The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- April 26, 1999

State legislation relating to intercollegiate athletics

This report summarizes legislation currently pending before state legislatures that could affect or is of interest to staff of intercollegiate athletics programs and student-athletes. Set forth below is a list of 43 bills from 23 states. The report includes 32 bills that have been recently introduced and 11 pending bills where legislative action has occurred since the publication of the March 29, 1999, NCAA News. Newly introduced bills are marked with an asterisk (*).

The State Legislation Report is based largely on data provided by the Information for Public Affairs online state legislation system as of April 6, 1999. The bills selected for inclusion in this report were drawn from a larger pool of measures that concern sports and, therefore, do not necessarily represent all of the bills that would be of interest to individual member institutions. Bills pending before the governing bodies of the District of Columbia and U.S. territories are not available on an online basis and are not included in this report.

The NCAA has not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data provided by Information for Public Affairs and is providing this summary as a service to its members. For further information regarding a particular bill, members should contact the state legislature concerned.

The bills set forth below address the following subjects:

Subject Number of Bills

Athlete agents 3

Athletics facilities 1

Athletics program funding 1

Athletics scholarships 2

Athletic trainers 11

Drugs. 1

Gender equity 1

Gambling 6

High-school extracurricular/

home school 1

Scheduling 1

Sports officials. 7

Taxes 3

Tickets. 5

Four bills have become law since the last report. In New Jersey, the governor signed into law legislation that exempts students employed by their educational institutions from FICA tax. In Virginia, three bills were adopted that provide for the certification of athletic trainers.

Since the last report, three state legislatures (Indiana, Mississippi and West Virginia) have adjourned for the year. Forty-two state legislatures remain in session. One state legislature (Kentucky) will not conduct a session in 1999.

Arkansas S 429 (Author: Malone)

Athlete agents. Amends existing athlete-agent law. Includes Arkansas attorneys under the definition of athlete agent. Imposes third-degree felony penalties on athlete agents who conduct business without an active license issued by the secretary of state. Increases registration fee from $100 to $500. Requires the athlete agent and the student-athlete to contact the athletics department of the university within 72 hours after the signing of an athlete-agent agreement. Expands the list of prohibited acts, including limitations on athlete-agent contact with student-athletes. Permits an institution that is adversely affected by the actions or omissions of an athlete agent to seek civil damages and/or equitable relief. Requires the athlete-agent license to be displayed in each office from which the agent conducts business.

Status: 2/10/99 introduced. 3/22/99 passed Senate. To House Committee on Education.

Arizona H 2005 (Author: Kyle)

Athlete agents. Regulates athlete-agent conduct. Lists unlawful acts. Requires athlete agents to provide notice to the athlete's institution upon entering into a verbal or written agent contract before the expiration of the athlete's intercollegiate athletics eligibility. Imposes Class I misdemeanor penalties against an athlete agent who engages in contact with an athlete in violation of the act. Provides a civil cause of action for the athlete's institution to recover damages as a result of an athlete agent's misconduct.

Status: 1/11/99 introduced. 1/19/99 passed as amended by House. 3/29/99 passed by the Senate Committee on Rules.

Arizona H 2129 (Author: Brimhall)

High-school extracurricular/ home-school students. Provides home-school students with the opportunity to participate in interscholastic activities at the public school in the district in which student resides. Authorizes the state board of education to adopt participation rules for home-school students.

Status: 1/11/99 introduced. 2/10/99 passed House. 3/25/99 passed Senate.

*Florida S 1988 (Author: Sullivan)

Athletics scheduling. Directs the universities of Miami (Florida), South Florida, Florida State and Florida to develop and participate in an annual tournament of men's collegiate basketball to be held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Authorizes the state legislature to examine withholding discretionary funding from each of the four universities if the tournament is not agreed upon by July 1, 2000.

Status: 3/2/99 introduced. 3/11/99 to Senate Committee on Education.

Georgia H 331 (Author: Powell)

Tickets. Establishes a general prohibition for anyone other than a ticket broker to sell or resell tickets to athletics contests at a price in excess of the price printed on the ticket. Permits original purchaser to resell tickets for any price, provided the person does not sell or offer to sell more than four tickets on the property where the contest is held. Exempts charitable organizations that offer tickets of admission in a raffle, auction or similar fund-raising activity.

Status: 1/29/99 introduced. 2/10/99 passed House. 3/18/99 reported favorably as substituted from Senate Committee on Consumer Affairs.

*Hawaii HR 78 (Author: Chang)

Athletics program funding. Urges the Board of Regents to increase the amount of funding for the University of Hawaii at Hilo's athletics program.

Status: 3/15/99 introduced. 3/24/99 passed as amended by the House Committee on Education. 3/30/99 to House Committee on Finance.

*Hawaii SCR 205 (Author: Bunda)

Athletics scholarships. Urges the Board of Regents and the president of the University of Hawaii, Manoa, to establish a scholarship program to attract soccer players to Hawaii's collegiate soccer program.

Status: 3/17/99 introduced. 3/18/99 to Senate Committee on Education and Technology.

Illinois H 448 (Author: Johnson T)

Sports officials. Amends state statute to add the commission of battery on a sports official within an athletics facility or within the immediate vicinity of the athletics contest to the list of offenses classified as aggravated battery. Provides for Class 4 felony penalties.

Status: 2/2/99 introduced. 3/9/99 passed House. 3/10/99 to Senate Committee on Rules.

Illinois H 793 (Author: O'Connor)

Internet gambling. Amends the state criminal code by adding Internet gambling to the list of prohibited gambling activities. Adds Internet and computer-related definitions. Imposes criminal misdemeanor or felony penalties on those who access the Internet to engage in an activity prohibited by the statute.

Status: 2/10/99 introduced. 3/10/99 passed House.

Illinois S 4 (Author: Klem)

Internet gambling. Amends the Criminal Code of 1961 to add Internet gambling to the list of prohibited gambling activities. Imposes misdemeanor or felony criminal penalties on those who participate in Internet gambling.

Status: 1/14/99 introduced. 2/26/99 passed as amended by Senate. 3/19/99 to House Committee on Judiciary II--Criminal Law.

*Iowa H 577 (Author: Siegrist)

Sports officials. States that any person who assaults a sports official at or within the immediate area where the athletics contest is held is guilty of a serious misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year and a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $1,500.

Status: 3/10/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Judiciary.

*Louisiana H 1290 (Author: Faucheux)

Tickets. Repeals provision prohibiting the sale of admission tickets to athletics contests for more than the stated price on the ticket.

Status: 3/29/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Commerce.

*Louisiana H 1864 (Author: Daniel)

Athlete agents. Amends existing athlete-agent law. Includes under the definition of athlete agent all licensed attorneys who engage in any of the practices described in the existing law. Adds to list of registration requirements that an agent also be certified by the appropriate professional players association. Requires agent contracts to contain specific language warning athletes of the loss of eligibility and the need to provide notice of the contract signing to the athletics director or president of the educational institution. Imposes a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, on athlete agents who fail to provide the athlete's institution with notice of the signing of an agent contract. Deletes all exemptions for attorneys licensed in the state, except for payment of registration fees. Requires the secretary of state to compile annually a list of athletes who were drafted from educational institutions in the state and to contact the appropriate players association to determine which agents represent those athletes. Instructs the secretary of state to contact the appropriate district attorney when the secretary learns that any of the identified athlete agents conducting business in the state have failed to register. Allows an institution to bring suit against an athlete, the athlete's agent, and any other connected parties if an athlete loses his eligibility to participate in sports. Prohibits athlete agents from offering an athlete anything of value in excess of $500 and imposes a fine and misdemeanor criminal penalties on a person found in violation.

Status: 3/29/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Commerce.

*Louisiana S 682 (Author: Dardenne)

Athletics scholarships. Authorizes an institution of higher education to bill a professional team for the cost of the student's athletics scholarship when a student is employed by a professional team before graduation. Makes an exception for those students who fail to graduate but whose eligibility has expired. Requires that each athletics scholarship be conditioned by an agreement that the primary purpose of the scholarship is to provide the student with an educational benefit that is realized only upon graduation. Provides that the athletics benefit provided to any professional team is gratuitous unless the team impairs the primary benefit.

Status: 3/29/99 introduced. Referred to Senate Committee on Education

*Maine H 1318 (Author: Sullivan)

Tickets. Prohibits the selling or reselling tickets at a price greater than $2 above the price printed on the ticket. Imposes a civil penalty resulting in a fine not less than a $100 and not more than $500.

Status: 3/16/99 introduced. 3/17/99 referred to Joint Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs.

*Maine H 1344 (Author: MacDougall)

Sports officials. Makes assault against a sports official a Class C crime punishable by a fine of $10,000 and imprisonment of not more than three years.

Status: 3/18/99 introduced. Referred to Joint Committee on Criminal Justice.

*Michigan S 422 (Author: Jaye)

Gambling. Excludes a sports pool betting game, where the wager does not exceed $5 and the payout is not more than $1,000, from the existing criminal statute prohibiting such activity.

Status: 3/10/99 introduced. Referred to Senate Committee on Gaming and Casino Oversight.

*Minnesota H 413 (Author: Mulder)

Athletic trainers. Amends licensing and registration requirements for athletic trainers. Changes the regulations related to the issuance of temporary permits to athletic trainers. Sets new registration fees.

Status: 2/1/99 introduced. 2/19/99 passed House. 3/29/99 passed Senate.

*Minnesota H 2046 (Author: Hausman)

Athletics facilities/gender equity. Appropriates $3 million to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, to develop a new soccer stadium facility for use by the women's athletics program. Conditions the funding of the facility on locating the field on or adjoining the state fairgrounds and permitting youth soccer teams to use the facility from June 1 through September 15 each year.

Status: 3/17/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Higher Education Finance.

*Nevada S 357 (Author: Weiner)

Athletic trainers. Provides for the licensure of athletic trainers and athletic trainer interns. Creates the board of athletic trainers. Authorizes Board to promulgate rules for continuing education requirements, professional conduct and and licensure. Imposes criminal misdemeanor penalties for violations of the act.

Status: 3/10/99 introduced. 4/2/99 passed as amended by Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor.

*New Mexico H 620 (Author: Miera)

Tickets. Expands prohibition against selling tickets at a price greater than price printed on the ticket from college athletics events to all events.

Status: 2/11/99 introduced. 3/5/99 passed House. 3/18/99 reported without recommendation by Senate Committee on Judiciary.

*New Jersey A 2906 (Author Luongo)

Taxes/student employment. Directs the New Jersey Department of the Treasury to modify the Social Security coverage agreement between the state and the federal government. Excludes from coverage under the Social Security Act students who perform employment services for public schools, colleges and universities.

Status: 3/4/99 introduced. 3/15/99 passed Assembly. 3/22/99 passed Senate. 3/30/99 signed by governor.

*New York A 7520 (Author: McLaughlin)

Drugs. Amends law to add androstenedione to the list of drugs that are illegal to sell without a prescription.

Status: 3/3/99 introduced. Referred to Assembly Committee on Economic Development.

*Oregon H 2704 (Author: Krumel)

Athletic trainers. Provides for the licensure of athletic trainers. Creates the state board of athletic trainers. Requires registration of athletic trainers. Provides for certain exceptions to registration. Authorizes board to promulgate rules for continuing education requirements, licensure and fees, and professional standards of practice and conduct. Imposes civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for violations of the act.

Status: 3/9/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Human Resource.

*Oregon H 3329 (Author: Leonard)

Gambling/sports action lottery. Changes the allocation of funds received by institutions from the Sports Lottery Account to a method based on the proportion of general fund moneys received by each institution of higher education in the preceding biennium. Requires each institution that received funds from the Sports Action Lottery before the passage of the act to receive at least 5 percent of the funds allocated from the Sports Lottery Account.

Status: 3/17/99 introduced. 3/23/99 to House Committee on Agency Performance and Operations.

*Oregon H 3497 (Author: Lundquist)

Taxes. Provides for a subtraction from the federal taxable income (for state income tax purposes) of a taxpayer on amounts received from a scholarship award that are used for housing expenses while attending a institution of higher education.

Status: 3/24/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Revenue.

*Pennsylvania H 369 (Author: Godshall)

Taxes. Reduces admissions tax to athletics events from 10 percent to an amount not to exceed 2 percent.

Status: 2/4/99 introduced. 3/16/99 reported as amended by House Committee on Tourism and Recreational Development.

*Pennsylvania S 599 (Author: Tomlinson)

Athletic trainers. Provides for the licensure of athletic trainers by the State Board of Medicine. Authorizes Board to promulgate rules for the licensure and regulation of all athletic trainers.

Status: 3/15/99 introduced. Referred to Senate Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.

*South Carolina S 593 (Author: Reese)

Sports officials. Prohibits any person from physically assaulting any sports official within the confines or immediate vicinity of the athletics facility. Imposes a $10,000 fine or imprisonment not to exceed three years, or both, on those who violate the act.

Status: 3/11/99 introduced. To Senate Committee on Judiciary.

*Texas H 2404/S 1123 (Authors: Homer/Armbrister)

Sports officials. Adds the assault of a sports official to the list of offenses that impose either felony or Class A misdemeanor criminal penalties on violators.

Status: H 2404: 3/9/99 introduced. 3/10/99 referred to House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. S 1123: 3/10/99 introduced. 3/12/99 reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.

*Texas H 3225/S 1233 (Authors: Capelo/Nelson)

Athletic trainers. Defines athletic trainers and athletic training. Includes language exempting certain athletic trainers from the scope of the act. Adds the provision of services outside the scope of athletic training to the list of practices that may result in the suspension or revocation of an athletic trainer's license.

Status: H 3225: 3/11/99 introduced. 3/16/99 referred to House Committee on Public Health. S 1233: 3/11/99 introduced. 3/24/99 reported favorably by Senate Committee on Health Services.

*Texas H 3284 (Author: Van de Pute)

Gender equity. Authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to allocate money to institutions of higher education for the establishment of women's athletics development programs that are operated by the institution on a collaborative basis with one or more public high schools in the state. Provides funding criteria for the board with an emphasis on those institutions whose programs address the needs of economically disadvantaged public-school students.

Status: 3/11/99 introduced. 3/16/99 referred to House Committee on Higher Education.

*Texas S 1222 (Author: Moncrief)

Internet gambling. Requires commercial interactive computer service providers to block subscriber access to Internet gambling sites unless: (1) the subscriber is at least 18 years of age; (2) the provider receives a signed, mailed request for the removal of the access block; and (3) the provider places, on its primary home page, a direct link to information that provides a concise warning regarding the illegality of gambling on the Internet and the addictive behavior associated with gambling. Imposes a $5,000 civil penalty for each day in which the interactive computer service provider provides access to subscribers in violation of the act. Limits fines from exceeding $150,000. Provides for unenforceable credit-card debt when the creditor knew or should have known at the time the transaction occurred that the credit-card transaction was an instrumentality used in the commission of an offense under Chapter 47 of the penal code.

Status: 3/11/99 introduced. 3/12/99 referred to Senate Committee on Economic Development.

*Vermont H 216 (Author: Voyer)

Tickets. Imposes a $1,000 fine or not more than five years in jail, or both, on individuals who counterfeit, forge, alter or possess any ticket, token or paper designed for admission to any sports facility offering services to the general public.

Status: 2/11/99 introduced. Referred to House Committee on Judiciary.

Virginia H 2367/ H 2547/ S 1191 (Authors: Rust/Crittenden/Houck)

Athletic trainers. Requires athletic trainers to be certified by the Board of Medicine. Authorizes the Board to establish criteria for certification. Creates an Advisory Board of Athletic Training to assist the Board of Medicine in formulating its requirements for the certification of athletic trainers and developing standards of professional conduct.

Status: H 2367/H. 2547: 1/21/99 introduced. 2/5/99 passed House. 2/12/99 passed Senate. 3/28/99 signed by governor. S. 1191: 1/21/99 introduced. 2/8/99 passed Senate. 2/22/99 passed House. 3/28/99 signed by governor.

Washington H 1096 (Author: Cairnes)

Sports officials. Adds the assault of a sports official to the list of factors/offenses that may be considered by the court in imposing an exceptional sentence.

Status: 1/14/99 introduced. 3/9/99 passed House. 3/11/99 to Senate Committee on Judiciary.

*Wisconsin A 191/S 79 (Authors: Foti/Shibilski)

Athletic trainers. Creates the athletic trainers affiliated credentialing board. Establishes requirements for the licensing of athletic trainers by the board. Allows individuals to practice without a license. Restricts the use of such titles as "athletic trainer," "licensed athletic trainer," "certified athletic trainer" and "registered athletic trainer" to individuals who are licensed. Authorizes board to promulgate rules for licensure and to establish continuing education requirements and to set fees. Imposes a fine not to exceed $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than nine months, or both, on individuals who violate the act.

Status: A 191: 3/10/99 introduced. 3/11/99 referred to Assembly Committee on Consumer Affairs. S 79: 3/10/99 introduced. Referred to Senate Committee on Human Services and Aging.

*Wisconsin S 100 (Author: George)

Gambling. Amends the statute regarding penalties for office sports pool betting. Reduces penalty to a simple gambling criminal offense for conducting five or fewer office sports betting pools during the preceding 12 months.

Status: 3/25/99 introduced. Referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary and Consumer Affairs.