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.










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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 


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