The Attorneys General from nine states have called upon Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell not to use the end-of-term session of Congress to push through legislation intended to fix unconstitutional issues with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act because HISA has already caused “enormous upheaval” in their states, ustrottingnews.com reports.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana ruled Nov. 18 that HISA is “facially unconstitutional,” on the grounds that it delegates “unsupervised government power to a private entity”, reversing an earlier ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry led the effort in sending the letter to McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky. Eight other Attorneys General, representing Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas, also signed the letter.
In the letter, dated Dec. 8, Landry wrote,
“Senator McConnell:
“The undersigned State Attorneys General write on matters of utmost importance and urgency—federal legislation that strikes at the very philosophical foundations of our Republic. That legislation is the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (“HISA”). A recent decision issued from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that HISA is unconstitutional. See National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association v. Black, — F.4th —, 2022 WL 17075011 (5th Cir. Nov. 18, 2022). The Court unanimously and correctly held that HISA facially violates the private nondelegation doctrine. Louisiana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have a similar case pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, with oral argument heard on December 7.
“It has come to our attention that you are considering proposing language related to HISA in the Defense Spending Authorization Act or other end-of-year legislation. We urge you not to do so. HISA has already caused enormous upheaval in our States. A lame-duck session is not the time to slip new language into legislation amending HISA in response to Black. Indeed, language that attempts anything other than repealing this ill-advised legislation will only make a bad situation worse.”
To read the complete letter, click here.
The letter was signed,
Very truly yours,
Jeff Landry, Louisiana Attorney General
Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas Attorney General
Alan Wilson, South Carolina Attorney General
Todd Rokita, Indiana Attorney General
Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General
Lynn Fitch, Mississippi Attorney General
Brenna Bird, Iowa Attorney General (Elect)
John O'Connor, Oklahoma Attorney General
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