STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1504

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 275

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 275, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIFORM ATHLETE AGENTS ACT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to enact the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (UAAA), which requires sports agents to register with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and sets forth requirements for athlete-agent agreements.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai`i and the Hawaii Commission to Promote Uniform Legislation.  The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs opposed this measure.  The Department of Education supported the intent of this measure, but deferred to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

     To guard against potential loss of intercollegiate eligibility, the UAAA requires the athlete-agent contract to include a conspicuous boldface warning to the student athlete regarding eligibility, and provides student-athletes a right to cancel an athlete-agent contract without penalty within fourteen days after signature.  The UAAA requires timely notice to the student-athlete's educational institution after a contract is signed, and provides legal recourse for educational institutions that may be penalized, disqualified, or suspended from participation in an athletics association or conference as a result of improper conduct by an agent or student-athlete.

     Your Committee acknowledges a divergence of views regarding the need to regulate sports agents in Hawaii.  Your Committee recognizes that the Legislative Auditor's sunrise analysis, reported in Report No. 06-09 on Athlete Agents, found no evidence of abuse in Hawaii at present and recommended against regulation.  Your Co mmittee, however, favors a proactive approach rather than waiting for problems to occur.  Moreover, although the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs proposed deletion of reciprocity provisions applicable to an individual who has applied for and holds a certificate of registration or licensure in another state, your Committee believes the UAAA as drafted enables various jurisdictions to obtain dependable information about agents' professional conduct in other states.  On balance, your Committee finds that regulation of sports agents through enactment of the UAAA will help Hawaii's student-athletes and their parents make enlightened recruitment decisions.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing its effective date from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2007.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 275, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 275, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair