Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Monday granted a stay that will prevent the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from issuing a mandate stemming from a recent Fifth Circuit opinion that the Horseracing and Safety Integrity Act (HISA)'s enforcement mechanism is unconstitutional. The stay is to be in effect pending a decision by the Supreme Court as to whether it will take up the larger issue of whether those enforcement provisions are unconstitutional under the private nondelegation doctrine, which is a basic principle of...

The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that it won't treat a request made by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority to vacate a recent panel opinion and reinstate a stay pending appeal as an "emergency" that requires an expedited decision. The decision involves a lawsuit under appeal brought by the states of Louisiana and West Virginia, plus other "covered persons" under HISA, alleging unconstitutionality and federal rulemaking procedure violations. (Note: An earlier version of this story misidentified the plaintiff in the case. The National...

Included in a year-end government funding bill that included a $900-billion COVID-19 relief package, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was passed by the House of Representatives and Senate Monday night. The bill is expected to be signed into law shortly by President Donald J. Trump, which would mean that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, once considered a longshot to pass, will become a reality. The passage of the bill was a a bipartisan effort led by Congressmen Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Andy Barr (R-KY) and Senate Majority Leader...