BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1525|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1525
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 5/29/12
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/18/12
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NOES: Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Blakeslee, Liu, Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
SUBJECT : Student Athlete Bill of Rights
SOURCE : National College Players Association
DIGEST : This bill enacts the Student Athlete Bill of
Rights (SABR), which would apply to intercollegiate
athletic programs at universities in the state that receive
an average of $10 million or more in revenue derived from
media rights for intercollegiate athletics. The SABR
requires that qualifying universities that do not renew the
athletic scholarship of a student who has suffered an
injury resulting from his or her participation provide an
equivalent scholarship, as specified. It requires that
each qualifying athletic program conduct a financial and
life skills workshop for first and third-year athletes, as
specified. The SABR further requires that the university
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continue to pay specified medical expenses for a student
athlete who was injured. This bill provides that the
institutions to which this bill applies shall rely
exclusively on income derived from media rights for
intercollegiate athletics to defray the costs of this bill.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Beginning January 1, 2012, requires California
postsecondary educational institutions that offer
athletic scholarships to provide specific information on
its website, such as the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) policy on scholarship duration, the
most recent cost of attendance, and the policy on
athletically related medical expenses.
2.Prohibits any person from giving, offering, promising or
attempting to give money or other item of value to a
student athlete or member of the athlete's immediate
family to induce, encourage or reward a student athlete's
application, enrollment or attendance at a public or
private institution of higher education (IHE) to
participate in intercollegiate sporting activities. Some
exceptions may be granted in accordance with NCAA rules.
3.Subjects a person who violates these rules to a civil
penalty of up to $10,000, or three times the amount
given, offered or promised, whichever is greater.
4.Prohibits student athletes and members of their immediate
family from soliciting or accepting money or other item
of value as an inducement, encouragement or reward,
subject to the same exceptions and penalty listed above.
The NCAA adopted bylaws that regulate recruiting,
scholarship levels, timing and methods of communication
between institutions of higher education (IHEs) and student
athletes. Rules governing Division I, II and III IHEs are
not necessarily the same across divisions. Currently, NCAA
bylaws impose a number of restrictions on student athlete
financial assistance. For example, NCAA Division 1
schools:
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1.Cannot guarantee scholarships for more than one academic
year. (See two paragraphs below.)
2.Cannot award financial aid to a student athlete that
exceeds the cost of attendance that normally is incurred
by students enrolled in a comparable program at that
institution.
The NCAA recently adopted several new rules that have not
yet been implemented, including granting the authority for
Division I schools to offer multi-year athletic
scholarships and a $2,000 stipend, and increased academic
standards (minimum grade point average and academic
progress rate).
The 2011-12 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete,
and other links on the NCAA's website, provides information
about several aspects of becoming a collegiate athlete,
including athletically related financial aid and recruiting
regulations. Specifically:
1.Athletic scholarships in Divisions I and II are initially
awarded for up to one academic year, and may be renewed
annually for up to five years (D-I) or up to a total of
10 semesters/15 quarters (D-II). Division III
institutions do not award athletic financial aid.
2.Athletic scholarships can be renewed, reduced, increased
or canceled from year to year for almost any reason.
3.Athletic scholarships are awarded in a variety of
amounts.
4.The total amount of financial aid a student-athlete can
receive may be limited, and may affect whether a
student-athlete may accept additional financial aid.
This bill enacts a number of protections for
student-athletes, geared toward ensuring a student-athlete
is able to complete his or her education if he or she loses
an athletic scholarship due to injury, and to be paid for
from "media rights" revenue. Specifically this bill:
1.Requires that if an athletic program does not renew an
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athletic scholarship of a student athlete who has
suffered an injury resulting from his or her
participation in the athletic program, either because of
the injury or for any other nondisciplinary reason (if
the athletic program does not reach a certain average
graduation rate), the institution of higher education
shall provide an equivalent scholarship for up to 6
years, as specified.
2.Requires an athletic program shall be responsible for
paying the medical insurance premiums of each of its
student-athletes whose household income would qualify
them for Cal Grant A, and covering claims resulting from
their participation in the athletic program.
3.Requires an athletic program shall be responsible for
paying the insurance deductible amount applicable to the
claim of any student athlete who suffers an injury
resulting from his or her participation in the athletic
program and makes a claim relating to that injury, for up
to 5 years after the claim is made.
4.Requires an athletic program adopt and implement
guidelines to prevent, assess, and treat sports-related
concussions and dehydration. It also requires a program
to adopt and implement exercise and supervision
guidelines for any student athlete identified with
potentially life-threatening health conditions.
Comments
Existing medical coverage . NCAA rules require each
student-athlete to be covered by individual, parental or
institutional medical insurance prior to competing in
interscholastic athletics. Universities are authorized to
provide medical insurance; coverage varies from campus to
campus.
The University of California (UC) administers the Student
Health Insurance Plan that covers athletic injuries only at
the San Diego and Santa Barbara campuses, while coverage
for athletes at other UC campuses varies.
The California State University Risk Management Authority
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administers the Athletic Injury Medical Expense, which
provides secondary coverage for medical expenses from
athletic injuries not paid by the student's primary
insurance.
The University of Southern California reviews
permanent/career-ending injuries on a case-by-case basis
and may offer a medical athletic scholarship for the
identical time frame and financial aid level for a period
corresponding to one bachelor's degree (16 unit minimum per
semester). If offered a medical athletic scholarship, the
student-athlete must work the same work hours and regime as
a student-athlete that has exhausted eligibility.
NCAA catastrophic insurance program . Among other things,
the NCAA Catastrophic Insurance Program provides:
1. College education benefit provides payment of the full
standard cost of attendance for a totally disabled
person to complete his or her undergraduate and/or
graduate degree. The disabled person must recommence
studies within 5 years and complete the degree within 20
years. The maximum lifetime college education benefit
is $120,000.
2. Vocational rehabilitation benefit provides payment for
expenses incurred for services rendered through a
vocational rehabilitation program or counseling services
to enable the person to develop skills necessary for
gainful employment and to participate in a job search
and find gainful employment. The maximum lifetime
vocational rehabilitation benefit is $60,000.
3. Maximum benefit per person per accident, for all
benefits combined is $20 million.
4. Custodial care maximum is $100,000 per calendar year.
5. Home health care maximum is $100,000 per calendar year.
6. Combined home and custodial is $100,000, increasing by
$10,000 on the 10th anniversary of the accident and on
each subsequent 10th anniversary.
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7. Private duty nursing maximum is $250,000 per calendar
year.
8. Combined private duty nursing, custodial and home
health is $250,000.
9. Total disability benefit is $300 each month for up to
12 months, and $2,000 each month thereafter ($2,000
monthly benefit increases by 4% after the $2,000 benefit
has been paid for 12 consecutive months.
10.Partial disability maximum benefit is $1,500 each
month, increasing by 4% after the benefit has been paid
for 12 consecutive months. The benefit is to be reduced
by of the after-tax monthly compensation earned by the
insured person in excess of $1,000 per month.
11.Adjustment expense benefit maximum is $50,000 lifetime
(training family to perform rehabilitative or custodial
functions, travel for family, loss of earnings by
injured person's spouse or parent, and family
counseling.
12.Special expense benefit for special items approved by
the person's doctor to accommodate his or her physical
disability, such as home or automobile modifications.
Benefits are limited to:
$125,000 during the first 10 years.
$50,000 for years 10-20.
$60,000 for years 20-30.
$75,000 for years 30-40.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
University of California (UC): Potentially significant
cost pressure on the UCLA and UC Berkeley campus budgets
to backfill any reduction of support for activities that
currently receive financial support from media rights
revenues.
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California State University (CSU): The CSU does not
believe that any of its campuses currently meet the
threshold for the SABR to apply, but projects that San
Diego State University (SDSU) will in the near future.
The CSU estimates that it will incur annual increased
costs of $500,000 when the bill applies SDSU.
Financial aid programs: Potential state savings, to the
extent that former student-athletes are extended
scholarships paid for by media rights funds, instead of
being entitled to, or competing for, state and
institutional aid upon losing an athletic scholarship.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/29/12)
National College Players Association (source)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/29/12)
Stanford University
University of California
University of Southern California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author,
"According to the United States Department of Education,
California's twelve thousand student athletes in Division I
and Division II schools helped generate over $687 million
dollars in income in 2010 alone. However, the future for
most student athletes is far from certain. Due to NCAA
rules and a lack of state law, universities often neglect
to pay for the medical care of injured student athletes.
Additionally, universities can choose to not renew an
injured student athlete's scholarship. Saddling a student
with medical bills and taking away scholarships can easily
push a student out of college. While the NCAA reports a
nationwide overall 'graduation success rate' of over 80%,
this does not truly reflect the disparities among
individual campuses and programs. Using the NCAA's
methodology, 17 of California's 24 Division I schools have
at least one intercollegiate sport with a graduation
success rate under 60%. In most cases, this number goes
even lower when using the United States Department of
Education's statistics."
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue, "SB 1525
creates undefined obligations that would create substantial
financial burdens on universities like Stanford.
Ultimately, these financial burdens will undermine
Stanford's ability to serve the very community of
student-athletes SB 1525 seeks to protect."
PQ:nl 5/31/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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