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Committee debates safety and scope of charity fight exemption in House Bill 16
Summary
House Bill 16 would exempt charity combat exhibitions from State Athletic Commission rules; sponsors cited a cancelled charity event and financial barriers while DOPL and committee members emphasized medical and sanctioning safeguards; the bill was sent to the 14th order for possible amendment.
Representative Rob Bieswanger, the House sponsor for House Bill 16, told the committee a charity fight-night in Horseshoe Bend raised about $24,000 in 2023 but organizers faced uncertainty from the State Athletic Commission in 2024 that led to last-minute cancellation and roughly $10,000 in lost revenue. He said HB16 would carve out an exemption for fights held for a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) charity so small communities could stage such events without the full weight of athletic-commission rules.
The Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses administrator Russ Barron urged caution. He said sanctioning and the permit application process exist to ensure medical personnel, referees, weight classes and drug-testing protocols protect contestants. “When you’re sanctioned, you gotta make sure there’s safety protocols in place,” Barron said, explaining the commission’s recent rule changes reduced fees but still preserve oversight.
Committee members raised two persistent concerns: (1) whether permitting and sanctioning are truly prohibitive for small-town charities, and (2) whether an exemption that removes sanctioning would leave athletes and sponsors exposed to legal risk. Rep. Bieswanger said organizers want the proceeds to go to charity and prefer to avoid fees and onerous testing requirements; he suggested charities would assume responsibility for safety.
Senators signaled willingness to refine the bill to preserve safety while easing the burden on small charities. The committee voted to send HB16 to the 14th order for possible amendment so the sponsor, DOPL and other stakeholders can negotiate specific safety-language and fee-waiver provisions.
