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Committee backs bill to exempt small charity fight nights from athletic commission rules
Summary
Lawmakers advanced House Bill 16, which would carve out nonprofit fundraising exhibitions (like a local "Freedom Fight Night") from State Athletic Commission sanctions. Sponsor said fees and sanctioning requirements forced organizers to cancel a 2024 charity event that had raised $24,000 in 2023.
Representative Rob Bieswanger, R‑District 8, told the House Business Committee on Feb. 11 that House Bill 16 would create a narrow exemption allowing nonprofit fundraising exhibition bouts to proceed without full State Athletic Commission sanctioning.
Bieswanger described a Horseshoe Bend fundraiser called Freedom Fight Night that raised about $24,000 in 2023 and planned a larger 2024 event that organizers canceled after athletic‑commission staff indicated the event likely required sanctioning. He said organizers lost roughly $10,000 in sunk costs when they cancelled and that the commission’s licensing and fee structure — including fighter licensing, drug testing and other requirements — can be prohibitively expensive for small charity events.
The bill would allow nonprofit fundraising exhibition events to proceed under limited safety conditions modeled on existing exemptions for military personnel, college students and high‑school students: participants must be adults, be medically cleared and compete in appropriate weight classes, the sponsor said.
Representative Birch and others asked whether the State Athletic Commission supported the legislation; Bieswanger said commission staff preferred to operate under current rules and offer more supervision but acknowledged the legislature has the authority to change exemptions.
Representative Thompson moved to send House Bill 16 to the floor with a do‑pass recommendation; the committee approved the motion by voice vote.
No members of the public testified. The committee discussion focused on balancing participant safety with reducing regulatory barriers for small nonprofit events.
