BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 469
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
469 (Hill)
As Amended July 13, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Arts |6-0 |Calderon, Obernolte, | |
| | |Chu, Levine, Medina, | |
| | |Nazarian | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |14-0 |Bonilla, Jones, | |
|Professions | |Baker, Bloom, Campos, | |
| | |Chang, Dodd, Eggman, | |
| | |Gatto, Holden, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wilk, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Nazarian, Eggman, | |
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| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Extends the operation of the California State Athletic
Commission (CSAC) until January 1, 2020, and implements the
CSAC's sunset review oversight hearing recommendations,
including authority for drug testing and fines, the authority to
recover arbitration costs, and other technical and clarifying
changes. Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends the operation of the CSAC until January 1, 2020.
2)Provides that a majority of the appointed members of the CSAC
Advisory Committee constitutes a quorum for the purposes of
meeting.
3)Prohibits the administration or use of any drugs, alcohol,
stimulants, or injections in any part of the body or the use
of any prohibited substance specified in the Prohibited List
of the World Anti-Doping Code, as adopted by the World
Anti-Doping Agency, by a professional or amateur boxer or
martial arts fighter licensed by the CSAC.
4)Authorizes the CSAC, in its discretion and pursuant to
regulations adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure
Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), to determine
the necessity of exemptions to the use of a prohibited
substance for licensees.
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5)Authorizes the CSAC to conduct testing at any time during the
period of licensure for a professional or amateur boxer or
martial arts fighter licensed by the CSAC.
6)Authorizes the CSAC to collect blood and urine specimens from
a professional or amateur boxer or martial arts fighter
licensed by the CSAC to detect the presence of any prohibited
substances. Collection of specimens must be done in the
presence of authorized CSAC personnel.
7)Provides that a professional or amateur boxer or martial arts
fighter licensed by the CSAC, for which the presence of a
prohibited substance is detected through testing by the CASC,
is subject to penalties under the Boxing Act.
8)Authorizes the CSAC to additionally assess a fine up to 40% of
the total purse for a violation related to the use of
prohibited substances.
9)Requires the CSAC to recognize and enforce contracts between
boxers or martial arts fighters and managers and between
boxers or martial arts fighters and licensed clubs. Contracts
must be executed on printed forms approved by the commission.
The CSAC may recognize or enforce a contract not on its
printed form if entered into in another jurisdiction. No
other contract or agreement may be recognized or enforced by
the CSAC. All disputes between the parties to the contract,
including the validity of the contract, must be arbitrated by
the CSAC pursuant to the provisions of the contract. Subject
to 4 California Code of Regulations Section 227, a person who
seeks arbitration of a contract must send a written request to
the CSAC's headquarters and to the office of the Attorney
General. The CSAC may seek cost recovery related to
arbitration proceedings from the parties to the proceedings.
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10)Makes other technical and non-substantive changes.
11)
Provides that no reimbursement is required by this bill pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of
the California Constitution because the only costs that may be
incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred
because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates
a crime or infraction, or changes the penalt12) y for
a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime
within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of
the California Constitution.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, extends, for four years, the commission's base
expenditures-currently about $1.6 million and including 10.7
positions. An additional one-half position, at an annual cost of
$55,000 will be needed to implement the additional requirements
of this bill. [Athletic Commission Fund] Based on an assumption
of 50 additional drug tests annually, costs will be about
$60,000. The commission also anticipates minor annual cost
recovery from arbitrations.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "[this bill] in particular
is necessary to extend the sunset date of the Commission 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.
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 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. While the
Commission has faced some administrative and front office
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challenges in the past, the real work that they do, and do
really well, is on the ground level at the events. From the
medical walk-through to checking the ring or cage to ensuring
the fighter immediately undergoes a medical exam to staff
ensuring that a fighter gets paid on the spot; this is where the
Commission excels and it is important for regulation of events
to continue to ensure the highest degree of safety for the many
individuals participating in these sports."
In March of this year, the Assembly Business and Professions and
Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media
Committees along with the Senate Business, Professions and
Economic Development Committee (Committees) conducted a joint
oversight hearing to review the California State Athletic
Commission, in addition to various other state entities. This
bill is one of several sunset bills that are intended to
implement the legislative changes recommended by Committee staff
arising from that process. The recommendations are reflected in
the background papers prepared by Committee staff for each
agency and program reviewed.
While the CSAC has struggled with basic operational and
administrative functions in the past, the current membership and
management have shown a commitment to improving the CSAC's
efficiency and effectiveness and are working cooperatively with
the Legislature and the Committees to bring about necessary
changes. As a result, this bill extends the operation of the
CSAC until January 1, 2020.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
SB 469
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Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T., & I.M. / (916)
319-3450
FN: 0001612