BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 309| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 309 Author: Price (D), et al. Amended: 5/8/13 Vote: 21 SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEVELOP. COMM. : 9-1, 4/29/13 AYES: Price, Emmerson, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Padilla, Yee NOES: Wyland SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 5/13/13 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines SUBJECT : State Athletic Commission SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill extends the operation of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) until 2016; and makes various changes to the laws governing CSACs operations and CSACs oversight of professional and amateur boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing, and all forms and combinations of full contact martial arts contests, including mixed martial arts (MMA) and matches or exhibitions conducted, held or given in California. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, prohibits events from taking place in a state without a regulatory commission unless the fight is regulated by CONTINUED SB 309 Page 2 either another state's commission or on sovereign tribal land. Existing law: 1. The Boxing Act or the 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of boxers, kickboxers, martial arts athletes and events held in California by CSAC and makes CSAC inoperative and repealed on January 1, 2014. 2. Provides for the membership of CSAC. 3. Provides that protection of the public shall be the highest priority for CSAC in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions, and whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection of the public shall be paramount. 4. Provides that CSAC shall invite testimony from boxing stakeholders to identify actions that may lead to greater opportunities for its licensees to participate in major professional championship boxing contests in the State and provides a report based thereon to the Legislature. 5. Provides that CSAC may license professional and amateur boxers, professional and amateur martial arts fighters, and booking agents, managers of professional boxers and professional martial arts fighters, trainers, chief seconds, and seconds of each and that only a natural person may be licensed as a boxer and martial arts fighter. 6. Provides that CSAC may authorize a nonprofit boxing, wrestling, or martial arts club or organization, upon approval of its bylaws, to administer its rules for amateur boxing, wrestling, and full contact martial arts contests. Requires CSAC to review the performance of any such club or organization annually. Requires CSAC to review compliance with requirements for amateur contests to be preceded by a physical examination of every contestant, that a physician is in attendance at the contest and that the organization has a medical insurance program covering all contestants. Requires an organization to provide written financial reports of receipts and disbursements within 90 days of an amateur event. Authorizes CSAC to have representatives present as CONTINUED SB 309 Page 3 are necessary to obtain compliance with the requirements for amateur events. Authorizes CSAC to require any additional notices and reports from an organization it deems necessary. 7. Provides that no person shall conduct or operate a professional boxers' training gymnasium unless he/she has a license issued by CSAC. Defines "professional boxers' training gymnasium" as a gymnasium, the principal business of which is the providing of training facilities for professional boxers, and in which a fee is charged to professional boxers for the use of the gymnasium facilities or a fee is charged to persons who view the training of professional boxers. Provides that failure of a licensed training gymnasium owner or operator, fighter, boxer, trainer, second, or manager to report to CSAC an injury or knockout of a licensed boxer or fighter or the holder of a sparring permit shall be grounds for the suspension of their license. 8. Establishes the application and renewal fee for a professional boxers' training gymnasium at $200. 9. Provides that CSAC shall require, as a condition of licensure and as a part of the application process, each applicant for a license as a professional athlete or contestant licensed by CSAC to undergo an examination by a licensed physician and surgeon who specializes in neurology and neurosurgery. Provides that the cost of the examinations shall be paid from assessments on any one or more of the following: promoters of professional matches, managers, and professional athletes or other contestants licensed under this chapter. Provides that the rate and manner of assessment shall be set by CSAC, and may cover all costs associated with the examinations. 10.Requires applicants for a license or renewal of a license as a professional boxer or professional martial arts fighter to undergo blood tests to detect the presence of antibodies both to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and to detect the presence of the antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBV) within 30 days prior to the date of the application. Requires the results of all three tests to be negative. 11.Provides that no referee or physician shall be assigned to a CONTINUED SB 309 Page 4 boxing contest who has not participated in a clinic sponsored by CSAC in accordance with Business and Professions Code Section 18731, in the preceding six months. Specifies that clinics shall include, among other things, the subjects of the rules of CSAC, the recognition and diagnosis of serious or life-threatening, boxing-related and neurological injuries and disorders, and refereeing a bout. Authorizes CSAC to pay any necessary and authorized travel expenses of referees and physicians who attend such clinics. 12.Establishes a five working day timeline for every person who conducts a contest or wrestling exhibition for which admission is charged and received to provide CSAC with proper accounting and payment. 13.Establishes a fee of 5%, of the amount paid for admission to the contest or wrestling exhibition, not to exceed the amount of $100,000 to be paid to CSAC by every person who conducts a contest or wrestling exhibition for which admission is charged and received. Requires CSAC to provide a report to the Legislature on the fiscal impact of the $100,000 limit on fees collected by CSAC for admissions revenues. States that if the fee for any one boxing contest exceeds $70,000, the amount in excess of $70,000 shall be paid one-half to CSAC and one-half to the Boxers' Pension Fund. Establishes a fee of up to 5% for the sale, lease, or other exploitation of broadcasting or television rights thereof to be paid to CSAC by every person who conducts a contest or wrestling exhibition. Specifies that the minimum fee shall be $1,000 or and maximum shall be $25,000. 14.Provides that an inspector or other representative of CSAC duly authorized by the Executive Officer shall be admitted to the box office, and is authorized to assist in the counting of tickets and in the computation of the tax due thereon, and to take any other action necessary. Requires the inspector or other CSAC representative to immediately mail the official statement of gross receipts received by him/her from the promoter to CSAC. 15.Makes various findings and declarations about the importance of providing a pension to professional boxers and establishes a Boxers' Pension Fund financed by an assessment on tickets, contribution by boxers, managers, promoters or a combination CONTINUED SB 309 Page 5 thereof. 16.Establishes requirements for promoters to pay into the Boxers' Pension Fund. Specifies that all contributions to finance the Fund shall be deposited in the State Treasury and credited to the Fund, all monies in which are continuously appropriated for the purposes of administering the Fund. States that the Fund is a retirement fund and provides that no more than 20% of the annual contribution in the previous two years shall be used for administrative costs associated with investing, managing and distributing the Fund. This bill: 1. Makes various technical and clarifying changes. 2. Extends CSAC's sunset date two years to January 1, 2016. 3. Deletes a number of reporting requirements. 4. Adds "sanctioning body" to the list of eligible organizations to which CSAC may delegate its authority for oversight of amateur sports. Authorizes CSAC to revoke the authority for a previously authorized nonprofit boxing, wrestling, or martial arts club or organization or sanctioning body to administer its rules for amateur boxing, wrestling, and full contact martial arts contests. 5. Replaces a professional boxers' training gymnasium license, and requirements for an owner or operator of a professional boxers' training gymnasium to report an injury or a knockout to CSAC, with a professional trainer's license and accountability measures for professional trainers to report athlete injury to CSAC prior to a bout. Establishes the application and renewal fee for a licensed professional trainer as $200. 6. Provides that the administrative costs associated with managing and distributing the neurological examination account shall be limited to no more than 20% of the prior year's contributions. 7. Requires CSAC in its discretion, to use monies from the State Athletic Commission Neurological Examination Account to fund CONTINUED SB 309 Page 6 special neurological examinations and explore new diagnostic imaging and testing to be used in relation to the examinations required by this bill. 8. Authorizes CSAC to contract with a third party to conduct officials training sessions. Clarifies that the third party may charge attendees a fee. Removes the authority in current law for CSAC to pay any necessary travel expenses of referees and physicians who attend such clinics. 9. Authorizes CSAC to charge a $20 fee to issue federal identification cards and provides that cards shall be reissued once every four years. 10.Changes the required timeline from five working days to 72 hours for every person who conducts a contest or wrestling exhibition for which admission is charged and received to provide CSAC with proper accounting and payment. 11.Raises the minimum fee collected by CSAC for an amateur event or contest from $500 to $1,000. Clarifies that the minimum fee collected by CSAC for a professional event is $1,250. 12.Raises the maximum broadcasting fee collected by CSAC from $25,000 to $35,000. 13.Limits the administrative costs associated with investing, managing and distributing the Boxers' Pension Fund to 2% of the corpus of the fund. Background This bill is one of six "sunset bills" the author is sponsoring this session. According to the author's office, this bill is necessary to extend the sunset date of CSAC in order to continue the regulation of boxing, kickboxing and MMA in California. The continued regulation will help to ensure that CSAC's mission of protecting the public is in place for an additional four years. In 2013, the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development (BPED) Committee conducted oversight hearings to review 15 regulatory boards within the DCA: CSAC; Board of Barbering and Cosmetology; State Board of Chiropractic CONTINUED SB 309 Page 7 Examiners; Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind; Certification Organization of Interior Design; Medical Board of California (MBC) and Registered Dispensing Opticians within the MBC; California Board of Occupational Therapy; State Board of Optometry; Osteopathic Medical Board of California; Naturopathic Medicine Committee; Physical Therapy Board of California; Respiratory Care Board of California; Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, Hearing Aid Dispensers Board; and the Veterinary Medical Board. The Senate BPED Committee began its review of these licensing agencies in March and conducted three days of hearings. This bill, and the accompanying sunset bills are intended to implement legislative changes as recommended in the Committee's Background Issue Papers for the agencies reviewed by the Committee this year. For a detailed summary of the background, issues, and recommendations relating to CSAC, refer to the Senate BPED Committee analysis. Comments The author states that he has been concerned for the past number of years about significant and ongoing problems with the way CSAC does business but that in order to ensure the protection, health, welfare and safety of the athletes and fighters licensed by CSAC, who participate in sports and events CSAC oversees, CSAC should continue to operate. According to the author, federal law (Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform 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. Regulated events result in higher levels of protection for fighters than unauthorized or illegal events, in addition to added revenue for the state and a boon to the local economy where events take place. Related Legislation SB 304 (Price) makes various changes to the Medical Practice Act and to the Medical Board of California. SB 305 (Price) extends, until January 1, 2018, the provisions establishing the Naturopathic Medicine Committee and the Respiratory Care Board (RCB), and extends the term of the executive officers of the RCB and the Board of Optometry. CONTINUED SB 309 Page 8 Specifies that the Osteopathic Medical Board is subject to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. Exempts individuals who have performed pulmonary function tests in Los Angeles county facilities for at least 15 years, from licensure as a respiratory care therapist. Specifies that any board under the Department of Consumer Affairs is authorized to receive certified records from a local or state agency to complete an applicant or licensee investigation and authorizes them to provide those records to the board. SB 306 (Price) extends, until January 1, 2018, the provisions establishing the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board (SLPAHADB), the Physical Therapy Board (PTB) and the Board of Occupational Therapy and extends the terms of the executive officers of the PTB and the SLPAHADB. Also subjects the boards to be reviewed by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. SB 307 (Price) extends, until January 1, 2016, the provisions establishing the Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) and the term of the executive officer of the VMB. Makes other changes regarding the inspection authority of the VMB as it pertains to veterinary premises, the membership and responsibility of the Multidisciplinary Committee of the VMB, and the requirements for veterinary assistants regarding access to controlled substances. SB 308 (Price) extends until January 1, 2018, the provisions establishing the Interior Design Law, and the Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind. Extends until January 1, 2016, the provisions establishing the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and the term of the executive officer of the Board. Makes other changes regarding interior design and the regulatory programs of the boards, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Projected expenditures of $1.125 million (Athletic Commission Fund) supporting 5.0 PY (personnel year) of staff, CONTINUED SB 309 Page 9 offset by $1.39 million in revenues, based on the Governor's proposed 2013-14 Budget. CSAC is currently in an austerity mode to build a small reserve to remain solvent. These amounts include a proposed budget reduction of $814,000 and 4.6 PY. Increased event fee revenues of approximately $184,000 annually (Athletic Commission Fund) as a result of increasing the minimum fee for amateur events from $500 to $1,000, establishing a minimum fee of $1,250 for professional events, and increasing the maximum broadcasting/TV fee from $25,000 to $35,000 per event. New revenues of approximately $100,000 annually (Athletic Commission Fund) related to the replacement of the boxer's training gymnasium license with a new professional trainer's licensing program. New revenues of approximately $4,000 annually (Athletic Commission Fund) related to the fee charged for issuance of federal identification cards. Expenditures of approximately $46,000 annually (Athletic Commission Fund) for .5 PY, Associate Government Program Analyst, to administer the professional trainer's licensing program. No net change in expenditures associated with the changes to the authorized administrative expenditure cap related to the Boxer's Pension Fund. This change is intended to alleviate fluctuations in spending authority. MW:d 5/23/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED **** END **** CONTINUED