BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                     AB 7|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 7
          Author:   Huffman (D), et al
          Amended:  4/7/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  5-1, 5/5/10
          AYES:  Romero, Alquist, Hancock, Price, Simitian
          NOES:  Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Huff, Liu

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  Not relevant


           SUBJECT  :    High School Baseball Safety Act of 2010

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :     Senate Floor Amendments  of 4/7/10 deleted the  
          entire bill dealing with the Political Reform Act of 1974.

          As amended, this bill enacts the High School Baseball  
          Safety Act of 2010. This bill prohibits the use of  
          nonwooden baseball bats during practice and competitive  
          games at private and public high schools in California.   
          The provisions of the bill sunset on January 1, 2012, to  
          coincide with the implementation of new baseball bat  
          standards.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law gives the governing board of a  
          school district general control of, and responsibility for,  
          all aspects of interscholastic athletic policies, programs,  
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          and activities in its district, and requires the governing  
          board to ensure that all interscholastic policies,  
          programs, and activities in its district are in compliance  
          with state and federal law.

          Existing law prohibits participants in high school  
          interscholastic football from wearing football helmets that  
          are not certified for use by the National Operating  
          Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment or another  
          recognized certifying agency in the field.

          This bill enacts the High School Baseball Safety Act of  
          2010.  The bill would express findings and declarations of  
          the Legislature regarding the safety implications of the  
          use of nonwooden bats in high school baseball.  The bill,  
          until July 1, 2014, prohibits the use of a nonwood baseball  
          bat at a private or public high school competitive baseball  
          game or practice or during a physical education class or  
          activity conducted at a private or public high school.

          This bill contains the following Legislative findings:

          1. On March 11, 2010, 16-year-old Gunnar Sandberg, a  
             pitcher for Marin Catholic High School in Marin County,  
             was struck in the head by a line-drive hit from a metal  
             bat, and suffered severe head injuries that required  
             emergency brain surgery.

          2. The recent tragedy involving Gunnar Sandberg is not an  
             isolated incident.  In recent years, there have been  
             numerous incidents of serious injury and even death  
             involving baseball pitchers who were struck in the head  
             by balls hit with metal bats.

          3. Historically, and continuing to the present day at the  
             professional level, baseball has been played with wooden  
             bats.  Beginning in approximately the 1970s, aluminum  
             bats began to appear as a popular alternative to wood  
             bats, and in recent years nonwooden bats have become  
             commonplace at these levels of competition.  Advances in  
             baseball bat design, including the materials and  
             technology used, have resulted in bats that far  
             outperform traditional wood bats.








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          4. There is substantial evidence that baseballs struck with  
             these advanced nonwooden bats travel at faster  
             velocities, leaving pitchers less time to respond to  
             balls that are hit at them and increasing the likelihood  
             of serious injury.  In 2009, the NCAA enacted a  
             moratorium on the use of composite barreled bats until  
             2011. According to the National Collegiate Athletic  
             Association (NCAA), this moratorium is necessary to  
             protect the integrity of the game and to enhance the  
             safety of the student athletes.

          5. In California and throughout the country, there are  
             growing concerns that these advanced nonwooden bats  
             present an unacceptable safety risk to pitchers.  These  
             concerns are especially acute at the high school level.  
             Many members of the baseball community, as well as  
             independent experts, have called for a ban on nonwooden  
             bats.  Some also suggest that protective headgear for  
             pitchers should be required.

          6. In response to the Sandberg tragedy, the Marin County  
             Athletic League voted on March 25, 2010, to suspend the  
             use of nonwooden bats for the rest of the 2010 baseball  
             season, and called on other high school athletic  
             officials to do the same.

          7. A statewide moratorium on the use of nonwooden bats in  
             high school baseball for three years is an appropriate  
             precautionary measure.  The sport of baseball will not  
             be harmed or compromised by the use of traditional wood  
             bats during this period.  It is the intent of the  
             Legislature that, during this three-year moratorium,  
             sports officials and members of the baseball community  
             should actively consider and evaluate strategies to  
             ensure player safety, including, but not limited to, the  
             materials and performance standards for baseball bats  
             and the possibility of protective headgear.

          8. The Legislature notes that nonwooden bats are prohibited  
             at the major and minor league levels, and baseball is a  
             game of traditions, which suggests that consideration  
             should be given to whether the use of nonwooden bats is  
             consistent with the traditions and highest standards of  
             the game.







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          The provisions of the bill sunset on January 1, 2012, to  
          coincide with the implementation of new baseball bat  
          standards.

           Background
           
          The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is a  
          voluntary organization of school principals, school board  
          members, school superintendents and school athletics  
          directors.  There are 10 CIF Sections (regional governance  
          structure).  The CIF operates under statewide bylaws, and  
          school districts and local CIF Sections develop their own  
          Section bylaws that are under the umbrella of the state  
          bylaws. 

          The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is  
          conducting tests to measure the performance of baseball  
          bats.  Baseball bats that meet NCAA performance standards  
          are allowed for use in high schools in California.  The CIF  
          does not conduct their own performance tests purportedly  
          due to a lack of funding.

           New NCAA standards will apply to high schools in 2012  .  In  
          2009, the National Federation of State High School  
          Associations adopted a rule change that will require all  
          baseball bats used by high school baseball teams to meet  
          the Ball-Bat Coefficient of Restitution performance  
          standard beginning in January 1, 2012.  The CIF typically  
          follows rules for baseball adopted by the National  
          Federation of State High School Associations, and as such,  
          bats used in high school baseball in California will be  
          required to meet BBCOR performance standards beginning  
          January 1, 2012.  

           Local action regarding non-wood bats  .  The Marin County  
          Athletic League and the Bay Counties League have imposed a  
          moratorium on non-wood bats for the remainder of the  
          current baseball season.  The North Coast Section (of CIF)  
          recently opted not to impose a moratorium on non-wood bats  
          for the playoffs because the entire regular season was  
          played using non-wood bats, and apparently did not feel the  
          safety of pupils was at a significantly greater risk by  
          using non-wood bats.  However, some expect the North Coast  







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          Section to revisit this issue before the beginning of the  
          next regular season.  As these local moratoriums indicate,  
          state law does not preclude individual teams, leagues or  
          sections from imposing moratoriums or bans on non-wood  
          bats.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/12/10)

          American Nurses Association of California
          California Academy of Physician Assistants
          California Orthopedic Association
          Consumer Attorneys of California

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  5/12/10)

          American Amateur Baseball Congress
          American Legion Baseball
          Babe Ruth Baseball
          Little League Baseball
          National Collegiate Athletic Association
          PONY International
          Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association
          USA Baseball

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          "on March 11, 2010, a 16-year old Marin Catholic High  
          School pitcher was struck in the head by a baseball hit  
          with an aluminum bat.  Witnesses and baseball experts  
          estimate that the ball was traveling in excess of 100 mph,  
          leaving the pitcher with virtually no time to react.  This  
          tragedy is the latest in a growing number of incidents  
          involving injuries to pitchers from performance-enhancing  
          metal bats."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The Sporting Goods  
          Manufacturers Association states in opposition, "?what  
          prompted this discussion was the batted-ball injury  
          suffered by Gunnar Sandberg (from Marin Catholic High  
          School) on March 11.  The baseball industry's thoughts and  
          prayers remain with Gunner and his family.  It was a tragic  
          accident, to say the least.  







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          "Right now, high school (and college) baseball bats right  
          now are produced to the BESR (Ball Exit Speed Ratio)  
          standard, though that bat standard is being changed to the  
          more restrictive BBCOR standard -- beginning on January 1,  
          2011 for college baseball and on January 1, 2012 for high  
          school baseball.

          "In the proposed legislation to ban non-wood bats by  
          California State Assemblyman Jared Huffman, he is  
          requesting that tests on bats should be conducted so that  
          safer standards can be established on non-wood bats.  I'm  
          pleased to inform you that USA Baseball, the national  
          governing body of amateur baseball in the United States, is  
          in the midst of testing non-wood bats.  The process is  
          currently taking place at Brown University under the  
          direction of Dr. Trey Crisco.  The bats to be tested will  
          range from bats used by Little Leaguers (youth bats) to  
          bats used by college players.   

          "In the meantime, there has been a great deal of research  
          done in recent years on the 'wood vs. non-wood' baseball  
          bat issue which bears further consideration."  
           
          USA Baseball also states in opposition that, "As a parent,  
          the emotion and pain of the incident involving Gunnar  
          Sandberg is not lost on me.  However, within the past weeks  
          two professional baseball players (wood bats) were involved  
          in similar incidents (Rudy Lugo, AAA Pitcher on April 24th  
          struck by a line drive in the temple and listed in serious  
          condition, and Pittsburgh Pirates' Pitcher Chris  
          Jakubauskas was hit in the face on the same day in a Major  
          League Game and subsequently hospitalized).

          "The National Federation of State High School Associations,  
          in close cooperation with the NCAA has mandated the use of  
          baseball bats that are subject to performance specific  
          standards.  Additionally, the NCAA and NFSHA will be  
          enacting new standards (the NCAA in January, 2011 and the  
          NFSHA in January 2012) that will further govern (limit) bat  
          standards. As a result of these bat standards it is the  
          opinion of USA Baseball that such legislation as proposed  
          in Assembly Bill No. 7 is not warranted or necessary."








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          RJG:nl  5/12/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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