Assembly Standing Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism

The Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee. Before we start, we're still waiting for a few more Members, but we have a Member, and we will be able to start as a Subcommitee. But while we establish a quorum, let me just go over a few housekeeping items. We have two measures being taken up today by Assemblymember Kalra ACR 211.

Also, Senator Skinner, SB 906. For each item, we will allow up to two primary witnesses in support and up to two Members in opposition to speak for two minutes per witness. Afterwards, Members of the public will be given an opportunity to state their names, their positions on the Bill, and the organization which they represent.

If any additional, any additional comments may be considered or submitted, rather through the position paper portal. If you're not here and you wanted to weigh in in your absence, you can also, again, by submitting a letter through the porthole on the Committee's website.

We will pause for a moment, and we'll invite our Senator, please come and present Senate Bill 906. And you could begin when ready. We will act as a Subcommitee until we establish a quorum, and then we will take the business up with a vote at the appropriate time. So welcome, Senator Skinner, and again, you may begin when ready.

Thank you, Chair. SB 906 is a follow up to the NIL, name, image, and likeness bills, for student athletes that I've carried. And the original NIL bill, SB 206, sparked a national movement. And today, all college athletes are able to benefit from their name, image, and likeness every across the country.

But as we well know, college sports is a multibillion dollar business, so it is no surprise that certain entities would game even this situation. What we are finding is that the colleges themselves may not be so directly gaming it, but their boosters are. And how much the--well, we won't worry about that.

We'll just say that various colleges boosters have formed these collectives, and the collectives are then organizing NIL deals for the athletes. Now, in and of itself, there may be nothing wrong with that. However, who is it primarily benefiting?

And that's really the point of this bill, which is to get some transparency so that when we passed giving students their name, image, and likeness rights, we were trying to create a level playing field. We were not trying to advantage some over others.

Clearly, some people are more marketable than others, and clearly, they may make more money and they may get more endorsement deals. That's part of how all of this works.

But if we have a system where certain people are arranging the deals and only benefiting some, that's what we want to know about, so that we can then, if necessary, or if appropriate, take some action. And one of my biggest concerns is the impact on women athletes.

We have Title IX, but if you have these collectives which are external from the campuses engaging in this, they're not, at least to date, it's not clear if they're even subject to Title IX. When NIL first came forward, women athletes were benefiting.

When we think about this last March Madness, where the women's teams were the ones most watched, we know that part of that is because those women were able to promote themselves, so they were household names before they even played. But we want to make sure that all athletes are getting some benefits from this and not just some.

So what the bill does is get some transparency, requires colleges to post all the different aggregated NIL deals. Not disclose the names of the athletes. No, we are trying to protect the athletes. Just the data as to, is it football players, is it basketball players, is it male teams, female teams, what? So let me have Brittney Barsotti of the California News Publishers Association, who's my key witness, speak.

Thank you very much. You have two minutes. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members of the Committee. Brittany Barsotti on behalf of the California News Publishers in support of SB 906, along with the California Broadcasters Association and Media Alliance in support. We are proud to be in support of this bill to increase transparency.

We can make substantial changes in this building all the time, but without transparency, it's difficult to see what those effects are. This bill does an excellent job of striking a balance between privacy and public information by allowing the data to be in the aggregate as opposed to revealing individual contracts details.

And we feel it will benefit the knowledge about college sports and how these use of NILs are progressing, given the Senator's landmark legislation. And with that, I would respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you very much. Witnesses in opposition, or anyone in the room who wishes to register opposition? Seeing none. In support? Did it a little backwards. It's okay. In support? Hearing and seeing none, bring it back to the Committee for any questions. I want to start off with a question for the Senator. Thank you very much for your advocacy.

And thank you for very much for your landmark legislation that you've done previous in this space. Excuse me, we're going to pause for a moment and establish a quorum. Mr. Secretary, would you please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Thank you very much. We have established a quorum. My first question is, could you explain how information, how the information made public by this bill would better ensure compliance of Title IX?

Well, we first off, without having any information about who these NIL fields are benefiting and who's arranging them, then we can't really have a handle on whether, what impacts there are in Title IX. You know, the free market, basically choosing to give an athlete a deal is--that is not governed by Title IX.

However, if there's activity that colleges are engaged in that might favor one set of students over another, that could impact Title IX. But until we get this data, we won't know. So that's why we are pursuing the bill, to get that data.

Thank you very much. One follow up question. How is revenue sharing with students, athletes anticipated to affect funding for the colleges and their programs? Will this have any impact on?

Yeah, well, right now, of course, this bill does not require.

Why? You know, you always try to be a little bit anticipatory in the design of your legislation so that if that comes to pass, we'd at least have that information. But as of now, I'm not aware of any California college that is doing revenue sharing, so. But again, if it were to occur, then of course that potentially does impact Title IX. And being able to have the data is what would be helpful.

Thank you very much. Any questions from my colleagues? It's been properly moved by Vice Chair Wallis and properly seconded by Mr. Fong. Mr. Secretary, this enjoys a do pass. I want to thank the Senator for coming before this Committee.

We believe that this is a step in the right direction, and the transparency in which you talked about is certainly evident within this policy. And so we're glad to move the bill in this Committee. And so I ask Mr. Secretary to please call the roll.

The motion is do pass and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. [Roll Call]

We're going to leave the roll open for absent members. Thank you very much, Senator.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

And if we can ask the sergeant of arms to contact the next--okay. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Assembly Member Kalra, thank you very much for coming to the Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism. You have ACR 211, File Item Number One. For your primary witnesses, you have two minutes and two minutes for any opposition as well, and you may proceed when ready. Thank you very much.

Thank you so--thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for your patience in waiting for me. ACR 211 would encourage the California Interscholastic Federation to recognize cricket as an official high school sport.

Cricket is a game that originated in the United Kingdom in the 19th century and quickly spread to many of its former colonies in neighboring countries, including India, Pakistan, and Australia. Since then, it has achieved immense popularity, cultivating thriving player and fan communities all across the world. This includes the United States, where over 200,000 people play the game.

California has positioned itself as one of the hubs of American cricket, hosting two of the six major league cricket teams and preparing to reintroduce cricket as an official Olympic sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The last time it was an Olympic sport was in the year 1900.

Cricket also holds a particular importance for many members of our state's South Asian diaspora, who consider it to be integral to their historical and cultural heritage. Despite this, cricket has not yet been recognized as an official high school sport in the State of California, depriving students of the opportunity to participate in inter-school play.

ACR 211 responds to this issue by urging the California Interscholastic Foundation to take steps towards officially recognizing cricket as an official high school sport if one of their member schools brings it before them for consideration. It also emphasizes that the establishment of high school cricket should support continued cricket play at the collegiate level.

ACR 211 not only celebrates cricket's rich history, but encourages us to ensure that it has an even brighter future. With me to provide supporting testimony is Hemant Buch, President of the California Cricket Academy.

Hi. Thank you, Assembly Member Kalra and Esteemed Members of the Committee. My name is Hemant Buch. I am Founder and President of the California Cricket Academy, a not-for-profit organization that has been serving the needs of youth in Bay Area to learn and pursue the sport of cricket for last two decades.

I'm delighted to share that four of our academy boys and girls even represented the under 19 national USA men's and women's cricket teams in respective international World Cup tournaments in last two years. Hats off to these high school kids who overcome many challenges during their high school years to pursue their passion for the game of cricket.

Today, I am here to represent them and every school kid in the State of California who has a passion to pursue cricket as their sport of choice. Cricket is a game of strategy, skills, and analytics while promoting stronger mental and physical health in kids. It requires kids to devote 12 to 15 hours every week in pursuit of this sport, something similar to other recognized sports in CIF.

Cricket has grown in popularity in the U.S. in recent years and very evidently in the past month as the U.S. national cricket team did very well in the just concluded World Cup 2024. Across the USA and West Indies, cricket is also recognized as an Olympic sport again, starting with the 2028 Olympics to be hosted in California, Southern California.

In the backdrop, recognizing cricket in CIF will not only encourage kids to pursue the sport in high school, but will also encourage the creation of a stronger high school ecosystem that includes coaches, infrastructure, support, and tomorrow's role models, leaders who in turn can give back to the community through volunteering, creation of high school cricket clubs, and thereby fostering a healthy pathway for future cricketers.

Today, I believe, is the day where this esteemed committee can bring about a positive change by acknowledging the growing interest in the sport of cricket in our youth and encourage them to pursue their dreams in this team sport of cricket by recognizing their time and effort for high school PE credentials, similar to CIF recognized sports in high school. Thanks.

Thank you very much. Any witnesses in opposition to ACR 211, would you please step forward? You have two minutes. Seeing and hearing none, anyone in support of this ACR? Would you please come--we have a tweener. Okay. Please come and state your name, organization.

Thank you very much. Michelle Underwood, on behalf of the California Interscholastic Federation without an official position, but wanted to appreciate recent amendments that acknowledge the member-driven process to create new sports in CIF. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else? Bring it back to the committees. Any--yes. Ms. McKinnor.

I'd like to thank the author for carrying this bill. Though it's one of the most important sports in the world, cricket still has not been recognized as an official high school sport in the State of California. This is despite the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of cricket players in the United States, with more likely joining the ranks when cricket is reintroduced as an Olympic sport during the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

ACR 211 urges the California Interscholastic Foundation to rectify this issue by taking steps to officially recognize the game if it is brought before them by one of the member schools. And I will be voting aye. I would like to move it.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. And just let me--any additional members having any comments? I want to say thank you very much to the author for bringing ACR 211 before us. Certainly I'm familiar with the game and certainly believe in the policy in which you bring this forward.

It's about opportunities, and I believe this provides opportunity, but also the awareness because we will be able to let people know outside of California, as well as Californians, to know that we see them, we hear them, and we support them, and especially opening up the door for young people to understand the game of cricket and also participate.

That paddle looks all so familiar when I was growing up. It looks like the paddle that was used on me. So with that being said, I'll ask Mr. Secretary to please call the roll. And endures, endures, enjoys a do pass as amended. Thank you.

The motion is for ACR 211 to be adopted. [Roll Call].

Thank you very much. That bill is out. We'll ask other additional Members to add on to Senate Bill 906. Mr. Secretary, to please call the roll for absent Members. Thank you, Members, for being here.

The motion again on that one was do pass and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. [Roll Call] That bill's out.

Senate Bill 906 is out. Members, thank you very much for your service to the people of State of California. This Committee stands adjourned.