A.G. Pax­ton Wins Major Case, Stops Unac­count­able Pri­vate Reg­u­la­tors from Harm­ing Texas Horserac­ing

Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – Attorney General Paxton has secured a significant victory in the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, with the court striking down the Federal Horseracing Integrity & Safety Act (HISA) as unconstitutional.  

HISA, enacted in 2020, is a federal law that nationalized regulation of the horseracing industry, thereby destroying state and local control. It delegated unprecedented power to a private group named the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority, including the power to establish new rules, issue subpoenas, and enforce regulations with civil sanctions, or obtain injunctive relief.

This private entity, unelected and unaccountable to taxpayers, is ostensibly under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but the 5th Circuit points out that the FTC’s authority over it is too limited to provide proper oversight.  

The 5th Circuit’s opinion comes after Attorney General Paxton and the Texas Racing Commission intervened in the case – in support of horseracing associations – fighting to prevent the Authority, armed with unchecked federal power, from dictating to horseracing communities across the country. 
  

As the court points out in its decision, it is alarming for government to confer such unbridled power and autonomy to a private regulatory body:

“[T]he Constitution vests federal power only in the three branches of the federal government. Congress defies this basic safeguard by vesting government power in a private entity not accountable to the people.

"That is what it has done in HISA. The Authority’s power outstrips any private delegation the Supreme Court or our court has allowed.

"We must therefore declare HISA facially unconstitutional.” 

To read the full opinion, click here.