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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Karnette, Coto, Davis, De |Ayes:|Leno, Davis, DeSaulnier, | | |Leon, Strickland, Swanson | |Huffman, Karnette, | | | | |Krekorian, Lieu, Ma, | | | | |Nakanishi, Nava, Solorio | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | |Nays:|Sharon Runner | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. AB 1614 Page 2 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 AB 1614 Page 3 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 AB 1614 Page 4 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 AB 1614 Page 5 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