Subcommittee advances bill removing five groups from amateur sanctioning list

House Bill 391, which the sponsor said matches a measure filed last session, was approved by the Occupational Therapy and Professional Licensing Subcommittee and sent to the full committee for further consideration.

The bill would remove five named organizations from a statutory list and require those organizations to obtain amateur sanctioning licenses from the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission, a change the sponsor said is intended to ensure consistent health-and-safety requirements for amateur events.

Representative Cox, the bill sponsor, told the panel, “This is the same bill that was brought last session.” He described the proposed change as ensuring organizations meet “health and safety regulations such as ... ambulance and EMT on-site, and also will have ringside physicians.” Cox told the committee that four of the five organizations targeted by the bill had not responded to requests about removal from the list and that one organization listed had not existed since 1972.

Members of the subcommittee asked clarifying questions about which groups would remain on the list and why a particular commission remained included. Representative Ridley seconded the motion to approve the bill. A committee member moved that House Bill 391 be approved; the motion was seconded and the bill was approved by the subcommittee and placed on the agenda for the full committee.

The subcommittee did not adopt additional amendments during the meeting. The sponsor asked for the panel’s favorable consideration and said the measure mirrored prior session language that had not reached a senate committee the prior year.

The bill will be considered next by the full committee; no date for that hearing was specified at the subcommittee meeting.