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A05115 Summary:
BILL NO | A05115E |
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SAME AS | SAME AS S05891-F |
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SPONSOR | Solages |
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COSPNSR | Magnarelli, Aubry, Cruz, Taylor, Gibbs, Cunningham, Simon, Montesano, Gottfried, Stirpe, Buttenschon, Fahy, Rosenthal L |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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Add §6438-a, Ed L | |
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Relates to enacting the "New York collegiate athletic participation compensation act"; allows student-athletes to receive compensation including for the use of a student's name, image, or likeness; allows student-athletes to seek professional representation. |
A05115 Floor Votes:
There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
Go to topA05115 Memo:
Go to topNEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)   BILL NUMBER: A5115E SPONSOR: Solages
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "New York collegiate athletic participation compensation act"   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To prevent New York schools from taking away the scholarships or eligi- bility of any athlete making money from endorsements. It also allows players to use an attorney or agent for business deals without punish- ment.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1: Short Title: This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York Collegiate Athletic Participation Compensation Act" Section 2: The education law is amended by adding a new section 6438-a. Section 3: sets the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Many inner city youth have dreams of playing in a professional sports league, being paid high salaries and finally moving their families into a house and out of poverty and public housing. One might feel like they are well on their way to achieving such a dream after being offered a scholarship to play for a college team. The prob- lem is you will not see any financial gains from your blood, sweat and tears (and possible career ending broken bones)-- until after you gradu- ate due to current NCAA rules. Colleges have been profiting off the talents of their students for decades. In addition, through those years many college athletes have been pushed to their limits and beyond to bring large ticket sales, and merchandise revenue to Colleges and universities who offer them little more than a free education, room, board and books. The Syracuse athletic department set a record for revenue in 2016-17 making more than $90 million. And with the way the current laws are set up, student athletes tend to make early exits from colleges to the NFL, NBA, or other professional sports league in hopes of making a large profit to provide for their families. Often times having to return to get a degree later in their career or after. This legislation is not saying that college student athletes should be millionaires but allows them to profit alongside their colleges and universities off their names and images, provides for them if they should become injured, and offers them a percentage of the profits made from fans and family paying to cheer them on.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2019-20: print number A8620A; referred to higher education   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section 6438-a of the education law, as added by section two of this act, shall take effect January 1, 2023 and shall apply to contracts entered into, renewed, modified or amended on or after such date.
A05115 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5115--E 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 11, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, MAGNARELLI, AUBRY, CRUZ, TAYLOR, GIBBS, CUNNINGHAM, SIMON, MONTESANO, GOTTFRIED, STIRPE, BUTTENSCHON, FAHY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education -- commit- tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom- mitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Higher Education in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee -- again reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Rules -- Rules Committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "New York collegiate athletic participation compensation act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "New York collegiate athletic participation compensation act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6438-a to 4 read as follows: 5 § 6438-a. Student-athlete compensation. 1. For the purposes of this 6 section: 7 (a) "student-athlete" shall mean a student enrolled at a college and 8 participating in intercollegiate athletics; and 9 (b) "team contract" shall mean any written agreement between a 10 student-athlete and a college, or division, department, program or team 11 thereof, which includes goals and objectives, standards, prohibitions, 12 broadcast, advertising or marketing rights or consents, rules or expec- 13 tations applicable to the student-athlete. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06266-26-2A. 5115--E 2 1 2. (a) A college shall not uphold any rule, requirement, standard, or 2 other limitation that prevents a student-athlete from earning compen- 3 sation pursuant to this section as a result of the use of the student- 4 athlete's name, image, or likeness. 5 (b) An athletic association, conference, or other group or organiza- 6 tion with authority over intercollegiate athletics, including, but not 7 limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), shall 8 not prevent a student-athlete from earning compensation pursuant to this 9 section as a result of the use of the student-athlete's name, image, or 10 likeness. 11 (c) An athletic association, conference, or other group or organiza- 12 tion with authority over intercollegiate athletics, including, but not 13 limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), shall 14 not prevent a college from participating in intercollegiate athletics as 15 a result of allowing a student-athlete pursuant to this section from 16 earning compensation as a result of the use of the student-athlete's 17 name, image, or likeness. 18 3. A college, athletic association, conference, or other group or 19 organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics shall not 20 provide a prospective student-athlete with compensation in relation to 21 the student-athlete's name, image, or likeness. 22 4. (a) A college, athletic association, conference, or other group or 23 organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics shall not 24 prevent a student-athlete from obtaining professional representation in 25 relation to name, image, or likeness contracts or legal matters, includ- 26 ing, but not limited to, representation provided by athlete agents or 27 legal representation provided by attorneys. 28 (b) Professional representation obtained by a student-athlete shall be 29 from persons registered and/or licensed by the state. Professional 30 representation provided by athlete agents shall be by persons registered 31 pursuant to article thirty-nine-E of the general business law. Legal 32 representation of student-athletes shall be by attorneys licensed pursu- 33 ant to article fifteen of the judiciary law. 34 (c) Athlete agents representing student-athletes shall comply with the 35 federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, established in chap- 36 ter 104 of title 15 of the United States Code, in their relationships 37 with student-athletes. 38 5. A scholarship from the college in which a student-athlete is 39 enrolled that provides the student-athlete with the cost of attendance 40 at that college is not compensation for purposes of this section, and a 41 scholarship shall not be revoked due to earning compensation as a result 42 of the use of the student-athlete's name, image, or likeness, or due to 43 obtaining legal or athletic agent representation in relation to name, 44 image, or likeness matters. 45 6. (a) A student-athlete shall not enter into a contract providing 46 compensation to the student-athlete for use of the student-athlete's 47 name, image, or likeness if a provision of the contract causes a 48 conflict pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision. 49 (b) A student-athlete who enters into a contract providing compen- 50 sation to the student-athlete for use of the student-athlete's name, 51 image, or likeness shall disclose the contract in advance of executing 52 it to an official of the college, as designated by the college. 53 (c) A college asserting a conflict pursuant to paragraph (a) of this 54 subdivision shall disclose to the student-athlete or the student- 55 athlete's legal representation the relevant contractual provisions that 56 are in conflict; provided, however, that a college shall not be requiredA. 5115--E 3 1 to disclose any financial terms of such contract unless otherwise 2 required by applicable law. 3 (d) A college asserting a conflict pursuant to paragraph (a) of this 4 subdivision may assert a conflict based on, but not limited to, the 5 following grounds: 6 (i) the proposed contract would cause the student-athlete to violate 7 the team contract; or 8 (ii) the proposed contract would cause the student-athlete to violate 9 the college's student handbook or code of conduct; or 10 (iii) the proposed contract would conflict with an existing contract 11 or sponsorship the college participates in; or 12 (iv) the proposed contract would reasonably be judged to cause finan- 13 cial loss or reputational damage to the college; or 14 (v) the proposed contract would require actions by the student-athlete 15 during team activities; or 16 (vi) the proposed contract would require actions by the student-ath- 17 lete during scheduled classes; or 18 (vii) the proposed contract would use the college's name, brand, copy- 19 written materials, trademarks, service marks, symbols, nicknames, trade 20 dress, insignia, mascot, uniform styles, colors, imagery, campus land- 21 marks, or any other intellectual property or indicia; or 22 (viii) the proposed contract would require the student-athlete to 23 display a sponsor's product, logo, brand, or other indicia, or otherwise 24 advertise for a sponsor, during official team activities; or 25 (ix) the proposed contract would require the student-athlete to 26 display a sponsor's product, logo, brand or other indicia, or otherwise 27 advertise for a sponsor at any time, and such sponsor is a competitor 28 of, or offers products or services within the same category as a sponsor 29 of the college. 30 7. A team of a college's athletic program shall not prevent a 31 student-athlete from using the student-athlete's name, image, or like- 32 ness for a commercial purpose when the student-athlete is not engaged in 33 official team activities, except where there is a conflict pursuant to 34 paragraph (d) of subdivision six of this section or any other prohibi- 35 tion in this section. 36 8. Each college athletic program that participates in Division 1 NCAA 37 athletics shall offer a student-athlete assistance program or programs, 38 designed to provide student-athletes participating in Division 1 athlet- 39 ics with tools aimed to enhance their well-being and experiences in the 40 classroom, off the field of play, and beyond their tenure as student- 41 athletes. The student-athlete assistance program may include but not be 42 limited to: 43 (a) a dedicated financial distress fund that would support student- 44 athletes in times of financial need. Disbursements from such fund are 45 not compensation for the purposes of this section; 46 (b) access to ongoing mental health support services provided by coun- 47 selors specially trained to understand the unique issues and pressures 48 student-athletes confront; 49 (c) access to broad-based financial literacy training, with a specific 50 emphasis on the issues and opportunities relevant to student-athletes, 51 during and beyond their tenure at the college; 52 (d) a degree completion assistance program that provides former 53 student-athletes who disenrolled from the college in good academic 54 standing and who earned the NCAA Academic Progress Rate eligibility 55 point for Division I institutions, before completing their degree,A. 5115--E 4 1 access to need-based financial aid and counseling assistance required to 2 support undergraduate degree completion; 3 (e) access to training regarding sex-based discrimination and harass- 4 ment that ensures student-athletes fully understand their rights and 5 responsibilities under the law, including how to make a report of 6 discrimination or harassment on their campus; 7 (f) access to leadership training that will set the conditions for 8 student-athletes to become successful leaders, improve communication 9 skills, make positive decisions, and manage conflict; and 10 (g) access to a career development program, positioned to assist 11 student-athletes in transferring the valuable skills developed during 12 intercollegiate athletic participation, to a successful post-college 13 career. 14 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 15 section 6438-a of the education law, as added by section two of this 16 act, shall take effect January 1, 2023 and shall apply to contracts 17 entered into, renewed, modified or amended on or after such date.