BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1186| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1186 Author: Bonilla (D), et al. Amended: 9/4/13 in Senate Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMM. : 10-0, 8/19/13 AYES: Lieu, Emmerson, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Padilla, Wyland, Yee SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant SUBJECT : California State Athletic Commission SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill clarifies that the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is authorized to regulate all forms of full contact martial arts contests involving participants 18 years of age or younger, including all forms and combinations of forms of full contact martial arts contests deemed by CSAC to be similar, and that an amateur contest includes a contest where full contact is used, even if unintentionally. Also requires CSAC to establish an advisory pankration subcommittee. Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/13 authorize CSAC to delegate oversight of amateur sports to one or more entities; include a deadline of July 1, 2014, by which the pankration subcommittee, as established by this bill, must make recommendations to CSAC; CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 2 and make technical and clarifying changes. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act (Federal Boxing Act) prohibits events from taking place in a state without a regulatory commission unless the fight is regulated by either another state's commission or on sovereign tribal land. Existing state law: 1. The Boxing Act, or State Athletic Commission Act (State Act), provides for the licensing and regulation of boxers, kickboxers, martial arts athletes and events held in California by CSAC within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and makes CSAC inoperative and repealed on January 1, 2014. 2. Provides that the terms "contest" and "match" are synonymous, may be used interchangeably, include boxing, kickboxing, and martial arts exhibitions, and mean a fight, prizefight, boxing contest, pugilistic contest, kickboxing contest, martial arts contest, or sparring match, between two or more persons, where full or partial contact is used or intended that may result or is intended to result in physical harm to the opponent. Provides that in any exhibition or sparring match, the opponents are not required to use their best efforts. 3. Defines the following terms: A. "Martial arts" means any form of karate, kung fu, tae kwon-do, kickboxing or any combination of full contact martial arts, including mixed martial arts (MMA), or self-defense conducted on a full contact basis where a weapon is not used. B. "Kickboxing" means any form of boxing in which blows are delivered with the hand and any part of the leg below the hip, including the foot. C. "Full contact" means the use of full unrestrainted physical force in a martial arts contest. D. "Light contact" means the use of controlled martial CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 3 arts techniques whereby contact to the body is permitted in a restrained manner, no contact to the face is permitted, and no contact is permitted which may result or is intended to result in physical harm to the opponent. E. "Noncontact" means that no contact occurs between either contestant. 4. Provides that no person under the age of 18 years shall participate as a contestant in any contest or match or exhibition, except that any person 16 years or over may be licensed as an amateur and may participate in an amateur contest or match. This bill: 1. Removes "partial contact" from the definition of a "contest" or "match." 2. Clarifies that "full contact" means the use of physical force in a martial arts contest that may result, or is intended to result, in physical harm to the opponent, including any contact that does not meet the definition of light contact or noncontact. 3. Removes "permitted body contact in a restrained manner" from the definition of "light contact." 4. Clarifies that an amateur contest or match includes a contest or match where full contact is used, even if unintentionally. 5. Specifies that an amateur contest or match does not include light contact karate, tae kwon-do, judo, or any other light contact martial arts as approved by CSAC and recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport. 6. Clarifies that CSAC shall have jurisdiction over all forms and combination of forms of full contact martial arts contests involving participants 18 years of age or younger. 7. Requires CSAC to establish an advisory pankration subcommittee to investigate the rules and conduct of contests involving or claiming to involve pankration by persons under 18 years of age, or any style deemed by the subcommittee to CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 4 be sufficiently similar. Requires the subcommittee, by July 1, 2014, to make recommendations to CSAC regarding any legislative changes to be enacted that may be necessary to improve CSAC's regulation and oversight of contests in order to adequately protect participants. Provides that the pankration subcommittee shall consist of three members of CSAC who meet and examine the following, including, but not limited to: A. The legality and safety of contests. B. Whether or not legislation should be enacted to impose age-based requirements or restrictions, which may include a prohibition on participants engaging in contests. C. Appropriate safety precautions for persons under 18 years of age engaging in contests. 8. Prohibits a person under 18 years of age from participating as a contestant in any professional contest or match or exhibition; and authorizes any person, irrespective of age, to participate as a contestant in an amateur contest, match, or exhibition with CSAC approval subject to licensure authorization. 9. Authorizes CSAC to delegate its authority for amateur sports to one or more entities. Background CSAC . CSAC provides direction, management, control of and jurisdiction over professional and amateur boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing, all forms and combinations of full contact martial arts contests, including MMA and matches or exhibitions conducted, held or given in California. SB 1549 (Figueroa, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2004) gave CSAC jurisdiction over MMA, which at the time was a relatively new sport that was quickly growing in popularity. CSAC oversees licensing, prohibited substance testing, and event regulation. Functionally, CSAC has five primary responsibilities: licensing, protection of the boxer and fighter, enforcement, regulating events and administering the Professional Boxer's Pension Fund. CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 5 CSAC is responsible for implementation and enforcement of the Federal Boxing Act and the State Act. CSAC establishes requirements for licensure, issues and renews licenses, approves and regulates events, assigns ringside officials, investigates complaints received, and enforces applicable laws by issuing fines and suspending or revoking licenses. In 2012, CSAC supervised close to 200 events; to date, CSAC has supervised over 100 events. CSAC licenses a number of individuals related to the participation in, oversight for, and management of events in California. Delegation of authority for amateur sports in California . Existing law allows CSAC to delegate its authority to oversee amateur sports to a qualified nonprofit organization if CSAC determines that the nonprofit "meets or exceeds the safety and fairness standards of the Commission." Under existing law, CSAC's delegated authority for amateur regulation would also have oversight of the same sports as CSAC. California is unique in requiring that a delegated authority have nonprofit status. According to information provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures, many other states similarly delegate regulatory authority for amateur sports but do not always require the organization to have nonprofit status. CSAC has delegated its regulatory oversight responsibilities of amateur boxing and MMA to USA Boxing, Inc. and to California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO). There have been several issues with USA Boxing that raise some concern regarding the oversight of amateur boxing. In 2009, CSAC suspended USA Boxing's authorization to regulate amateur boxing for three weeks in response to media reports of improprieties including underage alcohol consumption and gambling at USA Boxing sanctioned events and concern for the health and safety of amateur athletes. That delegation was reinstated after CSAC staff negotiated stricter requirements regarding safety, background checks, uniformity, reporting and record keeping, and included promises for USA Boxing to be more responsive to CSAC. CSAC voted to place USA Boxing on probation until June 2010. Earlier this year, CSAC informed USA Boxing that it would be randomly sending CSAC inspectors to USA Boxing CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 6 sanctioned events to ensure safety at those events. When CAMO was first created and received authority from CSAC to oversee amateur MMA, there was no consensus on safety standards for amateur MMA and CAMO the founders reported that it was unnecessary and even dangerous for the fighters to wear headgear. It does not appear that CSAC ever adopted regulations to clearly outline the difference between professional regulations and amateur regulations prior to delegating its authority. Additionally, CSAC struggled with a definition of what constitutes "full contact" and should therefore be regulated. While CAMO presented substantial regulations and clear standards for the components necessary to oversee amateur MMA, there is some concern that CSAC was not yet in a position in its own process and according to its own procedures to assist in the creation of the CAMO program. CSAC also worked with a small group of stakeholders to create a new model for regulation which may have omitted the input of many passionate athletes and organizers. CAMO established a fee structure for licensing that exceeds any of the fees collected by CSAC. Many groups determined to be under CAMO's regulatory authority still balk at the fee structure, citing that high fees are cost prohibitive to conduct events. According to the State Auditor, CSAC may have opportunities to generate revenue by regulating amateur MMA rather than delegating its authority to CAMO. Pankration safety concerns . Recent features on Nightline and Dateline focused on young children in Southern California who compete in pankration events that take place in cages, similar to those made popular by professional MMA outfit, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In the feature, clips from a pankration event, put on by the United States Fight League (USFL), showed a young girl being hit in the face by a young boy during a match in a cage. USFL has consistently countered that the clip has been taken out of context, that the organization's rules do not allow for strikes to the head and the match was stopped by a referee once the head strikes occurred. The event was not regulated by CAMO, which has been delegated CSAC's authority for regulating amateur MMA. USFL events like the one featured in the media clip have no requirements for medical and safety standards like those required by CSAC and CAMO. USFL's written rules, which govern its events, specifically restrict strikes to the head and USFL management claim that the rules are consistent with other light contact sports like karate and tae kwon do CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 7 which are decided on a point scoring system, rather than by harm to the opponent as in MMA. However, USFL pankration events do allow knee strikes which are not allowed in any other grappling sports like judo or jiu jitsu or even kickboxing. MMA and Muay Thai, a sport very similar to MMA, are the only disciplines other than pankration, as practiced and promoted by USFL, that also allow knee strikes. Additionally, there are age restrictions for amateur Muay Thai particpants, allowing only youth 16 years of age and older to compete in that sport, while pankration events do not have any age restriction and participants as young as five years old have competed in these events. In March 2009, CSAC first expressed concern about youth pankration events in California, specifically that head strikes were taking place and the events were not regulated. CSAC staff and DCA Legal Counsel attended pankration events and reviewed videos and organization rules to determine if the activity constituted full contact combat sports and should be regulated. Organizers modified rules numerous times to evade regulation until CSAC received a formal legal opinion in 2010, which found that pankration is a form of full contact MMA, subject to CSAC's oversight. Throughout 2009 and 2010, the USFL, which was known then as the Amateur Pankration League/USA Pankration, came before CSAC and the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee contesting the determination that their sport is full contact, under CSAC's jurisdiction, and since the group put on amateur shows, would be regulated by CAMO on CSAC's behalf. The group continues to testify at CSAC hearings that they are not full contact, despite the video clips recently highlighted on Nightline and Dateline, as well as those used by CSAC's Legal Counsel to make the original determination. However, the USFL President has described his events as "kids MMA" or "MMA events for kids" when promoting the competitions, creating a significant lack of clarity. A recent subcommittee meeting of CSAC received testimony that there is a lack of consistency among the trainers and youth pankration promoters in terms of requirements for medical evaluations prior to competitions. Pankration stakeholders also recently testified that they believe that only practices which result in injuries, as logged and tracked so as to create statistics about such injuries, should be excluded from events and the organization's rules. CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 8 USFL recently testified that it supports the regulation of youth pankration, but that the events should only be governed by the USFL rules, rather than general rules for full contact MMA as those outlined by CAMO. At its annual meeting last month, the Association of Boxing Commissions Medical Safety Committee issued the following guidelines for amateur combat events: 1.Amateur events should be regulated by State Athletic Commissions or participating jurisdictions, since amateur combat sports participants have fewer skill sets, but run the same or greater risk of injury as do professional combat sports competitors. 2.Minimum medical requirements for participation in any amateur event with modified rules (such as no elbow striking to the head on the ground in MMA) should include: Annual history and physical examination. Baseline CBC, blood chemistries, lipid profile, clotting times. Communicable disease testing (HIV1/2, Hepatitis BsAg, hepatitis C Ab) (every six months). Annual ophthalmologic examination. Baseline neurologic testing. The reviewing Commission/jurisdiction physician may require further testing depending on the results of those submitted prior to licensure/fight clearance. Suspensions of amateurs post-fight should be submitted to the appropriate national Web site (fightfax.com; abc.mixedmartialarts.com). CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 9 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 9/5/13) Bellator MMA California State Athletic Commission Roy Englebrecht Promotions Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this bill is necessary to ensure the health and safety of young children participating in certain amateur MMA events, known as pankration. Event organizers have used loopholes in state law to escape CSAC regulations, which puts kids at risk for serious injury. Pankration organizers have testified at numerous CSAC meetings and in communications to CSAC that their sport includes only light or partial contact, thus does not fall under the jurisdiction of CSAC, which has oversight responsibilities for full contact sports. Pankration event organizers in California have also argued that CSAC does not license athletes under the age of 16, and since the youth participating in their events are under 16, CSAC does not have jurisdiction to regulate pankration events. According to the author's office, clarifying the definition of full contact to ensure proper oversight of youth events in California will provide for important safety precautions at youth pankration events, including physical examinations for participants, physician attendance at all events, and a medical insurance program for all contests. Supporters believe that this bill protects the health and safety of children who participate in full contact martial arts events. Roy Englebrecht Promotions/Fight Club OC and Bellator MMA note that "it is essential that the Commission be provided every tool necessary to keep athletes safe, especially child participants." They state that this bill is critical to protect the health and well-being of children. MW:d 9/5/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 1186 Page 10 CONTINUED