Judge listens to debate on constitutionality of HISA

The oral arguments took place on February 16 in a federal lawsuit brought by the National Horsemen’s Mercy and Protection Association and several state affiliates asking for the Safety and Integrity Act to be repealed. of Riding.

The HBPA organizations argue that HISA, passed by Congress and signed into law in December 2020, violates the U.S. Constitution’s non-authorization doctrine in that it grants government power to a private entity, is not responsible for being supervised by a federal agency that has no expertise in horse racing. Under the HBPA, the act allows the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, also known as HISA, to make federal law and tax the industry to pay for its activities.

All of this, say the plaintiffs, is a violation of Article I of the United States Constitution, which states that all legislative powers granted by the Constitution are vested in Congress.

The complaint, filed in March 2021 and revised the following month, was opposed by numerous defendants, including HISA and the Federal Trade Commission, for reasons shown in court filings. project, including:

• The claims have no legal effect as no rules have been enacted and no regulations may affect riders until after the effective date of the law, July 1, 2022, and the plaintiffs are not qualified to sue the case;
• The plaintiffs misinterpreted HISA and the precedent set by earlier court decisions in asserting their claim that the congressional mandate was unconstitutional;
• Claims that HISA violates due process considerations by empowering industry organizations to align their competitors with “multiple layers of conjecture, improbable misconduct” and inexplicable for which (plaintiff) presented no evidence.”

At Wednesday’s oral argument, the horsemen’s groups asked Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the U.S. Northern District Court for the Northern District of Texas to rule that the entire conduct was unconstitutional and that the enforcement of such law shall immediately cease. The defendants argued that the suit as amended did not include a claim under which relief could be obtained and should be dismissed.

Hendrix’s job is to organize arguments and make judgments. Regardless of which side supports its decision, an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit may be followed.

A ruling could be made at any time after Wednesday’s oral argument. Hendrix mentioned in a recent petition regarding Texas’s belated effort to intervene in litigation that the case should be resolved in a timely manner.

Daniel Suhr, managing attorney at the Center for Liberal Justice, on behalf of the HBPA, said: “We argued today that parliament cannot cede its legal power to regulate the entire industry, in this case, for a private institution. We believe in our argument and are encouraged by the court’s questions during the hearing.”

HISA leadership released a statement Wednesday afternoon, stating, “We are confident in the constitutionality of HISA; it has been signed into law and the race will proceed accordingly. With support With the help of many industry stakeholders and other experts, HISA has made significant progress and we look forward to establishing and implementing a unified set of rules and guidelines under the Integrity Act. integrity and safety of Horseracing.”

The National Assembly’s passage of the facilitation law has transferred the management of the racing industry to HISA and the FTC, effective this July. National enforcement of the new, uniform regulations will be granted to a third party, initially intended to be the US Anti-Doping Agency. However, USADA and HISA announced in December 2021 that negotiations for the mission had broken down. An alternative enforcement agency may be named.

The Act requires the HISA to exist under the auspices of the FTC. According to Bennett Liebman of Albany Law School, drug and doping rules must go through a roughly six-month approval process with the FTC before they can be implemented. That process is far from complete, and the new regulatory scheme may not be in place for months, assuming regulatory challenges persist. Two standing committees will oversee — one Track Safety Standing Committee and one Anti-Doping and Drug Control Standing Committee.

According to court records, the state of Texas and its racing commission recently asked to intervene in the case, long after the issues were framed and summarized. Texas has sought to argue that the establishment of HISA violates the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which grants powers to the states not vested in the federal government. The same issue is being sued in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky.

The defendants objected to Texas’ 11-hour motion. Hendrix said on February 14 he would only allow intervention if attorneys for Texas did not participate in Wednesday’s oral argument, not pursuing the 10th Amendment request until all All other pending claims in his court are resolved and no attempt is made to mitigate those claims. In addition, Hendrix writes, Texas could better protect its interests if it intervened in the Kentucky case, where the 10th Amendment issue is being litigated. The judge gave Texas until February 18 to issue notice if it still wants to continue to interfere in its court.

State branches that participate in the national HBPA in HISA filing are located in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and West Virginia. National HBPA is represented by attorneys at Liberty Justice Center, a law firm in the public interest. The American Quarter Horse Association and the North American Race Veterinarian Association have submitted Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) briefs in support of the plaintiff.

Brennan Holden Meier of the Dallas law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is the principal attorney for HISA. Alexander V. Sverdlov of the US Department of Justice is the principal advisor to the FTC. Senators Mitch McConnell (Ky) and Deputies Paul Tonko (NY) and Andy Barr (Ky.) participated in the amicus press conference in support of HISA. The Jockey Club, the majority owner of BloodHorse, backed HISA.