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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
defensive
driving schools; fees.(NOW: mixed martial arts; boxing; gaming)
As passed by the Senate, S.B. 1679 transferred the authority to collect and transfer court diversion and Defensive Driving School Fund fees and surcharges from defensive driving schools to the courts or a contracted vendor.
The House of Representatives adopted a strike-everything amendments that does the following:
Purpose
Makes various changes to the Arizona State Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission (Commission) relating to licensure, boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) contests, medical exams and rulemaking.
Background
The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) regulates tribal gaming activities in accordance with the Arizona tribal-state gaming compacts and certifies casino employees and vendors working with casinos and licensing fantasy sports contests and event wagering (A.R.S. Title 5). In 2015, the Legislature established a Division of Boxing and MMA within the ADG to work with the Commission in regulating boxing and MMA (Laws 2015, Ch. 19).
The Commission is responsible for: 1) managing licensure for all referees, judges, matchmakers, promoters, trainers, ring announcers, timekeepers, ringside physicians, inspectors, MMA contestants, boxers, managers and seconds; 2) requiring medical exams and insurance coverage; 3) overseeing all boxing and MMA contests; 4) ensuring payment to participants; and 5) conducting investigations and taking disciplinary action (A.R.S. Title 5, Chapter 2).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Defines combatant as any person who practices the sport of unarmed combat and replaces the term contestant with the term combatant.
2. Replaces the requirement for the Commission to use rules for MMA that are consistent with the rules adopted by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board with an authorization for the Commission to use rules adopted by a boxing commission or any alternative rules of MMA approved by another jurisdiction within the United States.
3. Increases, from a class 2 misdemeanor to a class 1 misdemeanor, the penalty for conducting, holding, sponsoring, sanctioning or giving any contest that is subject to regulation by the Commission without first procuring an appropriate license or approval.
4. Requires an applicant for a referee license, before the Commission issues the license, to submit to the Commission:
a) the results of a current medical exam performed by a physician licensed in the United States;
b) the results of an ophthalmological exam; and
c) any other exam or testing ordered by the Commission.
5. Requires a combatant license applicant to submit to the Commission the results of a current medical examination performed by any physician licensed in the United States, rather than an Arizona-licensed medical or osteopathic physician.
6. Requires a combatant license applicant who is at least 38 years old, rather than 36 years old, to submit to the Commission the results of a stress test administered by any physician licensed in the United States, rather than an Arizona-licensed medical or osteopathic physician.
7. Expires the results of all combatant medical examinations 365 days after the date the medical examination is performed and allows the Commission to grant a grace period of up to 15 days to align with the licensing period.
8. Removes the requirement for a license applicant to complete the required medical examination and tests after December 15 of the year before the year the license is issued or before December 15 of the same year the license issued.
9. Specifies that weigh-ins for all contests may not be more than one calendar day, rather than 24 hours, before the scheduled event time and removes the requirement for a weigh-in period to be one hour.
10. Specifies that the required insurance coverage paid by a promotor for a combatant is the primary insurance that must be exhausted before a combatant uses any other form of insurance.
11. Replaces the requirement for a chief of police or county sheriff to assign an officer or deputy to attend a boxing or MMA contest with a requirement for the promotor to request the chief of police or county sheriff to assign at least one officer or deputy to attend each contest.
12. Authorizes the Commission to grant a promoter permission to use private security services to attend a boxing or MMA contest if law enforcement officers or sheriff's deputies are not available.
13. Allows a matchmaker to request a referee reassignment.
14. Removes the requirement for the Commission to furnish a list of all licensed referees within the state to a matchmaker who protests a referee assignment for the purpose of selecting another referee from the list and instead requires the Commission to make a reasonable effort to grant a matchmaker's request for referee reassignment.
15. Specifies that all boxing and MMA licenses expire at midnight 365 days after the date of issuance, rather than at midnight on December 31 in the year of license issuance.
16. Makes technical and conforming changes.
17. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment relating to boxing and MMA.
House Action
TI 3/22/24 DPA/SE 10-0-0-1
3rd Read 4/24/24 52-8-0
Prepared by Senate Research
April 24, 2024
MG/cs