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Committee advances bill to exempt nonprofit charity bouts from athletic commission rules
Summary
House Bill 16 would create a limited exemption allowing unsanctioned adult charity mixed-martial-arts exhibitions to proceed with minimal requirements, after organizers cancelled a fundraiser when the State Athletic Commission signaled possible enforcement.
BOISE — The House Business Committee voted Feb. 11 to send House Bill 16 to the House floor with a “do pass” recommendation. The bill would create a limited carve-out allowing nonprofit charity exhibition fights between consenting adults to take place without full Athletic Commission sanctioning, subject to basic safety requirements.
Representative Rob Bieswanger, sponsor of the bill, described a Horseshoe Bend event called Freedom Fight Night that raised roughly $24,000 for a veterans memorial in 2023 but was canceled in 2024 after the State Athletic Commission indicated the event might need sanctioning. The organizers told the committee they canceled the 2024 event after incurring about $10,000 in sunk costs rather than risk enforcement.
Bieswanger said the Athletic Commission’s rules were written largely with professional boxing in mind and that small-community exhibitions intended to raise funds for local charities were being treated as professional events. “If two adults want to fight each other for charity, then I don't see why we should be standing in their way,” Bieswanger said.
The bill proposes a narrow exemption for nonprofit charity events that would require basic safety steps such as a medical check and competing in the same weight class — exemptions similar to existing carve-outs for military members, college students and high-school students that already appear in statute.
Committee members asked about the cost and complexity of getting a sanctioned event approved. Bieswanger said licensing and sanctioning typically involve multiple fees and requirements such as fighter licenses and drug testing, and that those costs can be prohibitive for organizers raising modest charitable sums. He told the committee some studios and local organizers hold unsanctioned “smoker” events across the state but that the Horseshoe Bend contest became visible because it was publicized as a fundraiser.
Bieswanger said he had discussed the legislation with Athletic Commission staff; he described the commission as preferring to operate under existing rules and desiring more supervision than the bill proposes, but he said the commission recognized the Legislature sets law.
No members of the public testified for or against the measure at the committee hearing. Representative Thompson moved the measure; the committee approved it by voice vote.
If enacted, the bill would narrow the Athletic Commission’s regulatory reach for a limited class of nonprofit exhibitions while leaving broader professional sanctioning and safety rules in place.
