BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 735


                                                                    Page  1





          Date of Hearing:  January 21, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          735 (Ridley-Thomas) - As Amended January 4, 2016


           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Policy       |Arts, Entertainment, Sports,   |Vote:|6 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |Tourism, and Internet Media    |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
          |             |Higher Education               |     |12 - 0       |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  >


          SUMMARY:


          This bill eliminates the January 1, 2012 sunset date on the  
          Student Athlete Bill of Rights, which places specified  
          requirements on collegiate athletic programs at those California  
          higher education institutions that receive income of more than  








                                                                     AB 735


                                                                    Page  2





          $10 million annually through media rights (contracts with  
          television networks).


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          No state costs for the impacted public institutions to continue  
          compliance with the Student Athlete Bill of Rights. Based on  
          their annual revenue from media rights, the bill of rights  
          applies only to four schools-the University of California's  
          (UC's) Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses, Stanford University,  
          and the University of Southern California. The bill of rights  
          requires these institutions to rely exclusively on this revenue  
          to cover the costs of compliance.

          According to UC, in the past 18 months, the Pac-12 Conference,  
          which includes the four institutions subject to this bill, have  
          obtained autonomy from NCAA and have adopted reforms in support  
          of student athlete welfare and academic success that go beyond  
          the provisions in Student Athlete Bill of Rights.
          


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. According to the author, "Because of the success of  
            the Student Athlete Bill of Rights, it is unnecessary to wait  
            any longer to repeal the sunset date and to place undue stress  
            on our student athletes and to not extend common sense  
            protections indefinitely."  The author contends that, given  
            the January 2021 sunset date, student athletes enrolling in  
            school in 2017 and thereafter, will lack the certainties of  
            the protections of the bill of rights being available to them  
            throughout their entire collegiate experience.

          2)Background. SB 1525 (Padilla), Chapter 625, Statutes of 2012,  
            enacted the Student Athlete Bill of Rights, which in part:








                                                                     AB 735


                                                                    Page  3






             a)   Requires the postsecondary education institution, if a  
               student athlete's athletic scholarship is not renewed due  
               to incapacitating injury or illness result from  
               participation in the athletic program, to provide an  
               equivalent scholarship, that when combined with the  
               previous athletic scholarship, provides the student with up  
               to five academic years or until the student completes his  
               academic degree, whichever comes first. 

             b)   Requires an athletic program with a six-year graduation  
               success rate, disaggregated by team, of less than 60%, to  
               provide a student athlete in good standing who has  
               exhausted their athletic scholarship with an equivalent  
               scholarship for up to one year.

             c)   Requires each athletic program to conduct a financial  
               and life skills workshop, as specified, for all first-year  
               and third-year student athletes.

             d)   Requires an athletic program to respond within seven  
               business days to a student athlete's written request to  
               transfer.

             e)   Stipulates that an athletic program, unless the student  
               athlete declines, is responsible for paying the health  
               insurance premiums of a student athlete whose household  
               income does not exceed the level of Cal Grant A recipients,  
               for insurance covering claims resulting from the student's  
               participation in the athletic program.

             f)   Stipulates that an athletic program is responsible for  
               paying the insurance deductible amount applicable to a  
               student who suffers an injury resulting from participation  
               in the athletic program, and if the student requires  
               ongoing medical treatment, the program is to provide, for  
               at least two years after the student's graduation or  
               separate from the institution, either necessary medical  
               treatment or health insurance covering the injury and  








                                                                     AB 735


                                                                    Page  4





               resulting deductibles.





          Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081