FINAL BILL REPORT

                     SHB 1712

                                 C 236 L 91

                            Synopsis As Enacted

Brief Description:  Providing for the registration of athlete agents.

By House Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Heavey, Lisk, Cole, Fuhrman, Wood, Betrozoff, Jacobsen, R. Meyers, Phillips, Winsley, Ferguson, Orr and Wineberry).

House Committee on Commerce & Labor

Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor

Background:  A substantial number of athletes from Washington's colleges and universities go on to play professional sports.  In most cases, before signing a professional sports contract, an athlete will hire an agent to negotiate a contract or to find employment for the athlete in a professional sport.  Currently, Washington has no laws specifically regulating athlete agents.

Summary:  Athlete agents are required to register with the Department of Licensing.  Only a registered athlete agent or an employee or representative of a professional sport team may solicit an individual to enter into an agent contract or professional sport services contract or procure, offer, promise, or attempt to obtain employment for an individual as a professional athlete.

Registration and reporting:  The Department of Licensing is authorized to establish rules necessary to register athlete agents and to maintain the official record of all applicants.  An athlete agent must file a disclosure statement, including the following information:  educational background; experience; name and address of firms represented; criminal convictions; and sanctions resulting from his or her activities as an athlete agent. The registration provisions do not apply to a person:  (1) who is related to the student athlete by blood or marriage; (2) who represents or advises no more than one student athlete in any given year; or (3) who represents only professional athletes.

Failure to register or report:  A violation of this chapter is also a violation of the consumer protection act.

Criminal sanctions:  It is a gross misdemeanor for any person to induce a student athlete to enter into an agent contract or a professional sport services contract.  A student athlete is a person who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible to engage in any intercollegiate sporting event, contest, exhibition or program in this state.  A person ceases to be a student athlete as soon as his or her collegiate eligibility in the sport in which he or she is under scholarship has expired. 

It is also a gross misdemeanor for a person to offer anything of value to an employee of a school in return for the referral of a student athlete by that employee.

It is a class C felony to offer money or any valuable consideration to a student athlete to induce the student athlete to enter into an agent contract or a professional sports services contract.

Votes on Final Passage:

House 98    0

Senate   36    11    (Senate amended)

House 94    0     (House concurred)

Effective:  July 28, 1991