AR
Arkansas House Bill HB1917

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1917 Compare Versions

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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
2-Act 839 of the Regular Session
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43 State of Arkansas 1
54 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
65 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1917 3
76 4
87 By: Representatives M. Shepherd, Evans 5
98 By: Senator Hester 6
109 7
1110 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1211 AN ACT TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS STUDENT-ATHLETE 9
1312 PUBLICITY RIGHTS ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW RELATED TO 10
1413 ATHLETIC PROGRAM FUNDING; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11
1514 12
1615 13
1716 Subtitle 14
1817 TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS STUDENT -ATHLETE 15
1918 PUBLICITY RIGHTS ACT; AND TO AMEND THE 16
2019 LAW RELATED TO ATHLETIC PROGRAM FUNDING. 17
2120 18
2221 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 19
2322 20
2423 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code §§ 4 -75-1303 — 4-75-1305 are amended to read 21
2524 as follows: 22
2625 4-75-1303. Right to compensation. 23
2726 (a) Except as prohibited in this subchapter, a student-athlete shall 24
2827 have the right to enter into a contract and receive compensation for the 25
2928 commercial use of the student -athlete's publicity rights. 26
3029 (b) An institution of higher education, its supporting foundations, or 27
3130 its authorized entities may identify: 28
3231 (1) Identify, create, facilitate, and otherwise enable 29
3332 opportunities for a student -athlete to earn compensation for the commercial 30
3433 use of the student-athlete's publicity rights ; 31
3534 (2) Compensate a student -athlete for the commercial use of the 32
3635 student-athlete's publicity rights; and 33
3736 (3) Enter into an exclusive or nonexclusive license agreement 34
3837 with a student-athlete for the commercial use of the student -athlete's 35
3938 publicity rights. 36 HB1917
4039
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4241 (c)(1) A charitable organization that qualifies as an exempt 1
4342 organization under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), as it existed on January 1, 2023, 2
4443 shall have the right to compensate student -athletes for the commercial use of 3
4544 the student-athlete's publicity rights. 4
4645 (d) Except as provided in this subchapter or applicable federal law, 5
4746 an institution of higher education shall not uphold any rule, requirement, 6
4847 standard, or other limitation of an athletic association or athletic 7
4948 conference that prevents a student -athlete from earning compensation for the 8
5049 commercial use of the student -athlete's publicity rights An institution of 9
5150 higher education in this state may revoke or rescind an agreement or 10
5251 commitment to provide compensation, a grant -in-aid, or other benefit to a 11
5352 student-athlete who receives or agrees to receive compensation that conflicts 12
5453 with a term or condition of a contract, policy, rule, regulation, or standard 13
5554 of the student-athlete's committed or enrolled institution of higher 14
5655 education. 15
5756 (2) The institution of higher education and officers, agents, 16
5857 and employees of the institution of higher education shall not be liable for 17
5958 damages or be subjected to any injunctive relief by a court as a consequence 18
6059 of the revocation or rescission of an agreement under subdivision (c)(1) of 19
6160 this section. 20
6261 (e) Earning compensation for the commercial use of a student -athlete's 21
6362 publicity rights shall not affect the student -athlete's scholarship 22
6463 eligibility. 23
6564 (f)(d) An athletic association, athletic conference, or any other 24
6665 organization with authority over varsity intercollegiate athletics shall not: 25
6766 (1) Prevent a student -athlete from receiving compensation for 26
6867 the commercial use of the student -athlete's publicity rights under this 27
6968 subchapter; 28
7069 (2) Penalize a student -athlete for receiving compensation for 29
7170 the commercial use of the student -athlete's publicity rights under this 30
7271 subchapter unless expressly agreed by an institution of higher education as a 31
7372 condition of athletic association or conference membership or as otherwise 32
7473 provided by applicable federal law ; or 33
7574 (3) Prevent an institution of higher education from 34
7675 participating in varsity intercollegiate athletics, or otherwise penalize an 35
7776 institution of higher education, as a result of a student -athlete's receipt 36 HB1917
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8079 of compensation under this subchapter unless expressly agreed by an 1
8180 institution of higher education as a condition of athletic association or 2
8281 conference membership or as otherwise provided by applicable federal law . 3
8382 (e) Income received by a student -athlete from an institution of higher 4
8483 education as compensation for the use of his or her name, image, or likeness 5
8584 or as a percentage of institutional athletic revenue permitted by the 6
8685 institution of higher education's governing athletic association or 7
8786 conference under this subchapter is exempt from state income tax. 8
8887 (f) Personal or financial information of a student -athlete contained 9
8988 in an agreement authorized under this subchapter is confidential and not 10
9089 subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25 -19-11
9190 101 et seq. 12
9291 13
9392 4-75-1304. Conflicts. 14
9493 (a) A third-party licensee or student -athlete shall not enter into a 15
9594 contract for the commercial use of the student -athlete's publicity rights if 16
9695 the contract: 17
9796 (1) Requires the student -athlete to endorse, use, solicit, sell, 18
9897 market, advertise, promote, refer to, mention, display, or otherwise promote 19
9998 the name, image, logo, product, service, purpose, campaign, business, digital 20
10099 or physical address, or location of any third -party licensee or commercial 21
101100 entity during a varsity intercollegiate athletic practice, competition, or 22
102101 other activity without the written authorization from the student -athlete's 23
103102 committed or enrolled institution of higher education ; 24
104103 (2) Conflicts with a term or condition of a contract, policy, 25
105104 rule, regulation, or standard of the student -athlete's committed or enrolled 26
106105 institution of higher education; or 27
107106 (3) Involves the student -athlete's performance or lack of 28
108107 performance in athletic competition without the written authorization from 29
109108 the student-athlete's committed or enrolled institution of higher education . 30
110109 (b) A contract in violation of this subchapter is void and 31
111110 unenforceable. 32
112111 33
113112 4-75-1305. Representation. 34
114113 (a) An agent, athlete agent, financial advisor, or attorney who is 35
115114 providing professional representation of a student -athlete shall be licensed, 36 HB1917
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118117 as applicable, in this state. 1
119118 (b) An institution of higher education, athletic association, athletic 2
120119 conference, or other organization with authority over varsity intercollegiate 3
121120 athletics shall not prevent a student -athlete from participating in a varsity 4
122121 intercollegiate sport, or otherwise penalize a student -athlete, for obtaining 5
123122 professional representation in connection with an opportunity to earn 6
124123 compensation for the commercial use of the student -athlete's publicity 7
125124 rights. 8
126125 (c) A student-athlete may rescind a publicity rights contract with a 9
127126 third-party licensee or a contract for professional representation related to 10
128127 publicity rights without being held liable for breach of contract and with no 11
129128 obligation to return payments received before giving notice of rescission if 12
130129 the student-athlete: 13
131130 (1) Student-athlete is no longer eligible to participate in any 14
132131 varsity intercollegiate athletics program at an institution of higher 15
133132 education; or 16
134133 (2) Individual providing professional representation is not 17
135134 licensed in this state . 18
136135 19
137136 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 4 -75-1307(a)(5), concerning that the 20
138137 Arkansas Student-Athlete Publicity Rights Act does not render a student -21
139138 athlete an employee of the institution of higher education, is amended to 22
140139 read as follows: 23
141140 (5)(A) Render student-athletes employees of the institution of 24
142141 higher education based on participation in varsity intercollegiate athletic 25
143142 competition. 26
144143 (B) A student-athlete has not been and shall not be 27
145144 considered an employee of an institution of higher education, a conference, 28
146145 or an association for purposes of or as a basis for imposing liability or 29
147146 awarding damages or other monetary relief under any state law based on the 30
148147 student-athlete's receipt of compensation or of any payments or benefits, 31
149148 other than payment of hourly wages and benefits for work actually performed 32
150149 and not for participation in intercollegiate athletics, at a rate 33
151150 commensurate with the applicable rate in the locality of the institution of 34
152151 higher education for similar work or any of the following: 35
153152 (i) Participation in intercollegiate athletic 36 HB1917
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156155 competition; 1
157156 (ii) Membership on any varsity sports team; or 2
158157 (iii) Imposition of requirements, controls or 3
159158 restrictions on student -athletes by institutions of higher education, in 4
160159 connection with participation in intercollegiate athletic activities, 5
161160 practices, and competition. 6
162161 7
163162 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 4 -75-1307, concerning the scope of 8
164163 the Arkansas Student -Athlete Publicity Rights Act, is amended to add an 9
165164 additional subsection to read as follows: 10
166165 (c) Notwithstanding any provision of state law to the contrary, the 11
167166 release of or license to use purported name, image, and likeness rights or a 12
168167 name, image, and likeness agreement shall not be required from or with any 13
169168 individual or group of participants in a sports game, contest, or event or 14
170169 spectators at a sports game, contest, or event for audiovisual, audio, or 15
171170 visual broadcasts, rebroadcasts, or other distributions of the sports game, 16
172171 contest, or event. 17
173172 18
174173 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 4 -75-1308(d), concerning liability under 19
175174 the Arkansas Student -Athlete Publicity Rights Act, is amended to read as 20
176175 follows: 21
177176 (d) An institution of higher education , located within this state or 22
178177 its employees, a supporting foundation or authorized entity, an athletic 23
179178 association, a conference, or other organization with authority over varsity 24
180179 intercollegiate athletics located within this state , including athletics 25
181180 coaching staff, shall not be liable for any damages related to an subject to 26
182181 liability to a person or an entity as a result of: 27
183182 (1) An intercollegiate student -athlete's ability or inability to 28
184183 earn compensation for the use of the student -athlete's name, image, or 29
185184 likeness resulting from decisions and actions routinely taken within the 30
186185 course of their employment in related to intercollegiate athletics ; 31
187186 (2) The adoption of, agreement to, enforcement of, or compliance 32
188187 with any rule or bylaw of an association or conference that does not violate 33
189188 this subchapter limiting or prohibiting a student -athlete from receiving 34
190189 compensation from an association, conference, institution, or other person or 35
191190 entity; 36 HB1917
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194193 (3) Restricting or curtailing the eligibility for an 1
195194 intercollegiate athletics competition of a student -athlete who violates this 2
196195 subchapter or a rule of the institution of higher education, association, or 3
197196 conference implementing the requirements of this subchapter; or 4
198197 (4) Complying with an agreement, understanding, rule, or bylaw 5
199198 adopted by an institution of higher education, conference, or association or 6
200199 a combination of conferences or institutions of higher education that is 7
201200 otherwise reasonably contemplated under this subchapter . 8
202201 9
203202 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 4 -75-1308, concerning the civil remedies 10
204203 available under the Arkansas Student -Athlete Publicity Rights Act, is amended 11
205204 to add an additional subsection to read as follows: 12
206205 (e) This subchapter does not waive any immunity or statutory 13
207206 protection available to or constitutional autonomy of an institution of 14
208207 higher education located within the state or an officer, agent, or employee 15
209208 of the institution of higher education. 16
210209 17
211210 SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 6 -62-803 is amended to read as follows: 18
212211 6-62-803. Limits on funding. 19
213212 (a) For the certification required under § 6 -62-805, the amount 20
214213 allowed to be budgeted of unrestricted educational and general funds for 21
215214 intercollegiate athletic programs at a state-supported institutions 22
216215 institution of higher education shall be limited to an amount established: 23
217216 (1) Established by the Division of Higher Education for the 24
218217 fiscal year 2012-2013; or an 25
219218 (2) An amount of not more than two percent (2%) four percent 26
220219 (4%) of the actual total unrestricted educational and general revenues of the 27
221220 previous fiscal year at institutions the state-supported institution of 28
222221 higher education. 29
223222 (b) The division shall annually adjust the allowable transfer based 30
224223 upon the Consumer Price Index. 31
225224 (c) This section shall not apply to expenditures: 32
226225 (1) An expenditure related to compliance with § 6 -60-111 or 33
227226 increased compliance under 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f) , nor the; 34
228227 (2) The transfer of funds necessary to support women's athletic 35
229228 programs; or 36 HB1917
230229
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232231 (3) The transfer of funds necessary to: 1
233232 (A) Comply with federal regulations affecting athletics 2
234233 programs; or 3
235234 (B) Make up shortfalls in anticipated revenues due to 4
236235 third-party litigation settlements affecting athletics programs . 5
237236 6
238237 SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. Arkansas Code § 4 -75-1303(e) of Section 1 7
239238 of this act is effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. 8
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242-APPROVED: 4/17/25 11
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