SB 309

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Under existing law, the State Athletic Commission Act, the State Athletic Commission has jurisdiction over all professional and amateur boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing, and all forms and combinations of forms of full contact martial arts contests and is required to appoint an executive officer. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2014. A violation of the act is a crime. This bill would extend the repeal date to January 1, 2016. Existing law requires the commission, at its regularly scheduled meetings, to invite testimony from boxing stakeholders to identify actions that may lead to greater opportunities for its licensees to participate in major professional championship boxing contests in the state. Existing law requires the commission to annually make recommendations, based on that testimony, to the Governor and the Legislature. This bill would delete that recommendation requirement. Existing law authorizes the commission to license professional and amateur boxers, professional and amateur martial arts fighters, and booking agents, managers of professional boxers and professional martial arts fighters, trainers, chief seconds, and seconds of each. Under existing law, only a natural person may be licensed as a boxer and martial arts fighter. This bill would eliminate that natural person limitation on who may be licensed as a boxer and martial arts fighter. Under existing law, the commission may authorize a nonprofit boxing, wrestling, or martial arts club or organization, upon approval of its bylaws, to administer the commission's rules for amateur boxing, wrestling, and full contact martial arts contests subject to a specified finding by the commission. This bill would additionally authorize a sanctioning body to administer its rules. The bill would authorize the commission to rescind an authorization to a nonprofit boxing, wrestling, or martial arts club, organization, or sanctioning body to administer its rules. Existing law prohibits a professional boxer from sparring for training purposes with any person not licensed as a professional boxer or who does not have a sparring permit. Existing law prohibits a person from conducting or operating a professional boxers' training gymnasium unless he or she has been issued a license by the commission. Under existing law, the failure of a licensed training gymnasium owner or operator, fighter, boxer, trainer, second, or manager to report to the commission an injury or knockout of a licensed boxer or fighter or the holder of a sparring permit is grounds for the suspension of his or her license. This bill would repeal those provisions. The bill would prohibit a person from training a professional boxer or kickboxer or martial arts athlete unless he or she has been licensed by the commission. The bill would make the application and renewal fee for a licensed professional trainer $200. The bill would define a "professional trainer" as someone who is responsible for the day-to-day training of those aforementioned athletes and possesses a minimum of 5 years experience in combative sports. The bill would authorize only licensed professional trainers to make a recommendation to the commission on whether a contestant is prepared for his or her first amateur mixed martial arts bout or to turn professional in boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts. The bill would require a professional trainer to be present in the corner of the contestant unless otherwise authorized by the commission or the executive officer. The bill would make the failure of a licensed professional trainer, fighter, boxer, second, or manager to report to the commission and a database designated by the commission an injury or knockout grounds for the suspension or revocation of his or her license. Under existing law, the commission requires, as a condition of licensure and as a part of the application process and for renewal of a license, the examination by a licensed physician and surgeon who specializes in neurology and neurosurgery of each applicant for a license as a professional athlete or contestant, in addition to any other medical examinations. Existing law requires the cost of the examinations to be paid from assessments on any one or more of the following: promoters of professional matches, managers, and professional athletes or other contestants licensed under the act. Existing law requires these assessments to be deposited in the State Athletic Commission Neurological Examination Account. This bill would specify that the administrative costs associated with managing and distributing the State Athletic Commission Neurological Examination Account shall be limited to no more than 20% of the prior year's contributions. The bill would authorize the commission to use no more than 30% of moneys from the State Athletic Commission Neurological Examination Account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund special neurological examinations and new diagnostic imaging and testing to be used in relation to those required examinations. Existing law requires the commission to license referees. Existing law requires a referee to be in attendance at every boxing contest and to enforce the rules of the commission at every boxing contest. Existing law requires a licensed physician and surgeon to observe the physical condition of the contestant during the contest. Existing law prohibits a referee or physician and surgeon from being assigned to a boxing contest if he or she has not participated in a clinic sponsored by the commission in the preceding 6 months. Existing law authorizes the commission to pay any necessary and permitted travel expenses of referees and physicians and surgeons who attend such clinics. This bill would instead prohibit a referee or physician and surgeon from being assigned to a boxing contest if he or she has not completed, within the preceding 6 months, a clinic offered by a provider approved by the commission, as specified. The bill would authorize a clinic provider to charge a referee or physician and surgeon participating in a clinic a reasonable fee. Existing federal law requires a state boxing commission to issue to each professional boxer who registers with it an identification card containing specified information and requires each professional boxer to renew his or her identification card at least once every 4 years. This bill would require the commission to charge a $20 fee to issue federal identification cards and would require those cards to be reissued once every 4 years. Existing law requires every person who conducts a contest or wrestling exhibition, within 5 working days after the determination of every contest or wrestling exhibition for which admission is charged and received, to furnish to the commission, among other things, a fee of 5% of the amount paid for admission to the contest or wrestling exhibition, but prohibits the fee from exceeding $100,000, and a fee of up to 5%, as specified, for the sale, lease, or other exploitation of broadcasting or television rights, except that this fee is prohibited from being less than $1,000 or more than $25,000. Existing law requires the commission to report to a specified legislative committee on the fiscal impact of that $100,000 limitation. If the fee for a boxing contest exceeds $70,000, existing law requires that 12 of the amount in excess of $70,000 be paid to the commission and 12 to the Boxers' Pension Fund. Existing law revises this requirement if a specified report recommends expansion of the application of the Boxers' Pension Fund. Existing law prohibits the minimum fee for an amateur contest or exhibition from being less than $500. This bill would instead require those fees to be furnished within 72 hours. The bill would require the commission to report to the Legislature on the fiscal impact of that $100,000 limitation during its next sunset review. The bill would increase the limit on the 5% fee for the sale, lease, or other exploitation of broadcasting or television rights to $35,000. The bill would delete the provisions that require revision of the distribution of fees in excess of $70,000 based on a specified report. The bill would prohibit the minimum fee for an amateur contest or exhibition from being less than $1,000. The bill would prohibit the minimum fee for a professional contest or exhibition from being less than $1,250. Existing law requires the administrative costs associated with investing, managing, and distributing the Boxers' Pension Fund to be limited to no more than 20% of the average annual contribution made to the fund in the previous 2 years, not including any investment income derived from the corpus of the fund. Existing law requires the commission to report to a specified legislative committee on the impact of these provisions during the next regularly scheduled sunset review. This bill would limit those administrative costs to no more than 2% of the corpus of the fund and would require that report to be submitted to the Legislature. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 18646 of the Business and Professions Code made by this bill and AB 1186 to take effect if both bills are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last. Because a violation of the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.