GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2011

S                                                                                                                                                     1

SENATE BILL 224

Short Title:        Professional Sports Agents/College Athletes.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Senators Dannelly;  Allran, Atwater, D. Berger, Bingham, Clodfelter, Davis, Forrester, Garrou, Jenkins, Jones, Kinnaird, Mansfield, McKissick, Purcell, Robinson, Vaughan, Walters, and White.
Referred to:	Rules and Operations of the Senate.

March 7, 2011

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to make it unlawful for any person acting as, for, or on behalf of a professional sports team or agent to contact any team member, athlete, coach, or member of a coaching staff for the purposes of recruiting a student athlete prior to the end of the last season of the sport in which the student athlete is eligible to play.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 51 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 14-379.1. Unlawful contact with a student athlete by a professional sports team or agent.

It shall be unlawful for any person acting as, for, or on behalf of a professional sports team or agent to contact any team member, athlete, coach, or member of a coaching staff for the purposes of recruiting a student athlete prior to the end of the last season of the sport in which the student athlete is eligible to play. A person violating this section shall be guilty of a Class I felony and shall pay a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and be imprisoned for a period of time not less than 30 days."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2011, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.