BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1614
Page 1
CORRECTED - July 18, 2007
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1614 (Strickland)
As Amended May 21, 2007
Majority vote
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS 6-0
APPROPRIATIONS 11-1
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|Ayes:|Karnette, Coto, Davis, De |Ayes:|Leno, Davis, DeSaulnier, |
| |Leon, Strickland, Swanson | |Huffman, Karnette, |
| | | |Krekorian, Lieu, Ma, |
| | | |Nakanishi, Nava, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Sharon Runner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Expands the definition of a "rodeo" to include any
three of six specified events and excludes any rodeo that is
performed on private property, does not charge admission, does
not sell or accept sponsorships, and is not open to the public.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "rodeo" as a public performance featuring competition
between persons and that includes four or more of the
following events: bareback bronco riding; saddle bronco
riding; bull riding; calf roping; steer wrestling; or, team
roping.
2)Requires the management of any professionally sanctioned or
amateur rodeo, as defined, to ensure that a veterinarian is
present during the rodeo event, or "on-call" as specified.
3)Allows a veterinarian complete access to the rodeo site, to
declare any animal unfit for an event, and specifies other
veterinarian duties.
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4)Specifies that any animal injured during the course of a rodeo
event receive immediate examination and appropriate treatment.
5)Requires a veterinarian to submit a brief listing of any
animal injury requiring veterinary treatment to the Board of
Veterinary Medical Examiners (BVME) within 48 hours of the
conclusion of the rodeo.
6)Prohibits the use of electric prods while an animal is in a
chute.
7)Requires rodeo management to have available a conveyance to
transport an animal in the event of injury.
8)Makes a violation of rodeo standards an infraction and
assesses a fine of not less than $500 and not more than
$2,000, and for a subsequent violation, a fine of not less
than $1,500 and not more than $5,000.
9)Prohibits the intentional tripping or felling of an equine by
the legs, by any means, for the purposes of entertainment or
sport.
10)Prohibits the poling of a horse (a method of training horses
to jump) which consists of:
a) Forcing, persuading or enticing a horse to jump in such
a manner that one or more of its legs will come in contact
with an obstruction consisting of any kind of wire, or a
pole, stick, rope or other object with brads, nails, tacks
or other sharp points embedded therein or attached thereto;
or,
b) Raising, throwing or moving a pole, stick, wire, rope or
other object against one or more of the legs of a horse
while it is jumping an obstruction so that the horse, in
either case, is induced to raise such leg, or legs, higher
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in order to clear the obstruction.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor non-reimbursable costs for enforcement, offset
to some extent by fine revenues.
COMMENTS :
1)Rodeos: Rodeos can include bareback riding, saddle bronco
riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, steer
roping, horse roping, team roping, and barrel racing. The
events are hosted in diverse communities, from the smallest of
towns (Ruth, California) to the largest of urban areas (San
Francisco and Los Angeles),and are typically sponsored by the
Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association, International
Professional Rodeo Association, Gay Rodeo Association, Bill
Pickett Rodeos, California Cowboys Professional Rodeo
Association, and high schools and colleges. Estimates of the
number of rodeos that occur in California each year range
between 150 and 350.
The management of most, if not all, of these events is required
under current law to ensure that the following activities
occur in conjunction with each performance:
a) Have a veterinarian present or on-call and able to
arrive within one hour;
b) Allow the veterinarian complete access to the rodeo
site;
c) Gives the veterinarian the authority to declare any
animal unfit and requires the veterinarian to report all
animal injuries to BVME;
d) Ensure that any injured animal receive immediate
examination and appropriate medical treatment;
e) Have a conveyance available for the immediate and humane
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removal of any injured animal; and,
f) Ensure that no electric prods or similar devices are
used once an animal is in the chute.
The fundamental question presented by this bill is whether
Charreadas should also be required to meet these standards.
2)Charreadas or Mexican Rodeos: According to Wikipedia,
"(C)harrer?a is the Mexican style of traditional Spanish
horsemanship that developed in Mexico under the hacienda
system. Both the Mexican Charreada type of rodeo and American
type of rodeo grew out of this tradition. Prior to the
Mexican Revolution in 1910, Mexican vaqueros and American and
Canadian cowboys participated in similar events throughout all
three countries. The Charreada itself consists of a number of
scoring events staged in a particular order, nine for the men
and one for the women. Two or more teams, called
"asociaciones," compete against each other. Teams can compete
to become state, regional, and national champions. The
competitors are judged by both style and execution. Unlike
rodeos, most charreadas do not award money to the winners. At
times there are such prizes as saddles or horse trailers.
The traditional Charreada typically consist of nine events (some
of which are not permitted under California law): Cala de
Caballo (test of the horse); Piales en Lienzo (roping of the
feet); Colas en el Lienzo, or Coleadero (arena bull tailing);
Jineto de Toro ( bull riding ); Terna en el Ruedo (team of
three); Jineteo de Yegua (bareback on a wild mare); Manganas a
Pie (roping on foot); Manganas a Caballo (roping from
horseback); and, El Paso de la Muerte (the pass of death).
3)Intended effect? This bill changes the statutory definition
of a rodeo to one that includes three out of any six specified
events from a current threshold of four. The lowering of the
event threshold will subject Charreadas to the same animal
health and welfare standards as other professional and amateur
rodeos. The most costly of those standards are the
requirements for a veterinarian to be onsite or within one
hour's travel time, and having a conveyance to move an injured
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animal.
Three of the six events that are encompassed by the legal
definition of a rodeo are performed at Charreadas. Those
events are: bull riding; bareback bronc riding; and, team
roping. Charreadas promoters submit that these events
generally have no financial sponsors or public admission fees
and are funded by entry fees on the charros (cowboys).
4)Scope of coverage. The bill excludes rodeos which are
performed on private property and do not charge admission or
accept sponsorships. While the committee gathered some
evidence of sponsored events, as mentioned above, Charreada
promoters report that as a matter of general practice they do
not collect admission fees or accept sponsorships. It is
therefore questionable which, or how many, Charreadas would be
covered under the provisions of the bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. /
(916) 319-3450
FN: 0000779