S.B. No. 796
AN ACT
relating to the combative sports program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2052.002, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Amateur" means a person who has never received or
competed for any purse or other thing of value, including
reimbursement for expenses related to training or to participation
in a combative sports event, that exceeded the maximum amount
established by an amateur combative sports association.
(2) "Amateur combative sports association" means an
organization that has nonprofit status under the laws of this state
or under federal law and that produces, arranges, advertises,
conducts, or stages combative sports events in which all the
contestants are amateurs.
(3) "Boxing" means to compete with the fists.
(4) "Combative sports" means sports, including
boxing, kickboxing, martial arts, and mixed martial arts, in which
participants voluntarily engage in full contact to score points, to
cause an opponent to submit, or to disable an opponent in a contest,
match, or exhibition. The term does not include student training or
exhibitions of students' skills conducted by martial arts schools,
or associations of schools, where the students' participation is
for health and recreational purposes rather than competition and
where the intent is to use only partial contact [includes
kickboxing, in which a person delivers blows with any part of the
arm below the shoulder, including the hand, and any part of the leg
below the hip, including the foot.
[(2) "Boxing promoter" means a person who arranges,
advertises, or conducts a boxing event.
[(3) "Championship tournament" means a state,
regional, national, or international elimination tournament in
which the winners of elimination tournaments compete for a
championship in each weight category].
(5) [(4)] "Commission" means the Texas Commission of
Licensing and Regulation.
(6) "Contest" means a combative sports engagement in
which the participants strive earnestly to win.
(7) [(5)] "Department" means the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation.
(8) [(6)] "Elimination tournament" means a combative
sports [boxing] contest in which [elimination tournament]
contestants compete in a series of matches until not more than one
contestant remains in any weight category. The term does not
include an [a boxing] event described by Section 2052.110.
(9) [(7) "Elimination tournament boxing promoter"
means a person who arranges, advertises, or conducts an elimination
tournament.
[(8) "Elimination tournament contestant" means a
person who competes in an elimination tournament.
[(8-a)] "Executive director" means the executive
director of the department or the executive director's designated
representative.
(10) [(9)] "Exhibition" means a combative sports
[boxing or wrestling] skills demonstration.
(11) [(10)] "Event" means a contest, match, or
exhibition.
(12) [(11)] "Judge" means a person who is[:
[(A) located at ringside during a boxing match;
and
[(B)] responsible for scoring the performances
of the participants in a [the] match.
(13) "Kickboxing" means to compete by delivering blows
with the fists, arms, feet, legs, or any combination thereof.
(14) "Martial arts" means any one of the individual
disciplines described by rule adopted by the commission in which
the contestants engage in unarmed combat using the applicable
techniques to grapple with, kick, or strike an opponent to win a
contest by causing an opponent to submit or by scoring points
against or disabling an opponent.
(15) "Match" means any contest or exhibition.
(16) "Mixed martial arts" means unarmed combat
involving the use of a combination of techniques from different
disciplines of the martial arts including grappling, kicking, and
striking and may include the use of full, unrestrained physical
force.
(17) [(12) "Local tournament" means an elimination
tournament in which only a resident of this state may compete.
[(13)] "Professional combative sports contestant
[boxer]" means a person who competes in a combative sports [boxing]
event in this state conducted for a purse or compensation.
(18) [(13-a)] "Promoter" means any person who
produces, arranges, advertises, conducts, or stages a combative
sports event [a boxing promoter or wrestling promoter].
(19) [(14)] "Referee" means a person who:
(A) is present in the ring during a match [boxing
event]; and
(B) exercises general supervision of the match
[event].
(20) [(15) "Regional tournament" means an elimination
tournament in which a contestant from outside of the immediate area
in which the tournament is conducted may compete against local
contestants.
[(15-a)] "Ringside physician" means an individual
licensed to practice medicine in this state who is registered with
the department.
[(16) "Wrestling promoter" means a person who
arranges, advertises, or conducts a wrestling event.]
SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 2052.052, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission may adopt rules:
(1) governing boxing, [professional] kickboxing,
martial arts, or mixed martial arts contests and exhibitions;
(2) establishing reasonable qualifications for an
applicant seeking a license or registration from the department
under this chapter;
(3) recognizing a sanction, medical suspension, or
disqualification of a licensee or registrant [license holder] by a
combative sports authority in any state, provided that if licensure
or registration is denied based on those actions, an applicant has
an opportunity for [a right to] a hearing as prescribed by rule;
(4) establishing practice requirements or specialty
certifications that a person licensed to practice medicine in this
state must meet to register as a ringside physician;
(5) requiring a contestant to present with an
application for licensure or license renewal documentation [to the
executive director at the time of weigh-in an original copy] of
recent blood test results that demonstrate whether the contestant
is free from hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human
immunodeficiency virus, and any other communicable disease
designated by commission rule and providing that a contestant's
failure to provide the required blood test results disqualifies the
contestant;
(6) providing that to participate in any event a
contestant must be free of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus,
human immunodeficiency virus, and any other communicable disease
designated by rule;
(7) requiring that a contestant present with an
application for licensure or license renewal documentation of the
results of [undergo] a physical examination, including an
ophthalmologic [opthalmological] examination, [at or near the time
of weigh-in] and providing for disqualification of a contestant who
is determined by an examining physician to be unfit; [and]
(8) establishing additional responsibilities for
promoters; and
(9) governing regulated amateur events.
SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 2052.055, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The presiding officer of the commission, with the
commission's approval, may appoint a medical advisory committee to
advise the department concerning health issues for combative sports
[boxing] event contestants.
SECTION 4. Section 2052.101, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.101. [BOXING] PROMOTER LICENSE. A person may not
act as a [boxing] promoter [or an elimination tournament boxing
promoter] unless the person holds the appropriate [a] license
issued under this chapter.
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 2052.102, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.102. [BOXING] PROMOTER LICENSE APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS.
SECTION 6. Subsection (a), Section 2052.102, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) An applicant for a [boxing] promoter's license under
this chapter must apply on a form furnished by the executive
director.
SECTION 7. Section 2052.107, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.107. OTHER COMBATIVE SPORTS [BOXING] LICENSES.
Unless a person holds a license or registration issued under this
chapter, the person may not act as a combative sports:
(1) professional contestant [boxer];
(2) manager of a professional contestant [boxer];
(3) referee;
(4) judge;
(5) second;
(6) timekeeper;
(7) matchmaker; or
(8) ringside physician.
SECTION 8. Section 2052.110, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.110. LICENSE AND BONDING EXCEPTIONS. If the
contestants are amateurs, the [The] licensing and bonding
requirements of this chapter [subchapter] do not apply to:
(1) [a boxing event in which the participants do not
receive a money remuneration, purse, or prize for their
performances or services if the event is promoted, conducted, or
maintained by:
[(A) an educational institution;
[(B) a law enforcement organization;
[(C) a Texas National Guard Unit; or
[(D) an amateur athletic organization recognized
by the executive director;
[(2) an event conducted by a nonprofit amateur
athletic association chartered under the law of this state,
including a membership club affiliated with the association located
within this state and recognized by the executive director;
[(3)] an event conducted by a college, school, or
university that is part of the institution's athletic program in
which only students of [different] educational institutions
participate;
(2) [(4)] an event which is conducted by [in which
only members of] a troop, battery, company, or unit of the Texas
National Guard or a law enforcement agency and in which only members
of military or law enforcement organizations participate; or
(3) [(5)] an event which is conducted by an
organization of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, or the
Pan-American Games and in which participants train or compete for
advancement to or within the games.
SECTION 9. Section 2052.111, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.111. DENIAL OF APPLICATION. The executive
director may deny an application for a license or registration if:
(1) the applicant does not meet the qualifications for
the license or registration; or
(2) after conducting an investigation and providing an
opportunity for a hearing, the executive director determines that
the applicant has violated this chapter or a rule adopted under this
chapter.
SECTION 10. Section 2052.113, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.113. LICENSE AND PERMIT REQUIRED FOR CLOSED
CIRCUIT [BOXING] TELECAST. A person who exhibits in this state a
simultaneous telecast of a live, spontaneous, or current combative
sports [boxing] event on a closed circuit telecast in which a fee is
charged for admission to the telecast must:
(1) hold a [boxing] promoter's license under this
chapter; and
(2) obtain a permit for the closed circuit telecast.
SECTION 11. Subchapter C, Chapter 2052, Occupations Code,
is amended by adding Sections 2052.116 and 2052.117 to read as
follows:
Sec. 2052.116. AMATEUR COMBATIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION
REGISTRATION. A person may not act as an amateur combative sports
association unless the person is registered under this chapter.
Sec. 2052.117. AMATEUR COMBATIVE SPORTS ASSOCIATION
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) An applicant for registration as
an amateur combative sports association must apply on a form
acceptable to the executive director.
(b) An application must be accompanied by:
(1) a registration fee in the amount set by the
commission;
(2) proof of compliance with requirements established
by rule for:
(A) insurance; and
(B) surety bonds, if any;
(3) a copy of the rules of the association
establishing standards of conduct for contestants and officials;
and
(4) proof that the association is recognized or
organized as a nonprofit organization under the laws of this state
or has such status under federal law.
(c) Rules of the association must be approved by the
department.
SECTION 12. Section 2052.151, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.151. IMPOSITION AND RATE OF TAX. (a) A tax is
imposed on a person who:
(1) conducts a combative sports [boxing] event[,
including an elimination tournament,] in which a fee is charged for
admission to the event; or
(2) exhibits in this state a simultaneous telecast of
a live, spontaneous, or current combative sports [boxing] event on
a closed circuit telecast, in which a fee is charged for admission
to the telecast[; or
[(3) conducts or sponsors an amateur boxing event,
other than an event exempt from licensing under Section
2052.110(2), (3), (4), or (5), in which a fee is charged for
admission to the event].
(b) The [rate of the] tax is three percent of the gross
receipts obtained from the sale of tickets to the event, plus three
percent of gross receipts received from sales of broadcast rights
or $30,000, whichever is less.
SECTION 13. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 2052.152,
Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person on whom a tax is imposed under Section
2052.151, not later than three business days [72 hours] after the
end of the event or telecast for which the tax is due, shall submit
to the department a verified report on a form acceptable to
[furnished by] the department stating:
(1) the number of tickets sold to the event;
(2) the ticket prices charged;
(3) the gross price charged for the sale or lease of
broadcasting, television, and motion picture rights without any
deductions for commissions, brokerage fees, distribution fees,
advertising, or other expenses or charges; and
(4) the amount of gross receipts obtained from the
event.
(b) The person shall attach to the report a cashier's check,
check, or money order payable to this state in the amount of the tax
imposed on the event covered by the report.
SECTION 14. Section 2052.153, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.153. CLOSED CIRCUIT TELECAST. A person
exhibiting a simultaneous telecast of a live, spontaneous, or
current combative sports [boxing] event on a closed circuit
telecast that occurs in Texas in which a fee is charged for
admission to the exhibition:
(1) must:
(A) be a [boxing] promoter; and
(B) obtain a permit for each telecast exhibited;
and
(2) shall comply with the tax provisions of Sections
[Section] 2052.151 and 2052.152.
SECTION 15. Section 2052.251, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.251. [BOXING] GLOVES. A combative sports
[boxing] event contestant[, other than an elimination tournament
contestant under Subchapter E,] shall wear [eight-ounce boxing]
gloves of the type and weight specified by commission rule, unless
the commission by applicable rule requires or permits contestants
[a contestant] to not wear [heavier] gloves.
SECTION 16. Section 2052.252, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.252. REGULATED [CERTAIN] AMATEUR EVENTS.
(a) This section applies to an amateur combative sports [boxing]
event, other than an event described by Section 2052.110
[2052.110(2), (3), (4), or (5) or an elimination tournament subject
to Subchapter E], in which a fee is charged for admission to the
event.
(b) The amateur combative sports association sponsoring or
producing the event shall register with the department not later
than 30 days before the date the event begins.
(c) The event may take place only if the executive director
approves the event not later than seven days before the date the
event begins.
(d) [(c)] Each contestant [entry] in the event must have
been a member of the amateur combative sports association for the
30-day period immediately preceding [be filed with the amateur
organization not later than the third day before] the date the event
begins and must be a member on the date of the event.
(e) [(d)] The amateur combative sports association
[organization] shall determine the amateur standing of the event
contestants and shall establish training programs consisting of at
least 30 days of training for each contestant.
(f) [(e)] The event is subject to the supervision of the
executive director.
[(f) All profits from the event must be used to develop
amateur athletics.]
(g) [Only a referee or judge licensed under this chapter may
participate in the event.
[(h)] Each contestant participating in the event must be
examined by a licensed physician within a reasonable time before
the event begins. A licensed physician must be present at ringside
during the entire event.
(h) [(i)] A professional combative sports contestant
[boxer] licensed under this chapter may not participate as a
contestant [in any capacity] in the event.
SECTION 17. Subchapter F, Chapter 2052, Occupations Code,
is amended by adding Section 2052.254 to read as follows:
Sec. 2052.254. ELIMINATION TOURNAMENTS. An elimination
tournament may not be conducted in this state.
SECTION 18. The following provisions of the Occupations
Code are repealed:
(1) Sections 2052.103, 2052.105, and 2052.106; and
(2) Subchapter E, Chapter 2052.
SECTION 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 796 passed the Senate on
April 7, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 796 passed the House on
April 29, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor