PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION
[58 PA. CODE CH. 21]
HIV Testing Requirements
[27 Pa.B. 2555] The State Athletic Commission (SAC) proposes to amend Chapter 21 (relating to professional boxing) to require that professional boxers and kickboxers submit, as part of their annual application for licensure, a report from a licensed medical laboratory or a facility operated by the Department of Health (Department) that the applicant has tested negative for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The test is required to have been initiated no more than 60 days prior to the date of application. The proposed amendment to Chapter 21 is set forth in Annex A.
Purpose
The purpose of this proposed amendment is to protect boxers and kickboxers from being infected with HIV during contests or exhibitions. In professional boxing and kickboxing events, there are open wounds and bleeding, and bodily fluids are frequently sprayed around the ring. Boxers wear minimal clothing and are in constant physical contact with each other. While SAC is unable to determine the probability of transmitting HIV at professional boxing events, contracting HIV can be fatal and there is no known cure.
Statutory Authority
SAC's authority to promulgate the amendment is set forth in 5 Pa.C.S. §§ 101--2110 (relating to Athletic Code) (code). In particular, the following sections of the code are applicable to this proposed rulemaking: section 910(a) (relating to standards for issuance of licenses and permits); section 103(b) (relating to duties of Commission); section 105(8) (relating to powers and duties of Executive Director); section 501 (relating to Medical Advisory Board); section 701 (relating to boxing regulated); section 901 (relating to power of the Commission to issue, withhold, suspend or revoke licenses and permits); and section 912(3) (relating to applications for licenses and permits).
Fiscal Impact
The 400 professional boxers and 40 kickboxers licensed in this Commonwealth will be required to visit a licensed medical laboratory or a Department facility and be tested for HIV. Boxers and kickboxers who test positively for HIV will not be able to submit a license application and obtain an annual license.
Costs
Assuming 70% of licensees (308 individuals) who would not otherwise do so avail themselves of Department tests, at $4 per test, it will cost the Department an additional $1,232 in the first year. If a test is positive, a confirmation test must be performed at a cost of approximately $34 per test. The Department statistics reveal approximately 1.5% of initial tests are positive. Consequently, if 308 tests are performed by the Department, approximately five additional confirmation tests would need to be performed at a total cost of $170. The 308 additional tests that will be performed for SAC licensees represents about 1.2% of the approximately 26,420 total HIV tests performed for the 1995-calendar year by the Department.
During the first year of implementation, SAC's staff will have to dedicate additional time helping licensees adjust to the new requirement. However, SAC does not anticipate adding staff to implement the proposed amendment. Consequently, the only incremental cost is the printing of a one-page form that will accompany the renewal application which will be used to certify that the licensed medical laboratory or Department facility checked the identity of the licensee before taking the blood sample. The cost to develop and duplicate the form will be less than $200.
Benefits
Although not all individuals who contract HIV subsequently develop Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the occurrence of AIDS in HIV positive persons is invariably fatal. SAC was unable to determine the probability of an athlete's contracting HIV at a boxing or kickboxing match. For those reasons, it is difficult to put a monetary value on preventing HIV-infected licensees from participating in events.
Assuming that an individual who tested positive for HIV has an increased risk of developing AIDS and would therefore require extensive medical treatment, one empirical measure of the benefits of reducing the transmission of HIV is the avoided medical costs of caring for a person with AIDS. The Department reports that it costs private agencies that are supported by the Commonwealth about $120,000 to care for a patient in the advanced stages of AIDS. Most boxers do not have large annual incomes from boxing or other employment. Therefore, they are likely to require public support for AIDS treatment. Consequently, if this proposed amendment prevents one individual from contracting HIV from an applicant with HIV, which then develops into AIDS, then the savings in medical treatment alone would exceed the cost of administering this proposed amendment over several decades.
A secondary benefit could derive from changes in individuals' behavior. If an applicant who would not otherwise be tested for the virus, learns that he has contracted HIV, that individual would then be able to modify his conduct in order to decrease the probability of infecting other individuals. Increased self-awareness of an HIV-positive individual's status could benefit the community at large.
Paperwork Requirements
Applicants for annual renewal of a boxing license currently must complete a form that consists of 19 simple questions and is less than one page in length. As a result of this proposed amendment, applicants will be required to attach to the application a one-page laboratory report provided by the laboratory and a form signed by the laboratory indicating that the laboratory confirmed the identity of the applicant before the test was administered. This form will be provided to applicants along with the annual application form.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), SAC submitted a copy of this proposed amendment on May 12, 1997, to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Committees on State Government. In addition to submitting the proposed amendment, SAC has provided IRRC and the Committees with a copy of a detailed Regulatory Analysis Form prepared by SAC in compliance with Executive Order 1996-1, ''Regulatory Review and Promulgation.'' A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
If IRRC has objections to any portion of the proposed amendment, it will notify SAC within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The notification shall specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met by that portion. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the regulation, by SAC, the General Assembly and the Governor of objections raised.
Sunset Review
HIV is a constantly changing virus and medications to control or eliminate the virus may be available in the future. SAC, together with the Department and SAC's Medical Advisory Committee, will continue to monitor the risks posed by HIV. If, in the future, HIV transmission in a boxing context is no longer considered to be a serious health risk, SAC will act immediately to suspend enforcement of this regulation and initiate a rulemaking to delete.
Public Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions or objections to Gregory Sirb, Executive Director, State Athletic Commission, 116 Pine Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101. Comments, suggestions or objections must be received within 30 days of publication of this proposed amendment.
GREGORY SIRB,
Executive DirectorFiscal Note: 16-13. (1) General Fund; (2) Implementing Year 1996-97 is $minimal; (3) 1st Succeeding Year 1997-98 is $minimal; 2nd Succeeding Year 1998-99 is $minimal; 3rd Succeeding Year 1999-00 is $minimal; 4th Succeeding Year 2000-01 is $minimal; 5th Succeeding Year 2001-02 is $minimal; (4) Fiscal Year 1995-96 $198,862; Fiscal Year 1994-95 $188,330; Fiscal Year 1993-94 $195,141; (7) Athletic Commission Augmentation Account; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 58. RECREATION
PART I. STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION
SUBPART B. BOXING
CHAPTER 21. PROFESSIONAL BOXING § 21.8. Boxers.
(a) Professional boxers shall be licensed by the Commission. The Commission will not license or renew any license of a professional boxer unless the license application is accompanied by a report from a Department of Health facility, a laboratory possessing a permit from the Department of Health under 28 Pa. Code § 15.11 (relating to permit, requirements, application and conditions) or a report from a laboratory licensed in another jurisdiction that meets the requirements of 28 Pa. Code § 15.11, and is acceptable to the Commission, which indicates that the applicant has been tested for any virus, antibody, antigen or etiologic agent determined to cause or indicate the presence of human immunodeficiency virus and the results of those tests were negative. The tests shall have been initiated no more than 60 days prior to the date of filing the application. A boxer whose application for license has been denied has the right to a hearing before the Commission under 2 Pa.C.S. (relating to administrative law and procedure). The applicant shall apply, in writing, to the Commission requesting a hearing at which time the Commission will conduct a hearing within 10 business days from the receipt of the written request.
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[Pa.B. Doc. No. 97-830. Filed for public inspection May 23, 1997, 9:00 a.m.]
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