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Senate committee advances bill shielding individual NIL revenue-sharing payments while requiring aggregate disclosure
Summary
The Senate Education Committee gave H.4902 a favorable report, proposing to protect individual student revenue-sharing payments from public disclosure while requiring public institutions to report aggregate amounts; senators debated potential FOIA implications and competitive disadvantages.
The Senate Education Committee on Tuesday voted to give House Bill 4902 a favorable report to the full Senate after staff said the bill would protect individual student privacy for revenue-sharing payments while requiring institutions to report aggregate totals.
Research director Donna Barton told the panel the measure is intended to update South Carolina’s 2021 NIL statute to reflect recent federal-court-authorized revenue sharing. “The bill would amend the current statute to protect individual student privacy in the new realm of revenue sharing while requiring the public institutions to disclose the aggregate amount spent on revenue sharing to its athletes,” Barton said.
Barton and senators repeatedly framed the bill as an attempt to balance student privacy against public transparency. Barton said there is a pending state circuit court case involving the University of South Carolina and that a judge suspended the proceeding for six months to give the Legislature an opportunity to act. She said the amendment would require aggregate reporting but maintain privacy for individual athletes.
Several senators raised questions about whether revenue-sharing funds are "public" under the state Freedom of Information Act and whether aggregate reporting could be used to infer individual payments. Senator Barnsford asked, “Am I correct in this is not public money?” and sought clarity that the revenue-sharing funds come from conference or media distributions rather than state appropriations; Barton answered that the funds are tied to a federal court settlement and are not state budget appropriations.
Committee members also asked how donor contributions and tax benefits for gifts routed through foundations or donor-advised funds could affect the public/private distinction; Barton said universities have been drafting language with athletic departments and legal counsel to try to close potential disclosure gaps and that the committee will likely revisit NIL-related issues as NCAA and federal developments continue.
After extended discussion, the committee moved for a favorable report and approved the item on a voice vote.
The committee’s action does not change current law until the full Senate and House complete their legislative process.
