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Thursday, September 2, 2021

News on NIL - Part 3

We have been posting on the new requirements that student/athletes be allowed to take monetary advantage of their name, image, and likeness (NIL).* The state legislature has now updated California's law on the subject, mainly by mandating a start date of September 1, 2021. (The governor signed the bill just before the state date.) UCLA, as we have noted, said its policy is already in effect. Here is the relevant legislation:

SB-26 Collegiate athletics: student athlete compensation and representation. (2021-2022)

An act to amend Section 67456 of the Education Code, relating to collegiate athletics, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 26, Skinner. Collegiate athletics: student athlete compensation and representation.

Existing law prohibits California postsecondary educational institutions except community colleges, and every athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics, from providing a prospective intercollegiate student athlete with compensation in relation to the athlete’s name, image, or likeness, or preventing a student participating in intercollegiate athletics from earning compensation as a result of the use of the student’s name, image, or likeness or obtaining professional representation relating to the student’s participation in intercollegiate athletics. 

Existing law prohibits an athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics from preventing a postsecondary educational institution other than a community college from participating in intercollegiate athletics as a result of the compensation of a student athlete for the use of the student’s name, image, or likeness. 

Existing law prohibits the revocation of a student’s scholarship as a result of earning compensation or obtaining legal representation as authorized under these provisions. 

Existing law prohibits a student athlete from entering into a contract providing compensation to the athlete for use of the athlete’s name, image, or likeness if a provision of the contract is in conflict with a provision of the athlete’s team contract. 

Existing law prohibits a team contract from preventing a student athlete from using the athlete’s name, image, or likeness for a commercial purpose when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities, as specified. Existing law makes these provisions operative on January 1, 2023.

This bill, the Fair Pay to Play Act, would make these provisions operative on September 1, 2021, and would make them applicable to the California Community Colleges. The bill would prohibit California postsecondary educational institutions and every athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics from providing a prospective intercollegiate student athlete with compensation in relation to the athlete’s athletic reputation, or preventing a student participating in intercollegiate athletics from earning compensation as a result of the use of the student’s athletic reputation. 

The bill would prohibit an athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics from preventing a postsecondary educational institution from participating in intercollegiate athletics as a result of the compensation of a student athlete for the use of the student’s athletic reputation. The bill would prohibit the revocation of a student’s scholarship as a result of earning compensation for the use of the student’s athletic reputation.

The bill would prohibit a student athlete from entering into a contract providing compensation to the athlete for use of the athlete’s athletic reputation if a provision of the contract is in conflict with a provision of the athlete’s team contract. The bill would prohibit a team contract from preventing a student athlete from using the athlete’s athletic reputation for a commercial purpose when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities, as specified.

By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) On September 27, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 206 of the 2019–20 Regular Session, a bill by Senator Nancy Skinner and Senator Steven Bradford, at a signing ceremony hosted by LeBron James, a lead proponent and advocate for the legislation.

(b) Senate Bill 206 made California the first state in the nation to enact a law to restore to college athletes a right everyone else has: the right to earn compensation from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), or athletic reputation.

(c) After Senate Bill 206 was signed into law, at least 30 other states initiated plans to introduce similar laws, and 17 states have enacted them. The NIL laws of the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and New Mexico take effect first, on July 1, 2021.

SEC. 2. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Fair Pay to Play Act.

SEC. 3. Section 67456 of the Education Code is amended to read:

67456. (a) (1) A postsecondary educational institution shall not uphold any rule, requirement, standard, or other limitation that prevents a student of that institution participating in intercollegiate athletics from earning compensation as a result of the use of the student’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation. Earning compensation from the use of a student’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation shall not affect the student’s scholarship eligibility.

(2) An athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics, including, but not limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, shall not prevent a student of a postsecondary educational institution participating in intercollegiate athletics from earning compensation as a result of the use of the student’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation.

(3) An athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics, including, but not limited to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, shall not prevent a postsecondary educational institution from participating in intercollegiate athletics as a result of the compensation of a student athlete for the use of the student’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation.

(b) A postsecondary educational institution, athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics shall not provide a prospective student athlete with compensation in relation to the athlete’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation.

(c) (1) A postsecondary educational institution, athletic association, conference, or other group or organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics shall not prevent a California student participating in intercollegiate athletics from obtaining professional representation in relation to contracts or legal matters, including, but not limited to, representation provided by athlete agents or legal representation provided by attorneys.

(2) Professional representation obtained by student athletes shall be from persons licensed by the state. Professional representation provided by athlete agents shall be by persons licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 18895) of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code. Legal representation of student athletes shall be by attorneys licensed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6000) of Chapter 4 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.

(3) Athlete agents representing student athletes shall comply with the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, established in Chapter 104 (commencing with Section 7801) of Title 15 of the United States Code, in their relationships with student athletes.

(d) A scholarship from the postsecondary educational institution in which a student is enrolled that provides the student with the cost of attendance at that institution is not compensation for purposes of this section, and a scholarship shall not be revoked as a result of earning compensation or obtaining legal representation pursuant to this section.

(e) (1) A student athlete shall not enter into a contract providing compensation to the athlete for use of the athlete’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation if a provision of the contract is in conflict with a provision of the athlete’s team contract.

(2) A student athlete who enters into a contract providing compensation to the athlete for use of the athlete’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation shall disclose the contract to an official of the institution, to be designated by the institution.

(3) An institution asserting a conflict described in paragraph (1) shall disclose to the athlete or the athlete’s legal representation the relevant contractual provisions that are in conflict.

(f) A team contract of a postsecondary educational institution’s athletic program shall not prevent a student athlete from using the athlete’s name, image, likeness, or athletic reputation for a commercial purpose when the athlete is not engaged in official team activities. It is the intent of the Legislature that this prohibition shall apply only to contracts entered into, modified, or renewed on or after the enactment of this section.

(g) For purposes of this section, “postsecondary educational institution” means any campus of the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, an independent institution of higher education, as defined in Section 66010, or a private postsecondary educational institution, as defined in Section 94858.

(h) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2021.

SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure that California postsecondary educational institutions and college athletes are not placed at a disadvantage to those in other states where name, image, and likeness laws will go into effect this year, and in order to ensure that California college athletes, including low-income student athletes and those with children and dependents, can adequately provide for themselves and their families, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB26.

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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/08/news-on-nil-part-2.html.

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