Bill Text: CA AB2100 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Athletes: mixed martial arts fighters.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-07-02 - From committee without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a). [AB2100 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB2100-Amended.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 2100	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 2, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 9, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Alejo

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2012

   An act to amend  Sections 18849, 18880, 18881, 18882,
18884, and 18887   Section 18849  of, and to add
Section 18649 to, 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 prohibits a promoter from having a
proprietary interest in a boxer or mixed martial arts fighter without
the approval of the commission.  Existing law creates the
continuously appropriated Boxers' 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
protect mixed martial arts fighters   from exploitive,
oppressive, or coercive contracts and to support the establishment of
standards to protect these fighters. This bill would  require a
promoter to provide  specified   a copy of any
written agreement with a professional athlete as well as a 
written and sworn  statements regarding his or her financial
interests   statement, made under penalty of perjury,
that no oth   er agreements between the promoter and athlete
with respect to that contest, and a list of any fees charged or
reductions in the amount paid to the athlete,  to the commission
before the promoter can receive compensation from a boxing or mixed
martial arts contest. By requiring a statement to be made under
penalty of perjury, the bill would expand that crime and would
thereby impose a state-mandated local program. The bill  would
require the commission to establish a professional code of conduct
for licensees,  would  also  require the
commission to  suspend,  revoke  ,  or refuse to
renew the license of a mixed martial arts promoter who enters into a
coercive contract, as defined, with a mixed martial arts fighter, who
has been convicted of a felony or  a gross misdemeanor
  other specified crimes  , or who has 
been subject to specified law enforcement actions, investigations, or
allegations. This bill would require the commission to establish a
professional code of conduct for licensees   engaged in
certain other actions  .  This bill would also extend
the scope of the Boxers' Pension Plan to include professional mixed
martial arts fighters and would rename the fund as the Boxers' and
Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' Pension Fund. By providing for new
moneys to be deposited in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill
would make an appropriation.  
   This bill would also exempt documents provided to the commission
by promoters from disclosure to the public based on a finding by the
Legislature that these documents contain proprietary business
information. 
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation:  yes   no
 . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    It is the intent of the Legislature in
enacting this act to protect mixed martial arts fighters from being
subjected to exploitive, oppressive, or coercive contractual
practices that violate the athletes' freedom to work and their
ability to support themselves and their families as professional
athletes. Therefore, it is necessary and appropriate to establish
standards to protect the rights and welfare of mixed martial arts
fighters licensed under this chapter. 
   SEC.   2.    Section 18649 is added to the
  Business and Professions Code   , to read: 

   18649.  To ensure that individuals and entities licensed under
this act observe common standards of decency, the commission shall,
in consultation with the Association of Boxing Commissioners,
establish a professional code of ethical conduct for mixed martial
arts promoters and fighters. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this code, the commission shall enforce the code of ethical conduct
and may suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew the license of
any mixed martial arts promoter or fighter that it finds has violated
this code of conduct. Violations of this code shall include, but not
be limited to, the following:
   (a) Engaging in actions or activities such as acts resulting in
felony convictions or convictions for crimes involving moral
turpitude, sexual assault, ethnic or religious slurs, hate speech, or
obscene language, failing to respond to a subpoena, or incurring
sanctions imposed by a judge or court of law.
   (b) Entering into a promotional contract with a mixed martial arts
fighter licensed in the State of California if the contract contains
one or more coercive provisions. For purposes of this section, a
coercive contract provision includes, but is not limited to, a
provision that does any of the following:
   (1) Assigns any exclusive future merchandising rights to a
promoter for an unreasonable period beyond the term of the
promotional contract.
   (2) Automatically renews a promotional contract or extends the
term without good faith negotiation, or extends the term of any
promotional contract of a fighter who participates in a championship
contest for a period greater than 12 months beyond the existing
contract termination period.
   (3) Unreasonably restricts a mixed martial arts fighter from
obtaining outside sponsorship from a firm, product, or individual.
   (4) Requires a mixed martial arts fighter to relinquish all legal
claims that the fighter has, or may acquire in the future, against
the promoter beyond assumption of the risks inherent in the sport of
mixed martial arts and the fighter's participation in pre and post
bout events and activities.
   (5) Requires a fighter to grant or waive any additional rights not
contained in the promotional contract as a condition precedent to
the fighter's participation in any contest. 
   SEC.   3.    Section 18849 of the  
Business and Professions Code   is amended to read: 
   18849.   (a)    No promoter, nor any person
having a proprietary interest in the promoter, shall have, either
directly or indirectly, any proprietary interest in a boxer or
martial arts fighter competing on the premises owned, leased, or
rented by the promoter without written approval from the commission.

   (b) No promoter shall be entitled to receive any compensation
directly or indirectly in connection with a contest until the
promoter provides to the commission the following:  
   (1)  A copy of any written agreement to which the promoter is a
party with any professional athlete or contestant licensed under this
act.  
   (2)  A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that there are no
other agreements, written or oral, between the promoter and the
athlete with respect to that contest.  
   (3)  All fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed by or
through the promoter on the athlete participating in the event,
including any portion of the athlete's purse that the promoter will
receive.  
   (4) Any reduction in the athlete's purse contrary to a previous
agreement between the promoter and the athlete.  
   (c) Neither the commission nor any person acting on its behalf may
disclose to the public any agreement furnished by a promoter under
this section except to the extent required to comply with an order in
a legal, administrative, or judicial proceeding. 
   SEC. 4.    The Legislature finds and declares that
Section 3 of this act, which amends Section 18849 of the Business and
Professions Code, imposes a limitation on the public's right of
access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public
officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I
of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional
provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to
demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need
for protecting that interest:  
   The Legislature finds and declares that the limitation upon the
disclosure of contracts between promoters and mixed martial arts
fighters is necessary to protect proprietary business and trade
secret information.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 18649 is added to the
Business and Professions Code, to read:
   18649.  (a) The commission shall revoke or refuse to renew the
license of any mixed martial arts promoter that enters into a
contract with a mixed martial arts fighter in the state of California
if the contract contains one or more coercive provisions. A contract
provision shall be considered coercive to the extent that it does
any of the following:
   (1) Assigns any future merchandising rights to a promoter beyond
the term of the promotional contract.
   (2) Automatically renews the contract or extends the term without
good faith, arms-length negotiation.
   (3) Grants the promoter a right to match the terms of a competing
offer or contract.
   (4) Grants the promoter a right to enter into exclusive
negotiations with a mixed martial arts fighter.
   (5) Restricts a mixed martial arts fighter from sponsoring another
firm, product, or individual.
   (6) Requires a mixed martial arts fighter to relinquish any legal
claims for negligence that the fighter has, or may acquire in the
future, against the promoter.
   (7) Restricts a mixed martial arts fighter from contracting with
another promoter.
   (8) Requires a mixed martial arts fighter to forfeit any rights as
a condition precedent to the fighter's participation in a contest.
   (b) The commission shall revoke or refuse to renew the license of
any promoter if it finds that the promoter, or any person or entity
that is a partner, agent, employee, stockholder, or associate of the
promoter, has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving
moral turpitude in any jurisdiction; is currently the subject of a
state or federal criminal investigation; has been subject to a state
or federal tax lien within the past five years; has failed to respond
to a subpoena issued by any government agency; has been found to
have violated any local, state, or federal law; has been sanctioned
by a local, state, or federal judge; or has been credibly alleged to
have violated international human rights standards.
   (c) To ensure that individuals and entities licensed under this
act observe common standards of decency, the commission shall, in
consultation with the Association of Boxing Commissioners, establish
a professional code of ethical conduct. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this code, the commission shall enforce the code of
ethical conduct.  
  SEC. 2.   Section 18849 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   18849.  No promoter, nor any person having a proprietary interest
in the promoter, shall have, either directly or indirectly, any
proprietary interest in a boxer or martial arts fighter competing on
the premises owned, leased, or rented by the promoter without written
approval from the commission. No promoter shall be entitled to
receive any compensation directly or indirectly in connection with a
contest until the promoter provides to the commission the following:
   (a) A copy of any agreement in writing to which the promoter is a
party with any professional athlete or contestant licensed under this
act.
   (b) A statement made under penalty of perjury that there are no
other agreements, written or oral, between the promoter and the
athlete with respect to that contest.
   (c) All fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed by or
through the promoter on the athlete participating in the event,
including any portion of the athlete's purse that the promoter will
receive.
   (d) Any reduction in the athlete's purse contrary to a previous
agreement between the promoter and the athlete.  
  SEC. 3.    Section 18880 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
   18880.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) That professional athletes licensed under this chapter, as a
group, for many reasons, do not retain their earnings, and are often
injured or destitute, or both, and unable to take proper care of
themselves, whether financially or otherwise, and that the enactment
of this article is to serve a public purpose by making provisions for
a needy group to insure a modicum of financial security for
professional athletes.
   (2) Athletes licensed under this chapter may suffer extraordinary
disabilities in the normal course of their trade. These may include
acute and chronic traumatic brain injuries, resulting from multiple
concussions as well as from repeated exposure to a large number of
subconcussive punches, eye injuries, including retinal tears, holes,
and detachments, and other neurological impairments.
   (3) The pension plan of the commission is part of the state's
health and safety regulatory scheme, designed to protect boxers and
mixed martial arts fighters licensed under this chapter from the
health-related hazards of their trade. The pension plan addresses
those health and safety needs, recognizing the disability and health
maintenance expenses those needs may require.
   (4) The regulatory system of California is interrelated with the
conduct of the trade in every jurisdiction. Athletes licensed under
this chapter participate in contests in other states and many
athletes who are based in those other jurisdictions may participate
in California on a single-event basis.
   (5) The outcomes and natures of fights in other jurisdictions are
relevant to California regulatory jurisdiction and are routinely
monitored for health and safety reasons, so that, for example, a
knockout of an athlete licensed under this chapter in another
jurisdiction is paid appropriate heed with respect to establishing a
waiting period before that athlete may commence fighting in
California.
   (6) The monitoring of other jurisdictions is an integral part of
the health and safety of California athletes licensed under this
chapter due to the interstate nature of the trade, and therefore the
regulatory scheme for contests and athletes under this chapter should
reflect this accordingly.
   (7) Some mixed martial arts promoters licensed under this chapter
engage in certain exploitative, oppressive, and coercive contractual
practices that violate athletes' freedom to work and their ability to
support themselves and their families as professional athletes.
   (8) It is necessary and appropriate to establish standards to
protect the rights and welfare of mixed martial arts fighters
licensed under this chapter from unscrupulous promoters and coercive
contractual practices.
   (b) The provisions of this article pertain only to professional
boxers and mixed martial arts fighters licensed under this chapter.
 
  SEC. 4.    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. Any promoter that receives a
fee for televising a boxing or mixed martial arts contest performed
in the State of California on a pay-per-view or network telecast
shall pay 5 percent of the gross receipts from the telecast,
exclusive of federal, state, or local taxes, into the Boxers' and
Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' Pension Fund. 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. 5.    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) The Boxers' Pension Fund is hereby continued in existence and
renamed as the Boxers' and Mixed Marital Arts Fighters' Pension Fund.
All contributions to finance the pension plan shall be deposited in
the State Treasury and credited to the Boxers' and Mixed Martial Arts
Fighters' Pension Fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section
13340 of the Government Code, all moneys in the Boxers' and Mixed
Martial Arts Fighters' Pension Fund are hereby continuously
appropriated to be used exclusively for the purposes and
administration of the pension plan.
   (c) The Boxers' and Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' 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' and Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' 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' and Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' 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' and Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' 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' and Mixed Martial Arts Fighters' 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. 6.    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 professional
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 professional 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. 7.    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 a covered mixed martial
arts fighter, a medical early retirement benefit in the amount
contained in the covered boxer's or covered 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' and mixed martial arts fighters' pension plan. This benefit
shall be in lieu of a pension. 
   SEC. 8.   SEC. 5.   No reimbursement is
required by this act 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 penalty 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.