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• Overview
• Arrangement
• Scope and Contents
• Other Finding Aids
• Access Restrictions
• Access Terms
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New York State Commission to Study, Examine and Investigate State Agencies in Relation to Pari-Mutuel Harness Racing Investigation and Bill Files of the Joint Legislative Commission to Study the Pari-Mutuel System

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Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Arranged by topic or record type (e.g. bill files; jockey clubs).

Bill files:Chronological by year, then by house (Senate or Assembly), then numeric by introductory number of bill.

Scope and Content Note

The Commission to Study, Examine and Investigate State Agencies in Relation to Pari-Mutuel Harness Racing (Moreland Commission on Harness Racing) used these records of the Joint Legislative Commission as background and reference materials.

The Joint Legislative Commission, created by a joint resolution of the legislature in February 1940, studied New York's pari-mutuel system and submitted to the legislature recommendations for revised and new legislation regarding racing. Several legislators conducting the Joint Legislative Commission inquiry were subjects of the Moreland Commission's investigation a decade later.

Most of the series concerns proposed legislation introduced at the request of the Joint Legislative Commission between 1940 and 1943. Bill files contain the printed bill and an accompanying summary sheet providing: introductory number; by whom introduced; subject of bill; committee to which referred; printed bill number; and Assembly or Senate Journal statement of action(s) taken on bill, with date and page references to Journal. There are also chronological summaries of legislation introduced each year.

The series also contains investigation and background materials on jockey clubs (corporations licensed by the New York State Harness Racing Commission to conduct pari-mutuel racing) concerning: payments made to legislators; if legislators owned stock or had any other interest in the corporations; and other related issues and irregularities. The Joint Legislative Commission studied the minutes, financial records, correspondence, and other records of the corporations and compiled files containing: background information on the corporations and their financial operations; rough financial schedules; notes taken from correspondence, minutes, and other records; and background information on individuals connected with the corporations.

There are also newspaper articles and abstracts of articles (1939-1943) regarding racing and criminal activities or corruption connected with racing, and reports on the sources of information in the articles.

The series also contains a small amount of material concerning a 1944 investigation of the financial practices of the Joint Legislative Commission.

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Container list is available at the repository.

Access Restrictions

All investigative materials in Moreland Act commission records are indefinitely restricted pursuant to Executive Law sect. 6 and 63.8 and Civil Rights Law sect. 73.8. Requests for access to such materials are referred to the Governor's Office.

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Detailed Description