Comments on: Arizona greyhound racing – another black eye

By: Karyn_Zoldan

Karyn_Zoldan — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:56:00 +0000

Thanks. Will call later today.

By: Karyn_Zoldan

Karyn_Zoldan — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Ado
Thanks so much for writing the letter to Gov. Brewer

By: Ado

Ado — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:22:00 +0000

If this is in fact the case, then the state should have some recourse, such as heavy fines that would offset any funds they obtained by using the information for fund raising purposes.

By: Ado

Ado — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 03:57:00 +0000

O.K. Public records ought be available to the public. On this matter there is no question or defense for politicians and their appointees who refuse to obey statutes and make these records available, I am very much an animal lover, having most recently had a Whippet Hound for a house puppy for seven and a half years. Nope, didn’t race him, although it is generally acknowledged a Whippet will beat a Greyhound in shorter distance races. Whippets have more muscle per pound of body mass than Greyhounds even though they are around 1/3 the weight and size.

Anyway, that being said, here is what I had to say to our dear guv regarding this matter:

Dear Honorable Janice K. Brewer, Governor,
As an animal lover, I am disappointed to the point of outrage at Arizona’s public servants whose job it is to keep public records regarding Greyhound racing who are making those records they are being paid with tax dollars to keep, unavailable to the general public, when a valid public records request is made. Is such arrogance toward the voters and taxpayers something you wish your administration to be remembered for? I think we all can agree that our elected officials and their political appointees can do a whole lot better when it comes to the release of public documents regarding animal welfare at Tucson Greyhound Park. Kindly counsel your subordinates to make these records available to the voters and taxpayers who have a genuine and valid interest in animal welfare. Thank you.

By: Mark_B_Evans

Mark_B_Evans — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:53:00 +0000

By my reading of this rule in the Administrative Code, these are public records. You should be able to obtain them. It doesn’t matter whether they’re not in the possession of the Department of Racing but kept either at the track or by the veteranarian. You may have to sue to get them. But first, file a request, give them a date to respond. If they don’t respond or deny, then appeal to the ombudsman. Call me and I’ll help you craft your request.
The code:
http://www.azsos.gov/public_services/Title_19/19-02.htm#ARTICLE_3

M. Veterinarians

…

8. Every
veterinarian licensed by the Department shall keep a written record of the
veterinarian’s practice on the grounds of a permittee relating to greyhounds
participating in racing.

a. This
record shall include:

i. The
name of the greyhound treated;

ii. The
nature of the greyhound’s ailment;

iii. The
type of treatment prescribed and performed for the greyhounds; and

iv. The
date and time of such treatment.

b. The
veterinarian shall keep this record for practice engaged in at all licensed tracks.

c. The
veterinarian shall produce this record without delay upon request of the
stewards or the Department.

By: Karyn_Zoldan

Karyn_Zoldan — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Hi Mark, thanks so much for your post and general tips.

It is my understanding that TGP is not a private entity like a restaurant that must, for example, obey
public health laws, pay sales tax and have non-discriminatory policies. It is quasi-public because
it must share its revenues by law with Arizona. That’s how pari-mutuel wagering works.

Gambling,
as you know is illegal unless authorized. Historically, when and if
a host state authorizes gambling, it also receives a cut of the bets
placed. That’s the deal that TGP and all racetracks across this country
struck with their home states to obtain permission to operate.

Of course, TGP
benefits by a “hardship” tax credit exemption and does not actually pay the
so-called pari-mutuel tax anymore, but the pari-mutuel tax was the basis of its
license. And for the accountants reading this post, the exemption is a credit and not a deduction.

Since TGP is not a private entity, and because it is quasi-public, the
records of state regulators are subject to Sunshine laws. In this case,
Dr. Carlton can play hot potato with injury records and not hold onto
them (if that is even true), but the moment he has regular access to
them and uses them in his official business, they belong to the citizens
who pay his salary.

By: SeattleLeslie

SeattleLeslie — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:46:00 +0000

I may be wrong but when public records are requested and used to solicit donations and funding, then requests do not have to be forthcoming. Information for information sake is one thing and its transparency is important but utilizing information paid for by the taxpayers for self-gain is not.

By: Mark_B_Evans

Mark_B_Evans — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:42:00 +0000

The fact that a private entity is regulated by a government agency or that it receives tax subsidies do not make its records public. To get the injury logs, the state would have to require that race tracks submit them to the state agency as part of its regulation and the agency would have to “maintain” them as part of its regulatory duties. Then, assuming the Legislature doesn’t exempt the records from review, which it frequently does for businesses it requires to submit reports (such as hospitals), the state agency would have to release the record.
Also, if as part of its duties, the regulatory agency is required to annually (or some other timeframe) review or inspect a company’s records, such as injury reports, but not “maintain” them, then those reports also remain out of the reach of a public records request.
But if the state agency creates a report that it maintains as a result of that records review, that report would be public record.

Some tips for determining what records an agency has in its possession that you can get your hands on:
- Review all state statues governing the agency. Legislation often requires agencies to make and keep all kinds of records, reports and data.
http://www.google.com/search?q=arizona+revised+statutes&aq=f&sugexp=chrome,mod=15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

- Review the Administrative Code governing that agency. Once a government passes a law, the bureaucrats then write the rules for that law’s administration.
http://www.azsos.gov/public_services/table_of_contents.htm

- Request all reports the agency submits each year to the AZ Dept of Library and Archives. All state agencies have to abide by records retention rules. These communications often include clues to types of records the agency has on hand, intends to destroy and the like. When an agency wants to destroy records, it has to fill out a Certificat of Records Destruction. Get those certificates and you get a guide to what they keep on hand and you can then request those.
http://www.azlibrary.gov/

- For agencies that have inspection regimes, get the SOPs or policies and procedures manuals for the inspectors. These manuals will have detailed descriptions of the types of records inspectors are required to fill out. Not all of those records will be open to inspection (CPS reports, for instance) but most will.

Other tips
- Refer any denial to the state ombudsman (such as she is):
http://www.azleg.gov/ombudsman/default.asp

- Read the tip sheet by Dave Cuilier:
http://www.ananews.com/wordpress/index.php/resources/