered as § 12-60-202(3)(h) in SB 18-182. That provision was harmonized with and relocated to this section as this section appears in HB 18-1024.
2023 Ch. 339, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.