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Committee adopts amendment to expand Coach Safely youth-training program
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Summary
A committee adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 140 to expand and clarify the Coach Safely youth-coach training program and add a compliance-notification and fine structure; the bill received a favorable report as amended.
Senator Wagner told the Children and Senior Advocacy Committee on Monday that Senate Bill 140 would expand a 2018 program known as the Coach Safely Act that trains volunteer youth coaches to recognize and respond to minor athletic injuries.
The amendment adopted in committee sets a process for the Department of Public Health to notify associations that fail to comply and creates a fine schedule: $2,200 for youth athletic associations with fewer than 100 coaches and $10 per coach for associations with 100 or more coaches. Senator Wagner said the program has trained “over 70,000 coaches” and reached “65 counties and over 400 municipalities,” and that the change is “a minor amendment” requested in part by the YMCA.
The amendment was offered by Representative Drummond and seconded by Representative Amor. The committee voted to adopt the amendment by roll call and then gave the bill a favorable report as amended. A roll-call reading in the transcript recorded multiple “aye” votes and the chair announced the outcome as “favorable report as amended.”
Kurt Lee, who identified himself as representing the athletic trainers association and Coach Safely, told the committee the training is aimed at youth and recreational leagues — “pee wee football, your little league baseball” — where medical staff are not always present. Lee said the training enables a coach to “better identify when there is a serious issue when they do need to call it out.”
Representative Moore and others asked whether the training applied to high school athletics; witnesses and the sponsor clarified multiple times that the program targets youth/recreational sports and “is not for high school” programs. Representative Boyd raised concerns about the fiscal note, citing an $85,000 first‑year estimate and $35,000 annually thereafter and a departmental estimate of $50,000 to print and distribute noncompliance notifications. Senator Wagner responded that the bill language as written sets an October 1 effective date and that details about funding administration are being worked out with the Department of Public Health.
The committee record shows a motion to adopt the amendment and a subsequent roll-call vote; the chair announced “Senator, your bill receives a favorable report as amended.”
The bill now moves forward with the amendment attached; committee members also discussed placing the funding into the department’s budget and refining language to make responsibilities and the effective date clear.
