BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 309
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, TOURISM, AND
INTERNET MEDIA
Ian C. Calderon, Chair
SB 309 (Price) - As Amended: June 14, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 36-3
SUBJECT : State Athletic Commission.
SUMMARY : Extends the operation of the California State
Athletic Commission (Commission) until 2016. Makes various
changes to the laws governing the Commission's operations and
the Commission's oversight of professional and amateur boxing,
professional and amateur kickboxing, 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. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the repeal date of the Commission to January 1, 2016.
2)Deletes the requirement that the Commission must invite
testimony and make recommendations to the Governor and the
Legislature.
3)Eliminates the unnecessary "natural person" limitation on who
may be licensed as a boxer and martial arts fighter.
4)Additionally authorizes a sanctioning body to administer its
rules and would authorize the Commission to revoke the
authority for a previously authorized nonprofit boxing,
wrestling, or martial arts club, organization, or sanctioning
body to administer its rules.
5)Repeals the prohibition against a professional boxer from
sparring for training purposes with any person not licensed as
a professional boxer or who does not have a sparring permit.
6)Deletes the requirement in law that a person conducting or
operating a professional boxers' training gymnasium must be a
licensed by the Commission.
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7)Prohibits a person from training a professional boxer or
kickboxer or martial arts athlete unless he or she has been
licensed by the Commission.
8)Provides that the application and renewal fee for a licensed
professional trainer is $200.
9)Defines a "professional trainer" as someone who is responsible
for the day-to-day training of those aforementioned athletes
and possesses a minimum of 5 years' experience in combative
sports.
10)Declares that only licensed professional trainers may make a
recommendation to the Commission on whether a contestant is
prepared for his or her first amateur mixed martial arts (MMA)
bout or to turn professional in boxing, kickboxing, or MMA.
11)Requires a professional trainer to be present in the corner
of the contestant unless otherwise authorized by the
Commission or the Executive Officer (EO).
12)The bill would make the failure of a licensed professional
trainer to report an injury or knockout of a licensed boxer or
fighter, one of the grounds for the suspension or revocation
of his or her license, as specified.
13)Provides that the administrative costs associated with
managing and distributing the State Athletic Commission
Neurological Examination Account (Account) shall be limited to
no more than 20% of the prior year's contributions.
14)Authorizes the commission, in its discretion, to use moneys
from the Account, to fund special neurological examinations
and new diagnostic imaging and testing to be used in relation
to those required examinations.
15)Prohibits a referee or physician and surgeon from being
assigned to a boxing contest if he or she has not completed,
within the preceding 6 months, a clinic offered by a provider
approved by the commission, as specified. Authorizes a clinic
provider to charge a referee or physician and surgeon
participating in a clinic a reasonable fee.
16)Requires the Commission to charge a $20 fee to issue Federal
identification cards (IDs) and would further require those
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cards to be reissued once every 4 years.
17)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 the Commission with proper accounting and payment.
18)Raises the minimum fee collected by the Commission for an
amateur event or contest from $500 to $1,000. Clarifies that
the minimum fee collected by the Commission for a professional
event is $1,250.
19)Raises the maximum broadcasting fee collected by the
Commission from $25,000 to $35,000.
20)Limits the administrative costs associated with investing,
managing and distributing the Boxers' Pension Fund (Pension
Fund) to 2% of the corpus of the fund.
EXISTING LAW :
1)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.
(Title 15 United States Code Section 6303)
2)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 the Commission within the Department of Consumer
Affairs (DCA) and makes the Commission inoperative and
repealed on January 1, 2014. [Business and Professions Code
(BPC) Section 18602.]
3)Provides that the Commission is comprised of seven members,
five members appointed by the Governor and subject to
confirmation by the California State Senate Committee on Rules
confirmation, one member appointed by the California State
Senate Committee on Rules and one member appointed by the
California Speaker of the Assembly. Specifies that efforts
should be made to ensure at least four members have experience
in either medicine as a licensed physician or surgeon
specializing in neurology, neurosurgery, head trauma or sports
medicine, financial management, public safety, and the sports
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regulated by the Commission. (BPC Section 18602.)
4)Provides that protection of the public shall be the highest
priority for the Commission 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. (BPC Section 18602.1.)
5)Provides that the Commission 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
of California and provide a report based thereon to the
Legislature. [BPC Section 18640.5(c).]
6)Provides that the Commission 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. (BPC
Section 18642.)
7)Provides that the Commission 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
the Commission to review the performance of any such club or
organization annually. Requires the Commission 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 the Commission to have
representatives present as are necessary to obtain compliance
with the requirements for amateur events. Authorizes the
Commission to require any additional notices and reports from
an organization it deems necessary. (BPC Section 18646.)
8)Prohibits a professional boxer from sparring for training
purposes with any person not licensed as a professional boxer
or who does not have a sparring permit. (BPC Section 18643.)
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9)Provides that no person shall conduct or operate a
professional boxers' training gymnasium unless he or she has a
license issued by the Commission under this chapter. 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 the Commission 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. (BPC Sections 18653 and 18654.)
10)Establishes the application and renewal fee for a
professional boxers' training gymnasium at $200. (BPC Section
18817.)
11)Requires athletes to undergo a physical examination by a
physician prior to a contest and requires a physician to
certify in writing the contestant's physical condition to
engage in the contest or match. Requires the physician to
determine whether the contestant may have any knowledge,
manifestations, symptoms, or prior history of a physical
condition that may affect the contestant's ability to perform
or present a potential threat to the contestant's health as a
result of competing in the contest or match. Requires a
contestant to complete a questionnaire on which he or she
discloses any conditions of which the contestant is aware,
including pregnancy. States if any specified condition is
disclosed, the physician shall not allow the contestant to
compete unless the physician or the contestant's personal
physician, who is licensed to practice medicine in the United
States, has conducted a physical examination and determined
that the specific condition does not affect the contestant's
ability to perform or present a potential threat to the
contestant's health as a result of competing in the contest or
match. (BPC Section 18706.)
12)Provides that the Commission 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 the Commission to undergo an
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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 the Commission,
and may cover all costs associated with the examinations. (BPC
Section 18711.)
13)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. (BPC Section 18712.)
14)Provides that no referee or physician shall be assigned to a
boxing contest who has not participated in a clinic sponsored
by the Commission in accordance with this section in the
preceding six months. Specifies that clinics shall include,
among other things, the subjects of the rules of the
Commission, the recognition and diagnosis of serious or
life-threatening, boxing-related and neurological injuries and
disorders, and refereeing a bout. Authorizes the Commission
to pay any necessary and authorized travel expenses of
referees and physicians who attend such clinics. (BPC Section
18731.)
15)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 the Commission with proper
accounting and payment. [BPC Section 18824(a).]
16)Establishes a fee of five percent, of the amount paid for
admission to the contest or wrestling exhibition, not to
exceed the amount of $100,000 to be paid to the Commission by
every person who conducts a contest or wrestling exhibition
for which admission is charged and received. Requires the
Commission to provide a report to the Legislature on the
fiscal impact of the $100,000 limit on fees collected by the
Commission for admissions revenues. States that if the fee
for any one boxing contest exceeds $70,000, the amount in
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excess of $70,000 shall be paid one-half to the Commission and
one-half to the 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 the Commission 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. (BPC Section 18824.)
17)Provides that an inspector or other representative of the
Commission 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 Commission representative to immediately
mail the official statement of gross receipts received by him
or her from the promoter to the Commission. (BPC Section
18825.)
18)Makes various findings and declarations about the importance
of providing a pension to professional boxers and establishes
a Pension Fund financed by an assessment on tickets,
contribution by boxers, managers, promoters or a combination
thereof. (BPC Sections 18880 and 18881.)
19)Establishes requirements for promoters to pay into the
Pension Fund. Specifies that all contributions to finance the
Pension Fund shall be deposited in the State Treasury and
credited to the Pension Fund, all moneys in which are
continuously appropriated for the purposes of administering
the Pension Fund. States that the Pension 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 Pension Fund. (BPC Section 18882.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement and Support :
This bill is one of six "sunset bills" the author is
sponsoring this session as Chair of the Senate Business and
Professions Committee. According to the author, this bill is
necessary to extend the sunset date of the Commission in order
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to continue the regulation of boxing, kickboxing and MMA in
California. The continued regulation will help to ensure that
the Commission's mission of protecting the public is in place
for an additional four years. The author states in support
of this measure that he, "has been concerned for the past
number of years about significant and ongoing problems with
the way this Commission does business but that in order to
ensure the protection, health, welfare and safety of the
athletes and fighters licensed by the Commission who
participate in sports and events the Commission oversees, the
Commission should continue to operate." According to the
author, Federal Law - the 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. 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.
Support for this measure comes from promoters and good
government advocates. Roy Englebrecht Promotions wrote the
committee to say, "As one of the longest stakeholders in the
Commission, I have watched the ups and a lot of the downs that
have existed over the past 20 years. But I have NEVER been
more excited and pleased to see the tremendous change that has
come to the Commission since the hiring of Executive Officer
Andy Foster nearly one year ago.
"For the first time in many years, I am proud to be a fight
promoter in California, and realize that the future of our
sport and the business that I love is finally heading in the
right direction." The Center for Public Interest Law adds
that "In a very short time, Mr. Foster has decisively
addressed significant shortcomings in many areas and we
believe he deserves a chance to continue to tackle the
deficiencies identified by BSA and DCA."
2)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
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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 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.
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.
The Commission is comprised of seven members. Five members
are appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by
the California State Senate Committee on Rules confirmation.
One member is appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and
one member is appointed by the California Speaker of the
Assembly. Commissioners are part-time employees who receive a
$100-a-day per diem. There are no qualifications for an
individual appointed to the Commission; however, no person
currently licensed as a promoter, manager or judge may serve
on the Commission. The law also specifies that efforts should
be made to ensure at least four members have experience in
either medicine as a licensed physician or surgeon
specializing in neurology, neurosurgery, head trauma or sports
medicine, financial management, public safety, and the sports
regulated by the Commission.
The Commission meets about six times per year to handle
matters related to licensure and appeals of license denials,
suspensions and fines; propose and review regulations or
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legislation focused on maintaining the health and safety of
fighters; consider issues related to the Pension Fund and the
Account; evaluate funding and revenue strategies, and; address
a variety of topics brought forth by stakeholders.
3)Issues Raised in 2011 Sunset Review and Commission Response :
The Commission was last reviewed in 2011 by the Senate
Business and Professions Committee. During the previous
sunset review, the Committee raised 8 issues. Below are
actions which the Commission took over the past 2 years to
address many of the issues and recommendations made, as well
as significant changes to the Commission's functions. The
vast majority of the key improvements to the Commission's
administrative activities, procedures and operations were
implemented in a very short period of time under the
leadership of the current EO who was hired in November 2012.
According to the Commission, the following are some of the
more important programmatic and operational changes,
enhancements and other important policy decisions or
regulatory changes made:
a) Payments Have Been Made to Eligible Boxers From the
Pension Fund : The issue of lack of appropriate effort by
the Commission to track down eligible former boxers, in
addition to lack of pension payments over a number of
years, was raised in every audit and oversight review of
the Commission. While more work still needs to be done,
the Commission in the past five months made three payouts
to fighters who attributed their awareness of eligibility
to recent outreach activity:
i) Payment to a homeless former boxer who fought 140
lifetime rounds, who had only a few days left on an
annual allotment of days at an area homeless shelter.
ii) Payment to another homeless former boxer who fought
384 lifetime rounds.
iii) The Commission's first ever early retirement for
medical purposes to a 45-year old former boxer suffering
from the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic
encephalopathy, the symptoms of which include memory
loss, confusion, depression and emotional outbursts
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b) Updated Strategic Plan : The Commission completed a
Strategic Plan for 2013-15 and has already met some of the
goals outlined within the plan.
c) Recent Improvements to Cashiering and Cash-Handling
Procedures : The Commission has long faced criticism about
the way payment is handled, including cash payments which
could go missing or be placed in insecure locations like
unlocked file drawers or safes with no key. Beginning in
November 2012, the Commission no longer accepts cash as a
method of payment and staff has been expressly forbidden
from handling cash on the Commission's behalf. Concerns
have also been raised over the years about cashiering
duties. Cashiering manuals and standard operating
procedures have been created and provided to staff. To
ensure accountability and compliance with proper protocols,
the Commission recently separated several duties related to
cashiering within the office that were previously all
handled by one individual so that now all mail is opened by
someone other than the cashier to ensure all checks are
restrictively endorsed before handling by the cashier.
Checks are now required to be secured in an approved secure
container in accordance with state policy, and the
Commission's cashier is now required to make deposits on a
timely basis. The cashier is also now required to obtain a
second review once the Report of Collections is completed
to ensure all funds are properly accounted for and reported
in the correct account.
d) Creation of Administrative Manual : The Commission now,
for the first time ever, has standard operating procedures
compiled in an administrative manual for athletic inspector
field staff to use and refer to.
e) Training is Happening and Completion is Recorded : The
quality of officials is critical to protecting the health
and safety of athletes and as such, the Commission needed
to immediately create standards and evaluation procedures
for all staff, licensees, officials and field
representatives. It was recommended that the Commission
work with its robust network of athletes and officials to
provide guidance on this process and work with the
Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) to determine best
practices and ensures compliance with any uniform
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standards.
After years of repeatedly failing to meet statutory
requirements for training, the Commission is now holding
inspector trainings and focusing training on many of the
deficiencies identified in prior reviews and audits of the
Commission. The Commission is also working with the ABC to
utilize existing training infrastructure and staff. The
Commission has also implemented policies requiring
officials working title fights to have completed ABC or
other approved training courses and has begun to make some
staff assignments based on the preparedness and education
of an official, further promoting the importance of
training and continuing education to protect fighters. The
Commission recently began maintaining a record of officials
who have taken the appropriate training courses and ensures
that competent officials are assigned to events by
consulting these records, as well as refrains from
assigning staff that have not completed required and
necessary training. The Commission is also in the process
of working with the ABC to receive approval of a referee
training course, as well as working with the national
association to ensure the availability of more approved
trainers eligible to work in California. The Commission
also recognizes the value of officials and is looking at
ways to utilize qualified individuals to better train new
and existing officials and is also working with the ABC to
make further training improvements.
f) Better Systems For Assigning Staff : There has been a
concern in the past about a lack of clear, comprehensive
standards for credentialing, hiring, training, or
evaluating staff, licensees and officials, findings which
were also outlined in the 2003 DCA audit and recommended
that the Commission implement standards and proper
evaluation as the basis for assignments. The Commission
made some slight improvements in the past but it remained
unclear if the Commission was able to demonstrate standards
for who should be allowed to oversee events, and whether
all licensed officials had been properly trained, or are
able to pass basic proficiency exams. The Commission is
now using a website geared toward effective athletic event
management and making assignments based on established
criteria, such as participation in required training. The
Arbiter Sports website assists the Commission by quickly
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locating the nearest inspectors to each event which greatly
contributes to reductions in staff travel costs, an issue
which has plagued the Commission.
g) Issuing Federal IDs prior to events : The Commission has
been criticized for problems associated with issuance of
IDs, including the recent DCA audit which examined a random
sampling of boxers' files and IDs missing in 27 of 28
files. While the Commission historically provided IDs at
events, adding to the event workload and dedicated time of
staff, it recently implemented a policy to issue IDs prior
to events so that fighters participate with a federal
number and athletic inspector work at events can be
streamlined. The Commission has recently partnered with
DCA's Division of Investigation (DOI) to also issue IDs at
DOI field offices throughout the state.
h) Event Files Have Improved and Reporting Timelines
Enhanced : The Commission recently obtained laptops for use
in the field at events and has worked to reduce paperwork
processing in the field. Lead inspectors utilize an
internal "Who's Who" document that ensures necessary items
are in place before a fighter is cleared to participate and
events are authorized to take place. Prior to a fighter
participating in an event, the EO and lead inspectors
assigned to an event now check all possible suspension
lists multiple times to ensure fighter safety and that
athletes are not suspended in another jurisdiction that the
individual did not report to the Commission. Previously,
the Commission struggled to reconcile its information with
the national suspension database, resulting in confusion
and potential fighter harm. The Commission is also now
making timely reports of event outcomes, including medical
suspensions, to necessary national databases. Now, the EO
signs off on all fight results which are submitted to both
fightfax and mixedmartialarts.com within 48 hours of
completion of the event.
4) State Auditor's Report :
The BSA conducted an audit of the Commission in response to a
request by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) in
June 2012, the results of which are contained in a report
published March 2013, "State Athletic Commission: Its Ongoing
Administrative Struggles Call Its Future Into Question". The
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report found that:
a) The Commission's solvency plan may not be practical;
b) The Commission does not track information about
projected revenue and expenditures in a manner conducive to
proper budgeting;
c) The Commission does not receive all of the revenue due
from events and athletes;
d) Inspectors may not perform necessary health and safety
regulatory functions at events; and,
e) The Pension Fund is still not administered properly.
Simultaneously, the DCA conducted an internal audit of the
Commission, the findings of which are contained in a report
published in March 2013, "California State Athletic Commission
Operational and Administrative Control Audit" which also found
numerous deficiencies in Commission operations, particularly
those related to event regulation and revenue reconciling for
events.
5) 2013 Sunset Review Hearing: Further Suggestions For
Improvement :
On April 8, 2013, the Senate Committee on Business,
Professions and Economic Development and the Assembly
Committees on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism & Internet
Media, and Business, Professions and Consumer Protection, held
a Joint Oversight and Sunset Review Hearing of the Commission.
The following are some of the major issues pertaining to the
Commission along with background information concerning the
particular issue. Recommendations were made by Committees'
staff and within the BSA's report regarding the particular
issue areas which needed to be addressed.
a) Issue: Commission's Budget Problems :
i) Background : The Commission is funded through
regulatory fees and license fees. For each event held in
California that the Commission regulates, the Commission
collects a "gate fee" from the event promoter, which is a
5% fee on gross ticket sales for that event, not to
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exceed $100,000. The Commission also collects a "TV fee"
from the event promoter if the event is broadcast on
television, which is a 5% fee on the revenue a promoter
collects from broadcasting rights, not to exceed $25,000.
In June 2012, the DCA budget staff reported to Commission
members that it faced a deficit of nearly $700,000 by the
end of Fiscal Year 2013. In a letter to the Commission's
then-EO, the Director of the DCA stated that "without the
ability to pay for even basic services, the Commission
will have no choice but to cease operation immediately
and cancel or postpone indefinitely all Commission
regulated events." The Commission is currently operating
according to a solvency plan implemented last summer to
address a significant budget shortfall and the threat of
no longer being able to conduct business and meet its
statutory mandates, however, this plan may not be
feasible for the Commission to do its job. The
Commission is authorized to spend less than $1.2 million
in FY 2014/15. Substantial cuts to the Commission may be
impacting its ability to protect fighters and effectively
regulate the sports within its jurisdiction. The drop in
funding levels and requirements for significant
expenditure reductions in order to build an adequate fund
reserve have led to layoffs, decreased Commission
presence at regulated events and numerous executive
management vacancies.
The Commission has come under scrutiny for years
regarding challenges in properly evaluating what it costs
to oversee an event and how much revenue an event brings
in. It is becoming increasingly clear that the
Commission lacks the necessary resources and compensation
to safely monitor events. The Commission may not be able
to adequately predict revenues over time in the manner
that other licensing boards do, given the fluid nature of
the Commission licensing revenues and fluctuations in the
sports that may dictate when events do or do not take
place. However, the Commission is facing such a dire
budget situation that it may be necessary for the
Commission to seek fee increases for the licensing
categories it does have, as well as collect up-front
monies from promoters to cover initial costs of event
oversight.
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Boxers are issued a ID per the Federal Act and State Act
that contains a number assigned to the fighter, the
fighter's date of birth, height, weight and photo. These
IDs are issued by the state commission in which a boxer
resides and are valid for four years from the date of
issuance (the Commission issues IDs for California-based
fighters). MMA fighters may be issued a National
Identification Card (National ID) that contains a number
assigned to the fighter, the fighter's date of birth,
height, weight and photo. National IDs can only be
issued by a state commission or tribal commission in good
standing with the ABC and while these are not mandatory
they are recommended by the ABC.
ii) Recommendation and Proposed Statutory Change : The
April 8, 2013 Oversight Hearing of the Commission focused
on a number of areas but one in particular, the
Commission's budget and associated revenues and spending
authority, captured the bulk of Committee Members'
attention.
As a result of the Background Paper, the BSA's report and
conversation during that hearing, the following are
proposed in this bill:
(1) $20 fee once every four years charged to
athletes for the Commission to issue a Federal ID
card.
(2) Limiting the administrative costs associated
with managing and distributing the neurological
examination account to no more than 20% of the prior
year's contributions.
(3) Authority for the Commission to contract with
a third party to conduct officials training sessions
and clarification that the third party may charge
attendees a fee. Removal of the authority in current
law for the Commission to pay necessary travel
expenses of referees and physicians who attend such
clinics.
(4) Raise the minimum fee collected by the
Commission for an amateur event or contest from $500
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to $1,000. Establish the minimum fee collected by
the Commission for a professional event as $1,250.
(5) Raise the minimum TV tax collected by the
Commission from $1,000 to $1,250. Raises the maximum
TV tax collected by the Commission from $25,000 to
$35,000.
(6) Limit the administrative costs associated with
investing, managing and distributing the Pension Fund
to 2% of the corpus of the fund.
a) Issue: Lack of Pregnancy Testing for Female Athletes :
i) Background : The Commission and consumer advocates
have been concerned for many years about the Commission's
lack of pregnancy testing for female athletes and as such
the Commission has made several attempts to mandate
pregnancy tests, none of which have been successful. As
an alternative to a testing requirement, in 2001, the
Commission developed a notice that was provided to all
female boxers before each bout. The Commission wanted to
at the very least inform female boxers of the dangers
associated with boxing if pregnant and to potentially
prevent female boxers from fighting while pregnant. The
notice, "What Can Happen If I Fight When I am Pregnant?"
included possible medical effects of fighting while
pregnant and recommended pre-fight testing.
The Commission sponsored AB 972 (Runner), of the 2005-06
Legislative Session, which would have mandated pregnancy
testing for female fighters, stating that pregnancy
testing was a basic protection for female athletes and a
key initiative to promote women's health, as a pregnant
fighter engaging in a bout could damage her own body as
well as her unborn child. At the time, the Commission
also asserted that "all major boxing commissions in the
United States require pregnancy testing," many of which
have found on "multiple occasions that female boxing
applicants tested positive on pregnancy tests."
The Commission is the only commission in the nation that
does not require pregnancy tests.
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ii) Recommendation and Proposed Statutory Change : Staff
suggested that the Committee may wish to pursue requiring
pregnancy tests for female athletes as a female athlete
safety measure.
b) Issue: Need for a "Professional Trainers" License and
Reporting of Athlete Injuries :
i) Background : Current law requires the Commission to
oversee a licensed fighter, as well as the individuals
that train with that fighter. The State Act includes a
statutory provision requiring that a professional boxer
only spar for training purposes with an individual
possessing a sparring permit and statute requires gyms to
track sparring and report it to the Commission. This
requirement has not historically been followed and may be
impossible for the Commission to enforce given its
current resources. The Commission reported in its Sunset
Report that the requirement for approval of, and
reporting from, a sparring partner is unique to
California and is not feasible. The Commission advised
that resources may better be utilized by monitoring
licensed professional trainers under a new licensing
category. The Professional Trainer would be licensed by
the Commission, pay a fee would have to sign off on the
application of any professional fighter making his or her
debut. This additional accountability measure would
allow the Commission to evaluate possible poor
performance of the fighter and take action against not
only the fighter but also the Professional Trainer
associated with that fighter.
ii) Recommendation and Proposed Statutory Change : Staff
recommended that the Commission provide additional
information to the Committee about this licensing
category, including the existence of a similar licensing
category in other states and whether this is a practice
endorsed by the ABC, and noted that the Committee may
consider adding a Professional Trainer licensing category
provided more details are made available. The Commission
provided examples of other states in which a Professional
Trainer's license exists.
This bill addresses these recommendations.
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d) Issue: Clarify the Delegation of Authority for Amateur
Sports :
i) Background : Current law allows the Commission to
delegate its authority to oversee amateur sports to a
qualified nonprofit organization if the Commission
determines that the nonprofit "meets or exceeds the
safety and fairness standards of the Commission." The
Commission has the "sole direction, management, control
of, and jurisdiction over all professional and amateur
boxing, professional and amateur kickboxing, all forms
and combinations of forms of full contact martial arts
contests, including mixed martial arts, and matches or
exhibitions conducted, held, or given within this state".
Thus, under current law, the Commission's delegated
authority for amateur regulation would also have
oversight of the same sports as the Commission.
California is unique in requiring that a delegated
authority have nonprofit status. According to
information provided by the National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL), many other states similarly delegate
regulatory authority for amateur sports but do not always
require the organization to have nonprofit status. Some,
like Oklahoma, require that an authority other than the
state commission be a nationally recognized amateur
sanctioning body. Many sanctioning outfits are actually
for-profit organizations but often have national or
international authority over a particular sport.
The Commission has delegated its regulatory oversight
responsibilities of amateur boxing and MMA to two
different nonprofit organizations; USA Boxing, Inc. and
the 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, the Commission 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 the Commission staff negotiated stricter
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requirements regarding safety, background checks,
uniformity, reporting and record keeping, and included
promises for USA Boxing to be more responsive to the
Commission. The Commission voted to place USA Boxing on
probation until June 2010. Earlier this year, the
Commission informed USA Boxing that it would be randomly
sending the Commission inspectors to USA Boxing
sanctioned events to ensure safety at those events.
When CAMO was first created and received authority from
the Commission to oversee amateur MMA, there was no
consensus on safety standards for amateur MMA and CAMO
founders reported that it was unnecessary and even
dangerous for the fighters to wear headgear. It does not
appear that the Commission ever adopted regulations to
clearly outline the difference between professional
regulations and amateur regulations prior to delegating
its authority. Additionally, the Commission 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 the Commission 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.
The Commission 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 the
Commission. 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. BSA also reported that the Commission may have
opportunities to generate revenue by regulating amateur
MMA rather than delegating its authority to CAMO.
ii) Recommendation and Proposed Statutory Change :
Committee staff stated that regulations and statute
governing the Commission's policies need to be updated to
ensure that it has the ability to oversee amateur boxing
in the event that USA Boxing is suspended again or
removed completely from the authority to administer
amateur events. Committee staff also recommended that
the Commission should fully explain how it would handle
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regulating amateur MMA in California, considering that it
had to delegate its authority originally in 2009 because
it lacked the staff and resources to regulate this
growing field of athletes and events.
This bill addresses these recommendations.
Prior and Related Legislation :
a)AB 2100 (Alejo), of the 2011-12 Legislative Session, would
have required that the California State Athletic Commission,
(CSAC) in consultation with the Association of Boxing
Commissioners, to establish and enforce a professional code of
conduct, as specified, and that persons seeking payment as
promoters must make specified disclosures to the CSAC prior to
being compensated. AB 2100 was held on Assembly
Appropriations Committee Suspense File.
b)SB 543 (Price), Chapter 448, Statutes of 2011, extended the
CSAC sunset date for 2 years, from January 1, 2012 to January
1, 2014.
c)SB 294 (Negrete McLeod), Chapter 695, Statutes of 2010,
extended the CSAC sunset date for one year, from January 1,
2011 to January 1, 2012.
d)SB 963 (Ridley-Thomas), Chapter 385, Statutes of 2008,
extended the CSAC sunset date on the Athletic Commission and
its Executive Officer from July 1, 2009 to January 1, 2011.
e)SB 247 (Perata), Chapter 465, Statutes of 2006, reestablished
the CSAC on January 1, 2007, as an independent board through
July 1, 2009.
f)AB 972 (Sharon Runner), of the 2005-06 Legislative Session,
would have required a female boxer, kickboxer, or martial arts
fighter to provide the results of a pregnancy test before
competing in a boxing match indicating whether she is
currently pregnant and would have prohibited her from
competing in a match if she is pregnant. AB 972 failed
passage in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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Center for Public Interest Law
Roy Englebrecht Promotions/Fight Club OC
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. /
(916) 319-3450