Section 44-32-507 - Investigation - denial, suspension, and revocation actions against licensees - unlawful acts(1) The commission upon its own motion may, and upon complaint in writing of any person shall, investigate the activities of any licensee or applicant within the state or any person upon the premises of any facility licensed pursuant to this article 32. In addition to its authority under any other provision of this article 32, the commission may issue a letter of admonition to a licensee, fine a licensee, suspend a license, deny an application for a license, or revoke a license, if the person has committed any of the following violations: (a) Disregarding or violating any provision of this article 32 or any rule promulgated by the commission in the interests of the public and in conformance with the provisions of this article 32;(b) Been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, a criminal charge under the laws of this or any other state or of the United States, or entered into a plea bargain for acts or omissions that, if committed in Colorado, would have been grounds for discipline in this state. A certified copy of the judgment of the court in which any such conviction occurred shall be presumptive evidence of the conviction in any hearing under this article 32. This subsection (1)(b) shall be applied in accordance with section 24-5-101.(c) Current prosecution or pending charges in any jurisdiction, against the applicant, or any of its officers or directors, or any of its general partners, or any stockholders, limited partners, or other persons having a financial or equity interest of five percent or greater in the applicant, for any felony; except that, at the request of the applicant or the person charged, the commission shall defer decision upon the application during the pendency of the charge;(d) Fraud, willful misrepresentation, or deceit in racing;(e) Failure to disclose to the commission complete ownership or beneficial interest in a racing animal entered to be raced;(f) Misrepresentation or attempted misrepresentation in connection with the sale of a racing animal or other matter pertaining to racing or registration of racing animals;(g) Failure to comply with any order or rulings of the commission, the stewards, the judges, or a racing official pertaining to a racing matter;(h) Ownership of any interest in or participation by any manner in any bookmaking, pool-selling, touting, bet solicitation, or illegal enterprise;(i) Employing or harboring unlicensed persons on the premises of a racetrack;(j) Being a person, employing a person, or being assisted by a person who is not of good record or good moral character;(k) Discontinuance of or ineligibility for the activity for which the license was issued;(l) Being currently under suspension or revocation of a racing license in another racing jurisdiction, or having been subject to disciplinary action by the commission or equivalent agency of another jurisdiction for acts or omissions that, if committed in Colorado, would have been grounds for discipline in this state; except that this subsection (1)(l) shall not furnish the basis for the imposition of fines;(m) Possession on the premises of a racetrack of:(II) A battery, buzzer, electrical device, or other appliance other than a whip that could be used to alter the speed of a racing animal in a race or while working out or schooling;(n) Possession, on the premises of a racetrack, by a person other than a licensed veterinarian, of:(I) A hypodermic needle, hypodermic syringe, or other similar device;(II) Any substance, compound items, or combination thereof of any medicine, narcotic, stimulant, depressant, or anesthetic that could alter the normal performance of a racing animal unless specifically authorized by the commission veterinarian;(o) Cruelty to or neglect of a racing animal;(p) Offering, promising, giving, accepting, or soliciting a bribe in any form, directly or indirectly, to or by a person having any connection with the outcome of a race, or failure to report knowledge of the act immediately to the stewards, the judges, or the commission;(q) Causing, attempting to cause, or participating in any way in any attempt to cause the prearrangement of a race result, or failure to report knowledge of the act immediately to the stewards, the judges, or the commission;(r) Entering, or aiding and abetting the entry of, a racing animal ineligible or unqualified for the race entered;(s) Willfully or unjustifiably entering or racing of any animal in any race under any name or designation other than the name or designation assigned to the animal by and registered with the official recognized registry for that breed of animal, or willfully soliciting, instigating, engaging in or in any way furthering any act by which any racing animal is entered or raced in any race under any name or designation other than the name or designation duly assigned by and registered with the official recognized registry for that breed of animal;(t) Aiding or abetting any person in the violation of any rule of the commission;(u) Racing at a racetrack without having a racing animal registered to race at that racetrack;(v) Being on the premises of a racetrack for which the licensee is required to be licensed without being able to show proof of gainful employment at that racetrack;(w) Failing to comply with the requirements of article 33 of this title 44 or any rule promulgated by the executive director pursuant to section 44-33-108 (3).(2) The director may summarily suspend the license of any person pending a hearing concerning violation of subsection (1)(o) of this section.(3) Any person who fails to pay within the time period established by rule a fine imposed pursuant to this article 32 shall pay, in addition to the fine due, a penalty amount equal to the fine. Any person who submits to the department through the division a check in payment of a fine or license fee requirement imposed pursuant to this article 32, which check is not honored by the financial institution upon which it is drawn, shall pay, in addition to the fine or fee due, a penalty amount equal to the fine or fee. All money received pursuant to a penalty amount imposed by this subsection (3) shall be credited to the general fund of the state.(4) Any person aggrieved by a final action or order of the commission may appeal the action to the Colorado court of appeals.Renumbered from C.R.S. § 12-60-507 and amended by 2018 Ch. 26, § 2, eff. 10/1/2018.Amended by 2018 Ch. 15, § 5, eff. 10/1/2018.L. 2018: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 18-1024), ch. 26, p. 301, § 2, effective October 1; IP(1) and (1)(w) amended, (SB 18-035), ch. 15, p. 258, § 5, effective October 1.(1) This section is similar to former § 12-60-507 as it existed prior to 2018.
(2) Subsection IP(1) was amended in SB 18-035. Those amendments were superseded by the amendment of subsection IP(1) in HB 18-1024.
(3) Subsection (1)(w) of this section was numbered as § 12-60-507(1)(w)(I) in SB 18-035. That provision was harmonized with and relocated to this section as this section appears in HB 18-1024.