Senate Study Bill 1039 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to prohibited conduct by athlete agents and
2making penalties applicable.
3BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 9A.114, Code 2021, is amended to read as
2follows:
   39A.114  Prohibited conduct.
   41.  An athlete agent, with the intent to influence a student
5athlete or, if the student athlete is a minor, the parent
6or guardian of the student athlete, to enter into an agency
7contract,
shall not intentionally take any of the following
8actions or encourage any other individual to take or assist
9any other individual in taking any of the following actions on
10behalf of the agent
:
   11a.    1.  Give a student athlete or, if the athlete is a
12minor, a parent or guardian of the athlete,
materially false
13or misleading information or make a materially false promise
14or representation with the intent to influence the athlete,
15parent, or guardian to enter into an agency contract
.
   16b.    2.  Furnish anything of value to the a student athlete
17before the athlete enters into the contract. or another
18individual, if doing so may result in loss of the athlete’s
19eligibility to participate in the athlete’s sport, unless all
20of the following actions are taken:

   21c.  Furnish anything of value to an individual other than the
22athlete or another registered athlete agent.
   232.  An athlete agent shall not intentionally do any of the
24following or encourage any other individual to do any of the
25following on behalf of the agent:
   26a.  The agent notifies the athletic director of the
27educational institution at which the athlete is enrolled, or at
28which the agent has reasonable grounds to believe the athlete
29intends to enroll, not later than seventy-two hours after
30furnishing the thing of value.
   31b.  The student athlete or, if the athlete is a minor, a
32parent or guardian of the athlete, acknowledges to the agent
33in a record that receipt of the thing of value may result in
34the loss of the athlete’s eligibility to participate in the
35athlete’s sport.
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   1a.    3.  Initiate contact, directly or indirectly, with a
2student athlete or, if the athlete is a minor, a parent or
3guardian of the athlete, to recruit or solicit the athlete,
4parent, or guardian to enter an agency agreement unless
5registered under this chapter.
   6b.    4.  Fail to create, or retain, or to permit inspection of
7the records required by section 9A.113.
   8c.    5.  Fail to register when required by section 9A.104.
   9d.    6.  Provide materially false or misleading information in
10an application for registration or renewal of registration.
   11e.    7.  Predate or postdate an agency contract.
   12f.    8.  Fail to notify a student athlete or, if the athlete
13is a minor, a parent or guardian of the athlete before the
14athlete, parent, or guardian signs an agency contract for
15a particular sport that the signing may make the athlete
16ineligible
 result in the loss of the athlete’s eligibility
17 to participate as a student athlete in that in the athlete’s
18 sport.
   199.  Encourage another individual to take any of the actions
20described in subsections 1 through 8 on behalf of the agent.
   2110.  Encourage another individual to assist any other
22individual in taking in any of the actions described in
23subsections 1 through 8 on behalf of the agent.
24EXPLANATION
25The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
26the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   27This bill relates to prohibited conduct by athlete agents
28under Code chapter 9A.
   29The bill strikes language prohibiting an agent from
30furnishing anything of value to a student athlete before the
31athlete enters into an agency contract and also prohibiting
32furnishing anything of value to an individual other than the
33athlete or another registered athlete agent. The bill instead
34prohibits furnishing anything of value to an athlete or another
35individual, if doing so may result in loss of the athlete’s
-2-1eligibility to participate in the athlete’s sport, unless two
2actions occur. The agent must notify the athletic director of
3the educational institution at which the athlete is enrolled,
4or at which the agent has reasonable grounds to believe the
5athlete intends to enroll, not later than 72 hours after
6furnishing the thing of value. The athlete or, if the athlete
7is a minor, a parent or guardian of the athlete, must also
8acknowledge to the agent in a record that receipt of the thing
9of value may result in the loss of the athlete’s eligibility to
10participate in the athlete’s sport.
   11The bill prohibits an agent from encouraging another
12individual to engage in conduct prohibited for agents, or from
13encouraging another individual to assist any other individual
14in engaging in conduct prohibited for agents.
   15The bill modifies prohibited conduct, other than giving
16materially false or misleading information or making a
17materially false promise or representation, by prohibiting
18such conduct when engaged in intentionally, rather than with
19the intent to influence an athlete or the athlete’s parent or
20guardian to enter into an agency contract.
   21By operation of law, a violation of these requirements by an
22athlete agent is a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor
23is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a
24fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. A violation
25may also result in a civil action for damages, a civil penalty
26of up to $50,000, or the secretary of state refusing to
27issue, limiting, suspending, revoking, or refusing to renew a
28certificate of registration as an athlete agent.
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