Session Law
AN ACT
HB 3628
Relating to students; and
appropriating money.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. As used in sections 1 to 12 of this 1999
Act:
(1) "Agent
contract" means a contract or agreement pursuant to which a person
authorizes or empowers an athlete agent to negotiate or solicit on behalf of a
person with one or more professional sports teams or organizations for the
employment of the person:
(a) By one or more
professional sports teams or organizations; or
(b) As a professional
athlete.
(2)(a) "Athlete
agent" means any person or an employee or representative of a person who:
(A) Directly or indirectly,
recruits or solicits a student athlete to enter into an agent contract,
endorsement contract or professional sports services contract; or
(B) For compensation offers,
promises, attempts or negotiates to obtain employment or procures employment
for a student athlete with a professional sports team or organization or as a
professional athlete.
(b) "Athlete
agent" does not include:
(A) A person licensed as an
attorney or a dealer in securities, financial planner, insurance agent, real
estate broker, sales agent, tax consultant or any other professional person
when the person offers or provides the type of services customarily provided by
that profession, except to the extent that the person acts as an athlete agent
as defined in paragraph (a) of this subsection;
(B) A person acting solely
on behalf of a professional sports team or organization; or
(C) Parents who act as
athlete agents for their children.
(3) "Educational
institution" means any elementary school, secondary school, college,
university or other educational institution.
(4) "Endorsement
contract" means a contract or agreement pursuant to which a person is
employed or receives remuneration for any value or utility that the person may
have because of publicity, reputation, fame or following obtained because of
athletic ability or performance.
(5) "Professional
sports services contract" means any contract or agreement pursuant to
which a person is employed or agrees to render services as a player for a
professional sports team or organization or as a professional athlete.
(6)(a) "Student
athlete" means an individual admitted to or enrolled in an educational
institution who participates, or has informed the institution of an intention
to participate, in a sports program that includes competition with other
educational institutions. "Student athlete" includes a student who
has entered into one or more valid agent contracts, endorsement contracts or
professional sports services contracts that allow athlete agent representation
for a specific sport, as long as that student is eligible to participate in other
sports for which the student has no athlete agent representation.
(b) "Student
athlete" does not include:
(A) A person who has entered
into a valid agent contract, endorsement contract or professional sports
services contract that covers all sports in which the student is eligible to
participate; or
(B) A student of a college
or university whose eligibility to participate in an intercollegiate sport has
terminated.
SECTION 2. (1) A person desiring to conduct business
as an athlete agent in the State of Oregon shall obtain an athlete agent permit
from the Department of Education.
(2) To obtain an athlete
agent permit, a person must apply for the permit on a form designed and
provided by the Department of Education and submit the application to the
Department of Education with a permit fee of $250. The permit fee is
nonrefundable, regardless of whether the Department of Education issues or
denies the permit.
(3) An athlete agent permit
issued pursuant to this section and section 3 of this 1999 Act automatically
expires one year from the date of issuance.
(4) Athlete agent permits
may be renewed annually by submitting an application and a renewal fee of $250
to the Department of Education.
(5) The Department of
Education may suspend or revoke an athlete agent permit if an athlete agent is
found to have violated any provision of sections 1 to 12 of this 1999 Act, any
rules adopted pursuant thereto or any material condition of the permit. If an
athlete agent permit is denied, suspended or revoked, the athlete agent may
appeal the denial, suspension or revocation as a contested case under ORS
183.310 to 183.550.
(6) All moneys collected for
permit fees and renewal fees under this section are continuously appropriated
to the Department of Education for the purposes of carrying out sections 1 to
12 of this 1999 Act.
(7) A person may not conduct
business as an athlete agent without first having obtained an athlete agent
permit pursuant to this section.
(8) Any nonresident person
doing business in this state as an athlete agent shall, by so doing:
(a) Consent to the
jurisdiction of the courts of this state;
(b) Be subject to suit in
this state; and
(c) Be deemed to have
appointed the Department of Education as the person's agent to accept service
of process in any civil action related to the person doing business as an
athlete agent in this state.
SECTION 3. The Department of Education shall:
(1) Develop and provide an
application form for an athlete agent permit that:
(a) Requires the applicant
to affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the applicant:
(A) Is at least 18 years of
age;
(B) Has remitted the
required permit fee or renewal fee pursuant to section 2 of this 1999 Act;
(C) Has not been convicted
of any crime referred to in ORS 342.143 (3)(a);
(D) Has not, in any
jurisdiction, had an athlete agent license or permit suspended or revoked for a
violation of any law in that jurisdiction;
(E) Has not, in any
jurisdiction, had a civil judgment entered against the applicant for damages
caused to an institution as a result of a violation of any athlete agent law in
that jurisdiction; and
(F) Has not engaged in
conduct that resulted in penalties or sanctions being imposed against a college
or university by the athletic association governing that college or university
or by an athletic conference in which the college or university is a member;
and
(b) Informs the applicant
that a criminal records check is required and that the applicant must allow the
Department of Education to take fingerprints for the criminal records check;
(2) Adopt rules specifying
any other qualifications for the issuance of an athlete agent permit;
(3) Take fingerprints of
each applicant for a criminal records check conducted pursuant to section 4 of
this 1999 Act;
(4) Issue athlete agent
permits to applicants who meet all of the qualifications listed in this section
and the rules adopted pursuant thereto;
(5) Develop and provide an
application form for the renewal of an athlete agent permit;
(6) Collect permit fees and
renewal fees; and
(7) Use the moneys collected
from permit fees and renewal fees to defray the costs of administering the
athlete agent permit program.
SECTION 4. (1) The Department of Education may
request, and the Department of State Police shall furnish to the Department of
Education, information on an individual that the Department of State Police
possesses in the central bureau of criminal identification, including but not
limited to manual or computerized information required for purposes of issuing
athlete agent permits under sections 2 and 3 of this 1999 Act.
(2) After furnishing the
information obtained under subsection (1) of this section, the Department of
State Police shall conduct a nationwide criminal records check of the
individual through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including records of
fingerprints, and report the results to the Department of Education.
(3) The Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall either return or destroy the fingerprint cards used to
conduct the criminal records check and shall not keep any record of the
fingerprints. However, if the federal bureau policy authorizing return or
destruction of the fingerprint cards is changed, the Department of Education
shall not send the cards to the federal bureau but shall continue to process the
information through other available resources.
(4) If the Federal Bureau of
Investigation returns the fingerprint cards to the Department of State Police,
the Department of State Police shall return the fingerprint cards to the
Department of Education. The Department of Education shall destroy the
fingerprint cards and shall not keep any facsimiles or other material from
which a fingerprint can be reproduced.
(5) For purposes of
receiving the information described in this section, the Department of
Education is considered to be a designated agency as defined in ORS 181.010.
SECTION 4a. The Department of Education may adopt any
rules necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 1 to 12 of this 1999
Act.
SECTION 5. An athlete agent may not, directly or
indirectly, offer or provide money or anything of benefit or value to a student
athlete, or any person acting for or on behalf of a student athlete, for the
purpose of inducing the student athlete to enter into an agent contract,
endorsement contract or professional sports services contract.
SECTION 6. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, an athlete agent shall not make or continue any contact, whether in
person, in writing, electronically or in any other manner, with a student
athlete, a relative of the student athlete by blood or marriage or any person
who resides in the same place as the student athlete.
(2) An athlete agent may
send a student athlete or any other person described in subsection (1) of this
section written materials, provided that the athlete agent has sent an
identical copy of the materials to the principal, president or other chief administrator
of the educational institution to which the student athlete has been admitted
or in which the student athlete is enrolled.
(3) If a student athlete or
any other person described in subsection (1) of this section initiates contact
with an athlete agent, the athlete agent may continue the contact and make new
contacts with that person. No later than the first regular business day after
the initial contact, the athlete agent shall notify in writing the principal,
president or other chief administrator of the educational institution to which
the student athlete has been admitted or in which the student athlete is
enrolled, of that contact. The notification shall describe the nature of the
contact.
(4) This section does not
apply to any contact between an athlete agent and a student athlete or any
other person described in subsection (1) of this section if the contact is
initiated by an educational institution to which the student athlete has been admitted
or in which the student athlete is enrolled.
(5) This section does not
apply to any contact between an athlete agent and a student athlete who have
already entered into a valid agent contract, endorsement contract or
professional sports services contract that allows the athlete agent to
represent the student in a specific sport.
SECTION 7. An athlete agent may not offer or provide
money or anything of benefit or value, including, but not limited to, free or
reduced price legal services, to any educational institution or any
representative or employee of any educational institution in return for the
referral of any clients or initiation of any contact described in section 6 of
this 1999 Act.
SECTION 8. (1) An athlete agent and a student who have
entered into an agent contract, endorsement contract or professional sports
services contract shall each provide written notice of the contract to the
principal, president or other chief administrator of the educational
institution to which the student has been admitted or is enrolled.
(2) The athlete agent shall
provide the notice in writing within 48 hours of entering into the contract.
(3) The student shall
provide the notice before the student practices for or participates in any
interscholastic or intercollegiate sports event or within 72 hours after
entering into the contract, whichever occurs first. A student who fails to
provide the notice required under this section shall be subject to disciplinary
action in accordance with the educational institution's rules for student
conduct.
SECTION 9. Every agent contract, endorsement contract
or professional sports services contract entered into by a student athlete
shall contain, in close proximity to the signature of the student athlete, a
notice in at least 10-point boldfaced type stating:
___________________________________________________________________
WARNING TO THE STUDENT
ATHLETE: WHEN YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT, YOU LIKELY WILL IMMEDIATELY AND
PERMANENTLY LOSE YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO COMPETE IN INTERSCHOLASTIC OR
INTERCOLLEGIATE _____ (insert sport or sports covered in this contract). YOU
MUST GIVE THE PRINCIPAL, PRESIDENT OR OTHER CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF YOUR
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION WRITTEN NOTICE THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO THIS CONTRACT
WITHIN 72 HOURS, OR BEFORE YOU PRACTICE FOR OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY
INTERSCHOLASTIC OR INTERCOLLEGIATE SPORTS EVENT, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST. DO NOT
SIGN THIS CONTRACT UNTIL YOU HAVE READ IT AND FILLED IN ANY BLANK SPACES. YOU
MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT BY NOTIFYING THE ATHLETE AGENT, OR OTHER PARTY TO THIS
CONTRACT, IN WRITING OF YOUR DESIRE TO CANCEL NOT LATER THAN THE 15TH DAY AFTER
THE DATE YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT. HOWEVER, EVEN IF YOU CANCEL THIS CONTRACT, THE
FEDERATION OR ASSOCIATION TO WHICH YOUR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION BELONGS MAY
CHOOSE NOT TO RESTORE YOUR ELIGIBILITY.
___________________________________________________________________
SECTION 10. Within 15 days after the date a student
enters into an agent contract, endorsement contract or professional sports
services contract, the student may rescind the contract by giving written
notice to the athlete agent of the student's desire to cancel the contract. The
right of a student to rescind a contract under this section may not be waived.
SECTION 11. (1) An educational institution shall have a
cause of action for damages or equitable relief against any athlete agent or
student who violates the provisions of sections 1 to 12 of this 1999 Act.
(2) For the purposes of this
section, an institution is damaged if a student or the institution is
penalized, or is disqualified or suspended from participation in
intercollegiate athletics, by an athletic association or athletic conference
and, because of the penalty, disqualification or suspension, the institution:
(a) Loses revenue from media
coverage of an athletic competition;
(b) Loses ticket sales for
regular season or post-season athletic events;
(c) Loses the right to grant
athletic scholarships;
(d) Loses the right to
recruit an athlete;
(e) Is prohibited from
participating in post-season athletic competition;
(f) Loses proceeds from any
revenue-sharing agreement or arrangement between institutions in an athletic
conference;
(g) Forfeits an athletic competition;
or
(h) Otherwise suffers an
adverse financial impact.
(3) In an action brought
under this section, the court may allow a prevailing institution:
(a) Actual damages;
(b) Punitive damages;
(c) Court costs;
(d) Reasonable attorney
fees; and
(e) Treble damages for any
violation that results in any ineligibility of a student to compete, in an
amount equal to three times the value of the athletic scholarship furnished by
the institution to the student during the student's period of eligibility.
(4) An action under this
section shall be commenced within three years after the date that the damages
to the institution resulting from the violation are discovered or reasonably
should have been discovered, whichever is sooner.
(5) If both the student and
the athlete agent are at fault, the student and the athlete agent shall be
jointly and severally liable for any damages awarded to an institution under
this section for a violation that occurred during the student's period of eligibility.
SECTION 12. (1) Violation of section 5 of this 1999 Act
is a Class C felony.
(2) Violation of the athlete
agent's 48-hour notice requirement provided under section 8 (2) of this 1999
Act is a Class C felony.
(3) It is a Class A
misdemeanor for any person to conduct business as an athlete agent in the State
of Oregon unless the person has a valid athlete agent permit issued pursuant to
sections 2 and 3 of this 1999 Act.
(4) It is a Class A
misdemeanor for any person to represent to another person by verbal claim, advertisement,
letterhead, business card or any other means that the person is an athlete
agent unless the person has a valid athlete agent permit issued pursuant to
sections 2 and 3 of this 1999 Act.
SECTION 13. Sections 1 to 12 of this 1999 Act shall
first apply to contracts between athlete agents and students entered into on or
after the operative date of this 1999 Act.
SECTION 14. Sections 1 to 12 of this 1999 Act become
operative 90 days after the effective date of this 1999 Act.
SECTION 15. The Department of Education may take all
necessary actions to implement sections 1 to 12 of this 1999 Act prior to the
operative date of sections 1 to 12 of this 1999 Act.
Approved by the Governor
September 1, 1999
Filed in the office of the
Secretary of State September 2, 1999
Effective date October 23,
1999
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