15 U.S.C. § 6308 — Conflicts of interest

Page 2237 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 6308 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘nor’’. § 6307f. Required disclosures for judges and ref- erees A judge or referee shall not be entitled to re- ceive any compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with a boxing match until it pro- vides to the boxing commission responsible for regulating the match in a State a statement of all consideration, including reimbursement for expenses, that will be received from any source for participation in the match. (Pub. L. 104–272, § 14, as added Pub. L. 106–210, § 4(2), May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 325.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 14 of Pub. L. 104–272 was renumbered section 22 and is classified to section 6313 of this title. § 6307g. Confidentiality (a) In general Neither a boxing commission or 1 an Attorney General may disclose to the public any matter furnished by a promoter under section 6307e of this title except to the extent required in a legal, administrative, or judicial proceeding. (b) Effect of contrary State law If a State law governing a boxing commission requires that information that would be fur- nished by a promoter under section 6307e of this title shall be made public, then a promoter is not required to file such information with such State if the promoter files such information with the ABC. (Pub. L. 104–272, § 15, as added Pub. L. 106–210, § 4(2), May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 325.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 15 of Pub. L. 104–272 was renumbered section 23 and is set out as a note under section 6301 of this title. § 6307h. Judges and referees No person may arrange, promote, organize, produce, or fight in a professional boxing match unless all referees and judges participating in the match have been certified and approved by the boxing commission responsible for regu- lating the match in the State where the match is held. (Pub. L. 104–272, § 16, as added Pub. L. 106–210, § 4(2), May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 325.) § 6308. Conflicts of interest (a) Regulatory personnel No member or employee of a boxing commis- sion, no person who administers or enforces State boxing laws, and no member of the Asso- ciation of Boxing Commissions may belong to, contract with, or receive any compensation from, any person who sanctions, arranges, or promotes professional boxing matches or who otherwise has a financial interest in an active boxer currently registered with a boxer registry. For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘com- pensation’’ does not include funds held in escrow for payment to another person in connection with a professional boxing match. The prohibi- tion set forth in this section shall not apply to any contract entered into, or any reasonable compensation received, by a boxing commission to supervise a professional boxing match in an- other State as described in section 6303 of this title. (b) Firewall between promoters and managers (1) In general It is unlawful for— (A) a promoter to have a direct or indirect financial interest in the management of a boxer; or (B) a manager— (i) to have a direct or indirect financial interest in the promotion of a boxer; or (ii) to be employed by or receive com- pensation or other benefits from a pro- moter, except for amounts received as con- sideration under the manager’s contract with the boxer. (2) Exceptions Paragraph (1)— (A) does not prohibit a boxer from acting as his own promoter or manager; and (B) only applies to boxers participating in a boxing match of 10 rounds or more. (c) Sanctioning organizations (1) Prohibition on receipts Except as provided in paragraph (2), no offi- cer or employee of a sanctioning organization may receive any compensation, gift, or ben- efit, directly or indirectly, from a promoter, boxer, or manager. (2) Exceptions Paragraph (1) does not apply to— (A) the receipt of payment by a promoter, boxer, or manager of a sanctioning organiza- tion’s published fee for sanctioning a profes- sional boxing match or reasonable expenses in connection therewith if the payment is reported to the responsible boxing commis- sion; or (B) the receipt of a gift or benefit of de minimis value. (Pub. L. 104–272, § 17, formerly § 9, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3311; renumbered § 17 and amended Pub. L. 106–210, §§ 4(1), 5, May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 322, 325.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Pub. L. 106–210, § 5, designated existing provi- sions as subsec. (a), inserted subsec. heading, and added subsecs. (b) and (c). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective July 1, 1997, and not applicable to an otherwise authorized boxing commission in the Com- monwealth of Virginia until July 1, 1998, see section 23(1), (2) of Pub. L. 104–272, set out as a note under sec- tion 6301 of this title. Page 2238 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 6309 1 So in original. Section 6307a does not contain a subsec. (b). § 6309. Enforcement (a) Injunctions Whenever the Attorney General of the United States has reasonable cause to believe that a person is engaged in a violation of this chapter, the Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate district court of the United States requesting such relief, including a perma- nent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order, against the person, as the Attor- ney General determines to be necessary to re- strain the person from continuing to engage in, sanction, promote, or otherwise participate in a professional boxing match in violation of this chapter. (b) Criminal penalties (1) Managers, promoters, matchmakers, and li- censees Any manager, promoter, matchmaker, and licensee who knowingly violates, or coerces or causes any other person to violate, any provi- sion of this chapter, other than section 6307a(b),1 6307b, 6307c, 6307d, 6307e, 6307f, or 6307h of this title, shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not more than 1 year or fined not more than $20,000, or both. (2) Violation of antiexploitation, sanctioning organization, or disclosure provisions Any person who knowingly violates any pro- vision of section 6307a(b),1 6307b, 6307c, 6307d, 6307e, 6307f, or 6307h of this title shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not more than 1 year or fined not more than— (A) $100,000; and (B) if a violation occurs in connection with a professional boxing match the gross reve- nues for which exceed $2,000,000, an addi- tional amount which bears the same ratio to $100,000 as the amount of such revenues com- pared to $2,000,000, or both. (3) Conflict of interest Any member or employee of a boxing com- mission, any person who administers or en- forces State boxing laws, and any member of the Association of Boxing Commissions who knowingly violates section 6308(a) of this title shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not more than 1 year or fined not more than $20,000, or both. (4) Boxers Any boxer who knowingly violates any pro- vision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000. (c) Actions by States Whenever the chief law enforcement officer of any State has reason to believe that a person or organization is engaging in practices which vio- late any requirement of this chapter, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents in an appropriate district court of the United States— (1) to enjoin the holding of any professional boxing match which the practice involves; (2) to enforce compliance with this chapter; (3) to obtain the fines provided under sub- section (b) or appropriate restitution; or (4) to obtain such other relief as the court may deem appropriate. (d) Private right of action Any boxer who suffers economic injury as a re- sult of a violation of any provision of this chap- ter may bring an action in the appropriate Fed- eral or State court and recover the damages suf- fered, court costs, and reasonable attorneys fees and expenses. (e) Enforcement against Federal Trade Commis- sion, State Attorneys General, etc. Nothing in this chapter authorizes the en- forcement of— (1) any provision of this chapter against the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Attorney General, or the chief legal officer of any State for acting or failing to act in an of- ficial capacity; (2) subsection (d) of this section against a State or political subdivision of a State, or any agency or instrumentality thereof; or (3) section 6307b of this title against a boxer acting in his capacity as a boxer. (Pub. L. 104–272, § 18, formerly § 10, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3312; renumbered § 18 and amended Pub. L. 106–210, §§ 4(1), 6, May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 322, 326.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 106–210, § 6(1), inserted ‘‘, other than section 6307a(b), 6307b, 6307c, 6307d, 6307e, 6307f, or 6307h of this title,’’ after ‘‘this chapter’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 106–210, § 6(3), added par. (2). Former par. (2) redesignated (3). Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 106–210, § 6(2), (4), redesig- nated pars. (2) and (3) as (3) and (4), respectively, and in par. (3) substituted ‘‘section 6308(a)’’ for ‘‘section 6308’’. Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 106–210, § 6(5), added sub- secs. (c) to (e). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1997, see section 23 of Pub. L. 104–272, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title. § 6310. Notification of supervising boxing com- mission Each promoter who intends to hold a profes- sional boxing match in a State that does not have a boxing commission shall, not later than 14 days before the intended date of that match, provide written notification to the supervising boxing commission designated under section 6303 of this title. Such notification shall contain each of the following: (1) Assurances that, with respect to that pro- fessional boxing match, all applicable require- ments of this chapter will be met. (2) The name of any person who, at the time of the submission of the notification— (A) is under suspension from a boxing com- mission; and (B) will be involved in organizing or par- ticipating in the event. (3) For any individual listed under paragraph (2), the identity of the boxing commission that