BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1525|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1525
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 8/6/12
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
SENATE FLOOR : 22-14, 5/31/12
AYES: Alquist, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier,
Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian,
Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Dutton, Emmerson,
Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Liu, Walters,
Wright, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Calderon, Runner, Strickland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-25, 8/20/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Student Athlete Bill of Rights
SOURCE : National College Players Association
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
2
DIGEST : This bill enacts a Student Athlete Bill of
Rights and places specified requirements on collegiate
athletic programs commencing with the 2013-14 academic year
and ending January 1, 2021.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/6/12 (1) delete the provision
that required affected universities to provide replacement
scholarships to any student-athlete who lost his or her
scholarship due to non-disciplinary causes, and add
language requiring affected universities to provide an
equivalent scholarship to student-athletes in good standing
and whose National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
athletic eligibility has been exhausted but are still
pursuing degree objectives and are participating in
individual athletics programs which have a graduation rate
of 60% or less, (2) deletes the scope of the provision
explicitly included the ability of a student-athlete to
participate in the school's athletics program, and add
language requiring affected universities to afford their
student-athletes the disciplinary due process as other
students, and (3) delete language which required automatic
approval of a student-athlete's request for transfer, and
add language which require affected universities to respond
to student-athlete transfer requests to another institution
of higher education within seven days.
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 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.
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
3
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:
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
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
4
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:
1.Applies all of the following requirements only to a
higher education institution receiving income of more
than $10 million annually through media rights (contracts
with television networks), and requires the institution
to rely exclusively on this revenue to cover the costs of
these requirements.
2.Requires the postsecondary education institution, if a
student athlete's athletic scholarship is not renewed due
to incapacitating injury or illness resulting 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. A student's
temporary leave of absence shall not count against the
five-year limit.
3.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.
4.Requires each athletic program to conduct a financial and
life skills workshop, as specified, for all first-year
and third-year student athletes.
5.Requires an athletic program to respond within seven
business days to a student athlete's written request to
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
5
transfer.
6.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.
7.Stipulates that an athletic program is responsible for
paying the insurance deductible amount applicable to a
student who suffers 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
separation from the institution, either necessary medical
treatment or health insurance covering the injury and
resulting deductibles.
8.Requires the athletic program to adopt and implement
guidelines to prevent, assess and treat sports-related
concussions and dehydration.
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
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
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
6
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.
7. Private duty nursing maximum is $250,000 per calendar
year.
8. Combined private duty nursing, custodial and home
health is $250,000.
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
7
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 Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Based on their annual revenue from media rights, this
bill will initially only apply to four schools-the
University of California's Berkeley and Los Angeles
campuses, Stanford University, and the University of
Southern California. There will be no additional costs to
UC, as the university indicates this bill's requirements
are consistent with current policies and practices.
The California State University indicates that its San
Diego campus will meet the media revenue threshold for
this bill in the near future and estimates that annual
costs for additional scholarships could be up to
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
8
$500,000, covered by non-state sources.
To the extent former student-athletes, upon losing an
athletic scholarship, receive extended scholarships paid
for media rights revenues, instead of being entitled to
state and institutional aid, there will be minor savings
to these programs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/12)
National College Players Association (source)
American Association of University Women, California
United Steelworkers District 12
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/12)
Stanford University
Association of Independent California Colleges and
Universities
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."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue, "SB 1525
creates undefined obligations that would create substantial
financial burdens on universities like Stanford.
CONTINUED
SB 1525
Page
9
Ultimately, these financial burdens will undermine
Stanford's ability to serve the very community of
student-athletes SB 1525 seeks to protect."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-25, 8/20/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Buchanan, Butler,
Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro,
Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brownley, Furutani, Roger Hern�ndez,
Portantino
PQ:n 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED