Committee approves renaming Boxing and Wrestling Commission to Louisiana State Athletic Commission

The House Committee on Commerce approved legislation to rename the State Boxing and Wrestling Commission to the Louisiana State Athletic Commission and to update fee and salary provisions.

House Bill 538, presented by Representative Weibel, would change the commission’s name and clarify the scope of activities the commission oversees. Ronnie Rance, chair of the commission, said the current name “is very misleading” because the body has for years overseen other combat and athletic events, including mixed martial arts and specialty events. Rance noted that “UFC is coming in July, coming to New Orleans” and that the commission had a role in helping bring and operate large events, citing the Smoothie King Center fight and other activities.

The committee adopted amendment set 2,128, which specifies licensing fees and salaries rather than leaving them to be set by the commission, and inserts per-diem provisions for members. Representative Newell asked whether the expanded name meant the commission would take on other sports; Rance said the commission’s focus is combat sports such as boxing, MMA, bare-knuckle and related events and that the name change brings Louisiana “in line with most states.”

Representative Cox moved to report the bill favorably as amended; the motion carried on voice consent with no objections recorded in the transcript. Several commission members and a representative from the governor’s office were listed as supporters in committee cards; no recorded roll-call vote was taken in the hearing record.

The amendments remove language that would have allowed the commission to set licensing fees and commission salaries and instead specify amounts in statute, and they reinstate/allow certain per-diem payments. The commission is organized under the governor’s office, and witnesses said the change is primarily a name and housekeeping update to reflect actual operations.