BILL NUMBER: AB 2100 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to amend Sections 18881, 18882, 18884, and 18887 of
the Business and Professions Code, relating to athletes ,
and making an appropriation therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2100, as amended, Alejo. Athletes: mixed martial arts fighters.
Existing law, the State Athletic Commission Act, creates the
State Athletic Commission and makes it responsible for licensing and
regulating boxing, kickboxing, and martial arts matches and wrestling
exhibitions. Existing law, the Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents
Act, regulates specified activities of an athlete agent in
representing or seeking to represent student and professional
athletes. Existing law creates the Boxer s
' Pension Fund and requires the commission to establish a
pension plan for boxers and to deposit the moneys
collected by the pension plan into the fund.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that would ensure the safety and promote the
welfare of extend the scope of the Boxers '
Pension Plan to include professional mixed martial arts
fighters.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 18881 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
18881. (a) The commission shall, consistent with the purposes of
this article, establish a pension plan for professional boxers
and professional mixed martial arts fighters who engage in
boxing or mixed martial arts contests in this state.
(b) The commission shall, consistent with the purposes of this
article, establish the method by which the pension plan will be
financed, including those who shall contribute to the financing of
the pension plan. The method of financing the pension plan may
include, but is not limited to, assessments on tickets and
contributions by boxers, mixed martial arts fighters,
managers, promoters, or any one or more of these persons, in an
amount sufficient to finance the pension plan. For purposes of this
section, the term "sufficient" means that the annual contributions
shall be calculated to achieve no less than the average level of
annual aggregate pension plan contributions from all sources for the
period from July 1, 1981, through December 31, 1994, and adjusted
thereafter to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for
California as set forth by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(c) Any pension plan established by the commission shall be
actuarially sound.
SEC. 2. Section 18882 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
18882. (a) At the time of payment of the fee required by Section
18824, a promoter shall pay to the commission all amounts scheduled
for contribution to the pension plan. If the commission, in its
discretion, requires pursuant to Section 18881, that contributions to
the pension plan be made by the boxer or mixed martial arts
fighter and his or her manager, those contributions shall be
made at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission.
(b) All contributions to finance the pension plan shall be
deposited in the State Treasury and credited to the Boxers' Pension
Fund, which is hereby created. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the Boxers'
Pension Fund are hereby continuously appropriated to be used
exclusively for the purposes and administration of the pension plan.
(c) The Boxers' Pension Fund is a retirement fund, and no moneys
within it shall be deposited or transferred to the General Fund.
(d) The commission has exclusive control of all funds in the
Boxers' Pension Fund. No transfer or disbursement in any amount from
this fund shall be made except upon the authorization of the
commission and for the purpose and administration of the pension
plan.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, the
commission or its designee shall invest the money contained in the
Boxers' Pension Fund according to the same standard of care as
provided in Section 16040 of the Probate Code. The commission has
exclusive control over the investment of all moneys in the Boxers'
Pension Fund. Except as otherwise prohibited or restricted by law,
the commission may invest the moneys in the fund through the
purchase, holding, or sale of any investment, financial instrument,
or financial transaction that the commission in its informed opinion
determines is prudent.
(f) The administrative costs associated with investing, managing,
and distributing the Boxers' Pension Fund shall be limited to no more
than 20 percent of the average annual contribution made to the fund
in the previous two years, not including any investment income
derived from the corpus of the fund. Diligence shall be exercised by
administrators in order to lower the fund's expense ratio as far
below 20 percent as feasible and appropriate. The commission shall
report to the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer
Protection on the impact of this provision during the next regularly
scheduled sunset review after January 1, 2007.
SEC. 3. Section 18884 of the
Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
18884. (a) A promoter may, but is not required to, add to the
price of each ticket sold for a professional boxing or mixed
martial arts contest, an amount specifically designated on the
ticket for contribution as a donation, either or both, to the pension
plan established pursuant to Section 18881. The additional amount
shall not be subject to the admissions tax required by Section 18824
or any other deductions. Nothing in this section shall authorize the
addition of such amounts to less than all the tickets sold for the
professional boxing or mixed martial arts contest
involved. The promoter shall pay additional contributions collected
in accordance with Section 18881.
(b) Any additional contributions received pursuant to this section
shall not be considered to offset any of the contributions required
by the commission under Section 18881.
SEC. 4. Section 18887 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
18887. In addition to any other form in which retirement benefits
may be distributed under the pension plan, the commission may, in
its discretion, award to a covered boxer or mixed martial
fighter, a medical early retirement benefit in the amount
contained in the covered boxers' boxer's or
mixed martial arts fighter's pension plan account at the time
the commission makes this award and in the manner provided in the
regulations governing the boxers' pension plan. This benefit shall be
in lieu of a pension.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would ensure the safety and promote the
welfare of professional mixed martial arts fighters.