Bill Text: TX HB1123 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of athlete agents; providing administrative and criminal penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Effective on 9/1/11 [HB1123 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB1123-Introduced.html

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82R3867 KYF-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 1123

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of athlete agents; providing
administrative and criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2051.101, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) A person may not register as an athlete agent under this
chapter unless the person is certified as an agent by a national
professional sports association, including the National Football
League Players Association, National Basketball Players
Association, Major League Baseball Players Association, National
Hockey League Players' Association, or United States Soccer
Federation.
SECTION 2. Section 2051.102(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) An applicant must provide information required by the
secretary of state, including:
(1) the applicant's:
(A) name;
(B) principal business address;
(C) business or occupation for the five years
immediately preceding the date of application; and
(D) formal training, practical experience, and
educational background relating to the applicant's professional
activities as an athlete agent;
(2) the name, sport, and last known team for each
person the applicant represented as an athlete agent during the
five years immediately preceding the date of application;
(3) whether the applicant or a person described by
Subdivision (5) has been subject to any of the following:
(A) a conviction of a crime that in this state is
a felony or a crime of moral turpitude;
(B) an administrative or a judicial
determination finding the applicant or other person made a false,
misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent representation;
(C) a sanction or suspension related to
occupational or professional conduct;
(D) a denial of an application for a certificate
of registration or license as an athlete agent; or
(E) a denial, revocation, or suspension of a
certificate of registration or license as an athlete agent;
(4) whether the applicant or a person described by
Subdivision (5) has engaged in conduct resulting in the imposition
on an athlete or educational institution of a sanction, suspension,
or declaration of ineligibility to participate in an
interscholastic or intercollegiate athletic event; [and]
(5) except as provided by Subsection (d), the name and
address of each person, except a bona fide employee on salary, who
is financially interested as a partner, associate, or profit sharer
in the applicant's business; and
(6) the name and address of each national professional
sports association that has certified the applicant as an agent.
SECTION 3. Section 2051.108(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A renewal application must include:
(1) the name and address of each athlete for whom the
athlete agent is performing professional services for compensation
on the date of the renewal application;
(2) the name and address of each athlete for whom the
athlete agent has performed professional services for compensation
during the three years immediately preceding the date of the
renewal application but for whom the athlete agent is not
performing professional services on the date of the renewal
application; [and]
(3) the name and address of each national professional
sports association by which the athlete agent is currently
certified; and
(4) any other information prescribed by the secretary
of state.
SECTION 4. Section 2051.151, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) An athlete agent shall, before contacting an athlete or
entering into an agent contract with an athlete in this state,
deposit with the secretary of state a surety bond, in the amount of
$50,000, payable to the state and conditioned on:
(1) the athlete agent complying with this chapter;
(2) the payment of any administrative penalty assessed
under Subchapter J; and
(3) the payment of any damages awarded to an
institution of higher education or an athlete as a result of the
athlete agent offering or providing a thing of value to an athlete.
(a-1) An athlete agent shall, before entering into a
financial services contract with an athlete, deposit with the
secretary of state a surety bond, in the amount of $100,000, payable
to the state and conditioned on:
(1) the athlete agent complying with this chapter;
(2) the payment of money owed to an individual or group
of individuals when the athlete agent or the athlete agent's
representative or agent receives the money; and
(3) the payment of damages to an athlete caused by the
intentional misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, or unlawful or
negligent act or omission of the athlete agent or of the athlete
agent's representative or employee while acting within the scope of
the financial services contract.
(b) An athlete agent shall maintain a bond deposited under
Subsection (a) or (a-1) for not less than two years after the later
of:
(1) the date that the athlete agent ceases to provide
financial services to an athlete; or
(2) the date that the athlete agent's certificate of
registration expires or is revoked.
SECTION 5. Section 2051.351(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) An athlete agent may not:
(1) publish or cause to be published:
(A) false, fraudulent, or misleading
information; or
(B) a false, fraudulent, or misleading:
(i) representation;
(ii) notice; or
(iii) advertisement;
(2) provide false information;
(3) make a false promise or representation relating to
employment;
(4) divide fees with or receive compensation from:
(A) a person exempt from registration under this
chapter under Section 2051.005; or
(B) a professional sports league or franchise,
including a representative or employee of the league or franchise;
(5) enter into a written or oral agreement with an
employee of an institution of higher education in which the athlete
agent offers a thing of value to the employee for the referral of
clients by the employee;
(6) offer a thing of value to induce the athlete to
enter into an agreement with the athlete agent in which the athlete
agent will represent the athlete;
(7) furnish a thing of value to an athlete before the
athlete completes the athlete's last intercollegiate sports
contest;
(8) [(7)] except as provided by this chapter, before
an athlete completes the athlete's last intercollegiate sports
contest:
(A) directly contact the athlete; or
(B) enter into an oral or written agreement with
the athlete for the athlete agent to represent the athlete;
(9) [(8)] furnish anything of value to any person
other than the athlete or another registered athlete agent to
induce an athlete to enter into an agreement with the athlete agent;
(10) [(9)] initiate any contact with an athlete,
except as authorized by this chapter;
(11) [(10)] fail to retain or permit inspection of the
records required to be retained by Section 2051.352;
(12) [(11)] predate or postdate an agent contract; or
(13) [(12)] fail to notify an athlete before the
athlete signs an agent contract that the signing may make the
athlete ineligible to participate in intercollegiate sports.
SECTION 6. Section 2051.451(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The secretary shall determine the amount of a penalty
assessed under Subsection (a), except that the amount may not
exceed:
(1) $50,000 for a violation of Section 2051.351(a)(7);
or
(2) $25,000 for any other violation.
SECTION 7. Subchapter J, Chapter 2051, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 2051.457 to read as follows:
Sec. 2051.457. FAILURE TO PAY ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. (a)
If an athlete agent fails to pay the administrative penalty and does
not request a hearing as provided by Section 2051.453, the
secretary of state may revoke the agent's certificate of
registration, refuse to renew the agent's certificate of
registration, or refuse to issue a certificate of registration to
the agent.
(b) If, after a hearing, an athlete agent fails to pay the
administrative penalty as required by Section 2051.454, the
secretary of state may revoke the agent's certificate of
registration, refuse to renew the agent's certificate of
registration, or refuse to issue a certificate of registration to
the agent.
SECTION 8. Section 2051.501, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an [An] offense
under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) An offense under this section committed by an athlete
agent who intentionally or knowingly violates Section
2051.351(a)(7) is a third degree felony.
SECTION 9. Subchapter K, Chapter 2051, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 2051.502 to read as follows:
Sec. 2051.502. NOTICE OF CRIMINAL OFFENSE. The secretary
of state shall send notice of an athlete agent's conviction of an
offense under Section 2051.501 to each national professional sports
association that has certified the agent.
SECTION 10. The heading to Subchapter L, Chapter 2051,
Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. CIVIL LIABILITY [SUIT BY INSTITUTION OF HIGHER
EDUCATION]
SECTION 11. Section 2051.551, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsection
(a-1) to read as follows:
(a) An institution of higher education adversely affected
by an athlete agent's [or former athlete's] violation of this
chapter may file suit against the athlete agent [or former athlete]
for damages.
(a-1) An athlete adversely affected by an athlete agent's
violation of Section 2051.351(a)(7) may file suit against the
athlete agent for damages.
(b) A cause of action under Subsection (a) [this section]
does not accrue until the educational institution discovers or by
the exercise of reasonable diligence would have discovered the
violation by the athlete agent [or former athlete].
(c) Any liability of the athlete agent [or the former
athlete] under this section is several and not joint.
SECTION 12. Section 2051.552, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2051.552. ADVERSELY AFFECTED. (a) An institution of
higher education is adversely affected by an athlete agent's
violation of this chapter if:
(1) the athlete agent's violation causes a national
association for the promotion and regulation of intercollegiate
athletics to disqualify or suspend the institution from
participating in intercollegiate sports contests; and
(2) the disqualification or suspension of the
institution causes the institution to:
(A) lose revenue from media coverage of sports
contests;
(B) lose the right to grant athletic scholarships
in the sport in which the institution is disqualified or suspended;
(C) lose the right to recruit athletes; or
(D) otherwise suffer an adverse financial
impact.
(b) An athlete is adversely affected by an athlete agent's
violation of Section 2051.351(a)(7) if:
(1) the athlete agent's violation causes a national
association for the promotion and regulation of intercollegiate
athletics to disqualify or suspend the athlete from participating
in intercollegiate sports contests; and
(2) the disqualification or suspension of the athlete
causes the athlete to suffer an adverse financial impact.
SECTION 13. Section 2051.553, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2051.553. RECOVERY. A plaintiff [An institution of
higher education] that prevails in a civil suit filed under Section
2051.551 may recover:
(1) actual damages;
(2) exemplary damages;
(3) court costs; and
(4) reasonable attorney's fees.
SECTION 14. Section 2051.153, Occupations Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 15. (a) A registration under Chapter 2051,
Occupations Code, in effect on the effective date of this Act
continues in effect under the former law until it expires or is
revoked, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) A person who submits an application required by Chapter
2051, Occupations Code, that is pending on the effective date of
this Act must resubmit an application as required by Chapter 2051,
Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.
(c) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of
this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of
this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.