Texas is asking the Equestrian Integrity and Safety Authority to rethink its approach to the sport’s regulation by working with state racing commissions to create national standards. unified family.
A spokesperson for the Texas Racing Commission confirmed that an official invitation to the meeting was sent to HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus.
“Our CEO Amy Cook has reached out to Lisa Lazarus and extended an invitation for her to visit Texas and meet with the Texas team to hear our views. We’re awaiting a response from us. Miss Lazarus,” a spokesperson for BloodHorse Feb. 20
HISA provided BloodHorse with the following statement on February 22: “Texas Racing Commission officials were among the hundreds of stakeholders that HISA engaged this fall as we sought feedback. on the proposed draft rule prior to submission to the FTC.As we work towards implementation, we will continue to engage with stakeholders and experts within the confines of established legislation. Congress wrote and passed.”
Lazarus became the CEO of HISA just a week ago. She is an attorney with experience in anti-doping enforcement matters during her 10 years as an industrial relations consultant for 32 NFL clubs. She later served as general counsel and director of business development and strategy at Federation Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sports.
In a January 11 press release announcing her retention, HISA’s board of directors said Lazarus will “work with stakeholders across the United States” to evaluate and improve control programs. safety and anti-doping and drug of HISA.
Lisa Lazarus
The first public sign of Texas overeating appeared on Twitter last Thursday around the same time Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made the announcement that the state would proceed with a motion to intervene in the lawsuit. litigation by National HBPA and its affiliates seeking to obtain incorporation. declared by HISA to be unconstitutional.
A day later, the Texas Racing Commission posted a couple of tweets saying that HISA should rethink its approach to creating national racing regulations and partner with experts on the racing commission. .
“Our hope is that the federal government (will) change its mind and work with us to create uniform standards for horse racing, not decide what Texans need without consulting.” our opinion!” one of the tweets concluded.
The peace offer comes before the final draft of the anti-doping and drug rules is submitted to the Federal Trade Commission, HISA’s umbrella agency. A December 6 press release from HISA said the FTC had been notified of HISA’s intention to adopt those rules before the end of the month. A few days later, it was announced that negotiations had broken down between HISA and the US Anti-Doping Agency, which, according to HISA’s December 6 release, was leading the drafting of the rules. Proposed race safety regulations have been submitted to the FTC.
Texas has also navigated official channels with the FTC, submitting on January 19 the comments proposing a federal partnership agreement funding program to achieve national standards. In a statement accompanying its tweets last Thursday, Texas said the best solutions are achieved through collaborative, not adversarial, approaches.
The HBPA interference complaint asserts, among other things, that HISA violates the federal anti-command doctrine by requiring states to help it implement a federal regulatory program, namely :
—Company requires in HISA that states use their mechanism to fund HISA operations or lose the ability to collect certain taxes and fees for themselves; and
—The law requires “state law enforcement” to “cooperate and share information” with HISA when a person’s conduct is alleged to violate both state law and regulatory rules of HISA.
The anti-command doctrine was identified in five landmark decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court from 1842 to 2018. It prohibits the federal government from “command” state employees or resources to state agencies. federal purposes. For example, In Printz v. United States (1997), the Supreme Court of the United States stated: “The Federal Government may not issue directives requiring the United States to deal with particular matters, nor order officers of the United States, or persons of their political subdivisions, administer or enforce a program of federal administration.”
The doctrine builds on the language of the 10th Amendment, which limits federal power. It says, “Authorities neither conferred upon the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it, are vested in the United States, or upon the people.”
The gist of the argument is that Congress cannot legally establish a regulatory plan and then force the states to help implement it.
HISA and the other defendants in the Texas case have not been asked to respond to arguments against the command regime. Litigation on the matter will not proceed until the resolution of the issues brought forward by HBPA, as previously directed by Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the United States District Court, to which Texas has agreed.
Meanwhile, the HBPA case to allow HISA legislation to be declared unconstitutional is being filed following oral arguments before Hendrix February 16.
