BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1186
Page 1
( Without Reference to Fil e)
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1186 (Bonilla)
As Amended September 6, 2013
2/3 vote. Urgency
----------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 30, 2013) |SENATE: |36-0 |(September 11, 2013) |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|COMMITTEE VOTE: |5-0 |(September 12, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|(A.,E.,S.,T. & | |2013) | | |
|I.M.) | | | | |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Clarifies that the California State Athletic Commission
(Commission) 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 the Commission to be
similar, and that an amateur contest includes a contest where full
contact is used, even if unintentionally.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill and
instead:
1) Remove "partial contact" from the definition of a contest or
match.
2) Clarify that "full contact" means the use of full 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) Clarify that an amateur contest or match includes a contest or
match where full contact is used, even if unintentionally.
4) Specify that an amateur contest or match does not include light
AB 1186
Page 2
contact karate, tae kwon-do, judo, or any other light contact
martial arts as approved by the Commission and recognized by the
International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport.
5) Clarify that the Commission shall have jurisdiction over all
forms and combination of forms of full contact martial arts
contests involving participants 18 years of age or younger.
6) Require the Commission 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 be
sufficiently similar. Require the subcommittee to make
recommendations to the Commission regarding any administrative
actions or statutory changes to be enacted that may be necessary
to improve its regulation and oversight of contests in order to
adequately protect participants. Provide that the pankration
subcommittee shall consist of three members of the Commission
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.
1) State that this is an urgency measure necessary to take effect
immediately for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the
Constitution.
2) Add double-jointing language consistent with SB 309 (Lieu) of
the current legislative session to avoid chaptering-out issues.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
Author's Statement of Support : According to the author, this bill
is necessary to ensure the health and safety of young children
AB 1186
Page 3
participating in certain amateur Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events,
known as pankration. According to the author, event organizers
have used loopholes in state law to escape Commission regulations,
which puts kids at risk for serious injury. Pankration organizers
have testified at numerous Commission meetings and in
communications to the Commission that their sport includes only
light or partial contact, thus does not fall under the jurisdiction
of the Commission, which has oversight responsibilities for full
contact sports. Pankration event organizers in California have
also argued that the Commission does not license athletes under the
age of 16, and since the youth participating in their events are
under 16, the Commission does not have jurisdiction to regulate
pankration events. According to the author, 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.
Background - California State Athletic Commission : The Commission
is responsible for protecting the health and safety of its
licensees; boxers, kickboxers and martial arts athletes.
Established by initiative in 1924, stemming from concerns for
athletes' injuries and deaths, the Commission 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.
The Commission oversees licensing, prohibited substance testing,
and event regulation. Functionally, the Commission consists of
four components; licensing, enforcement, regulating events and
administering the Pension Fund.
The Commission is responsible for implementation and enforcement of
the Boxing Act and the State Athletic Commission Act. The
Commission 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, the Commission supervised close to 200 events.
The Commission has so far supervised over 40 events in 2013. The
Commission licenses a number of individuals related to the
participation in, oversight for and management of events in
California.
AB 1186
Page 4
The current Commission mission statement, as stated in its
Strategic Plan, is as follows: The California State Athletic
Commission is dedicated to the health, safety and welfare of
participants in regulated competitive sporting events, through
ethical and professional service.
Sport of Pankration (Also Known As MMA for Kids) Safety Concerns :
According to the United States Fight League, (USFL) Web site,
pankration is the oldest Martial art on record and was the most
prestigious event of the Ancient Olympics which combined elements
of boxing and wrestling. "The rules were brutal and simple, all
but eye gouging and biting was allowed while the referees enforced
their rules with a large stick.
"Modern pankration is a martial art that encompasses grappling,
limited contact and full contact competitions. Rules emphasize
technique and sportsmanship at all levels. The amateur program
presents a safe sport suitable for competitors of all ages from all
styles of martial arts. The USFL provides the safest and most
progressive route to prepare for International Amateur Competition
or a professional fighting career."
In March 2009, the Commission first expressed concern about youth
pankration events in California, specifically that head strikes
were taking place and the events were not regulated. Commission
staff and Department of Consumer Affairs (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 are alleged to have
modified rules numerous times to evade regulation until the
Commission received a formal legal opinion in 2010, which found
that pankration is a form of full contact MMA, subject to the
Commission's oversight.
Throughout 2009 and 2010, the USFL, which was known then as the
Amateur Pankration League/USA Pankration, came before the
Commission and the Senate Business and Professions Committee
contesting the determination that their sport is full contact,
under the Commission's jurisdiction, and since the group put on
amateur shows, would be regulated by California Amateur Martial
Arts Organization (CAMO) on the Commission's behalf. The group
continues to testify at Commission hearings that they are not full
contact, despite the video clips recently highlighted on Nightline
and Dateline, as well as those used by the Commission's Legal
AB 1186
Page 5
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 the Commission
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. 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.
Regulatory Responses to Concerns : At its annual meeting last
month, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) Medical Safety
Committee issued the following guidelines for amateur combat
events:
a)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.
b)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: i) annual history and
physical examination; ii) baseline CBC, blood chemistries, lipid
profile, clotting times; iii) communicable disease testing
(HIV1/2, Hepatitis BsAg, Hepatitis C Ab) every six months; iv)
annual ophthalmologic examination; v) baseline neurologic
testing.
c)The reviewing Commission/jurisdiction physician may require
further testing depending on the results of those submitted prior
to licensure/fight clearance.
d)Suspensions of amateurs post-fight should be submitted to the
appropriate national Web site (Fight-Fax,
ABCMixedMartialArts.com).
The Commission appointed a Youth Pankration Subcommittee, which
delivered the following recommendations and findings at the August
5, 2013, Commission meeting, after their investigation into the
AB 1186
Page 6
sport:
a)Young athletes, particularly under age 11, mixed-gender bouts,
and children's fights in cages, have caused attention and concern
for the safety of the children - particularly from the
Legislature and the media.
b)Youth pankration is a full contact activity as defined in
Business and Professions Code Section 18640 and legal opinions
interpreting that statute. Thus, it is within the jurisdiction
of the Commission to regulate.
c)CAMO is the current delegatee of the Commission to regulate
pankration events.
d)USFL officials intentionally created separate rules, including a
separate scoring system, for the purpose of avoiding "full
contact" regulation under the Commission and CAMO.
e)USFL appears to be an organization of committed persons, families
and children who have the best interests of the kids as their
motivation and have heretofore done a good job creating a culture
of support, maturity and relative safety for youth pankration
events.
f)The high cost of competing in CAMO amateur events is a major
factor in the effort to create a sport and sanctioning
organization for youth pankration separate and exempt from
regulation under the Commission and CAMO.
g)Youth pankration needs to be regulated to protect and assure the
proper support and safety of the children and parents involved.
h)Statutory updates and clarifications would help define the
Commission's responsibility and authority over youth pankration.
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. / (916)
319-3450
FN: 0002832
AB 1186
Page 7