BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 238
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 238 (De Leon) - As Amended: April 13, 2011
Policy Committee:
JudiciaryVote:10-0 (Consent)
Arts 9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires, rather than authorizes, courts to suspend
athlete agents who violate provisions of the Miller-Ayala
Athlete Agents Act. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the court to suspend for a minimum of one year, or
where appropriate, revoke the person's privilege to conduct
business as an athlete agent if the person is convicted of a
violation of the Act.
2)Requires the court to order an athlete agent to disgorge all
consideration received in connection with a violation of the
Act, and specifies the distribution of all fines and disgorged
monies surrendered as a result of a violation of the Act.
FISCAL EFFECT
Potential minor state General Fund and local revenue due to the
disgorgement requirement.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act (Chapter 857,
Statutes of 1996) enacted a comprehensive set of provisions
governing the conduct and practice of individuals working as
athlete agents. Rather than establishing a registration
program, whereby athlete agents would be required to submit
and renew an application with the state, the Act simply
requires the filing of information regarding the background
and business practices of the athlete agent with the Secretary
SB 238
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of State. According to the Secretary's Special Filing Unit,
469 agents or agent companies have filed information.
Violations of the Act are misdemeanors, subject to a fine of
up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment in county jail for up to one
year. The court may also suspend or revoke a person's
privilege to conduct business as an athlete agent.
2)Purpose . This bill, sponsored by the Los Angeles City
Attorney, enhances penalties for violations of the Act. The
author notes that more than half of the 42 states that have
implemented athlete agent laws have never revoked the license
of an agent found guilty of misconduct. As such, agents who
commit misconduct are still allowed to practice and
potentially to continue targeting student athletes who may not
know of an agent's of the illegality of the agent's past
actions. By imposing a mandatory minimum one year suspension
for any agent or agent's representative found guilty of
violating the law, this bill seeks to remove unscrupulous
agents from practice. This suspension, in addition to the
bill's financial penalties is aimed at deterring improper
conduct before it starts.
According to the sponsor, "Unscrupulous agents thrive on
exploiting the financial circumstances of student-athletes,
encouraging them to accept financial incentives. The current
penalties afforded by the existing law are too lenient, when
weighed against the significant damage that may result from an
agent's illegal practices."
3)Prior Legislation . SB 1098 (Corbett) of 2010, which would have
replaced the Miller-Ayala Act with the Uniform Athlete Agent
Act, as adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on
Uniform State Laws, and in part required athlete agents to
register with the state, was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081