Title 19 Part 206

No combative sport or professional wrestling contest or exhibition shall be held within this State except in accordance with law and the rules of the commission.

At all contests and exhibitions taking place within the State of New York and within the jurisdiction of the commission, each commissioner and each deputy or acting deputy shall have the full power to act on behalf of the commission to interpret, construe, and fully enforce all the rules of the commission and each such commission official has the power and authority to immediately suspend, without prior notice, any license for any violation of the rules of the commission or of the laws of this State. Commission staff shall be deemed acting deputies of the commissioners for purposes of this section whenever on duty at a combative sport or professional wrestling contest or exhibition held within the State of New York.

The representative of the commission in charge of any professional boxing or professional mixed martial arts contest or exhibition shall have complete authority, subject only to the direction of the commission or a higher-ranking representative of the commission acting on behalf of the commission, over all phases of the weigh-in, over all entrances to the site of the event, including press and pass entrances and entrances for participants, officials, and employees; the ring and ringside, including press, radio, and television accommodations; over all the dressing rooms of participants and officials; the counting and accounting for all tickets, including working press, complimentary, participants', officials', and employees' tickets; the collection of proof of all required insurance premium payments and policies; the documenting and reporting of all accidents, injuries, and illnesses affecting persons subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, whether or not insurance coverage is involved; the collection of all fees, including special license fees, and other monies due the State; the actions of all other commission representatives assigned to the event; the payment of purses and other monies due and payable to participants and fees and expenses due and payable to officials; and in general over all matters under the jurisdiction of the commission. Nothing in this rule shall be construed to modify the obligations of the commission or its representatives when acting as agents of the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance under article 19 of the Tax Law.

In case of the termination of any contest or exhibition under the jurisdiction of the commission by disqualification of one or more of the participants, as well as in other circumstances where such action shall be deemed appropriate by him or her, the commission representative in charge shall have the authority to impound all monies otherwise due the alleged offending party or parties pending action on the matter by the commission.

The commission may suspend any license, permit or other authorization it has issued by a dated notice to that effect to the suspended party, mailed or delivered to the party at the party’s last known address on file with the commission, and specifying the effective date and term of the suspension, provided however that the commission representative in charge of a contest or exhibition may then and there temporarily suspend any license issued by the commission without such notice. In the event of a temporary suspension, the commission shall mail or deliver the notice to the suspended licensee within three business days after the temporary suspension. Suspension may be without any advance hearing. Upon the receipt of such notice of suspension, the suspended licensee may apply to the commission for a hearing on the matter to determine whether such suspension should be rescinded. Such application for a hearing must be in writing and must be received by the commission within 30 days after the date of service of the notice of suspension.

The commission shall have the authority to revoke any license, permit or other authorization issued by it. Before any license is so revoked, the licensee, permit holder or otherwise authorized person or entity will be offered the opportunity at a hearing held by or on behalf of the commission to show cause why the license, permit or other authorization should not be revoked.

The commission shall have the authority to fine any licensee, permit holder, or otherwise authorized person or entity by a dated notice to the fined party, mailed or delivered to the party at the party’s last known address on file with the commission, and specifying the effective date of such fine. Such fine may be ordered without any advance hearing. Upon the receipt of such notice of fine, the fined party may request a hearing on the matter before the commission to show cause why the fine should be modified or rescinded. Such application for a hearing must be in writing and must be received by the commission within 30 days after the date of service of the notice of fine. When a fine has been imposed upon a party, his or her license, permit or other authorization may, in the discretion of the commission, be suspended until such fine has been paid.

Nothing in these rules shall be construed to limit the authority of the commission to supervise and discipline licensees, permit holders, or otherwise authorized persons and entities, in its discretion pursuant to law.

The commission, in its discretion, may recognize and enforce within its jurisdiction, disciplinary sanctions, disqualifications and retirements imposed by other authorities. Except as may otherwise be required by Federal law, such recognition and enforcement shall be in each instance subject to petition to the commission by the affected person(s). The commission shall thereupon inquire into the merits of the case to an extent which the commission, in its sole discretion, may decide. The commission will thereafter, without formal proceedings, render a final decision in accordance with the substantial equities as these shall appear to the commission in its sole discretion.

All contracts calling for the services of a professional boxer or professional mixed martial artist in an authorized professional combative sport match or exhibition to be held in the State of New York and entered into by licensed promoters, professionals or managers as one or more of the parties in such contracts shall be subject to commission approval and must be filed with the commission to be valid. All such contracts must comply with applicable provisions of New York State and Federal law. The commission shall have the authority, in its discretion, to act to invalidate, enforce, mediate, arbitrate or modify such contracts. All contracts directly related to the conduct of professional boxing activity in the State of New York must also comply with the applicable requirements of the Federal Professional Boxing Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 6301, et seq .), as amended.

The commission shall have the authority to inquire into the affairs of licensees, permit holders and other authorized persons or entities, and into any matter which may affect combative sports or professional wrestling in New York in its discretion and without limitations. Licensees, permit holders, and otherwise authorized persons or entities shall cooperate fully with inquiries by the commission.

The commission shall offer the opportunity for a hearing before taking any final action negatively affecting any person's individual privileges or property granted by a license, permit or other authorization duly issued by the commission or a contract approved by and filed with the commission. In all such hearings, licensees and other witnesses shall testify under oath or affirmation, which may be administered by any commissioner or authorized representative of the commission actually present. The commission shall be the sole judge of the relevancy and competency of testimony and other evidence, the credibility of witnesses, and the sufficiency of evidence, and shall issue the final determination of the matter. Hearings may be conducted and presided over by the commission, representatives of the commission, or by administrative law judges within the Department of State’s Office of Administrative Hearings, in the discretion of the commission. In such cases where hearings are conducted by commission representatives or administrative law judges, the representative or administrative law judge conducting the hearing shall submit findings of fact and recommendations to the commission, which shall not be binding on the commission, for consideration and confirmation, modification, remand for additional proceedings, or rejection.

All commission bulletins and notices to any licensee, permit holder or otherwise authorized person or entity shall be addressed and sent to such licensee at the registered address of such licensee. The registered address of any licensee shall be his or her address or email address as specified in his or her application for a license, and in the event any licensee changes his or her address or email address, he or she shall promptly file with the commission an appropriate change-of-address rider or amendment to such application. All licensees are bound by the notices and bulletins sent to their registered addresses, and the commission need not entertain any plea or request based upon a contention that such notice or bulletin was not sent to any other address of the licensee. Licensees shall be deemed to have received proper notice of commission bulletins and notices so distributed.

A business entity licensee shall notify the commission immediately of any changes to the officers, responsible parties or directors listed in the entity’s license application by filing an amendment thereto with the commission.

All applications, records or other papers and documents filed or submitted to the commission or to the medical advisory board or at any hearing, become the property of the commission, except that any such paper or document filed with or submitted to the commission in its role as agent of the Commissioner of Taxation and Finance shall be furnished to such commissioner. In addition, all disclosures made to the commission shall be considered disclosures to the State of New York, but shall be confidential and shall not be subject to public disclosure.

All the books and records of any licensee of this commission, which directly or indirectly concern combative sports or professional wrestling, shall, at all times, be subject to the inspection of the commission at such times and under such circumstances as the commission may direct. Licensees shall not destroy records relating to licensed activities conducted within the State of New York for the purpose of obstructing or interfering with a commission inspection or inquiry.

All medical reports submitted to, and all medical records of, the medical advisory board or the commission, relative to the physical examination or condition of combative sports participants and professional wrestlers, shall be confidential, and shall be open to examination only by the commission or its authorized representatives, by the subject combatant or the subject wrestler or his or her authorized representative upon his or her written application therefor, or upon the order of a court of competent jurisdiction in an appropriate case.

Should any provision of these commission regulations be declared by a court to be unconstitutional, or unauthorized, or in conflict with any other superseding section or provision of law, such decision shall affect only that section or provision so declared to be unconstitutional or unauthorized and shall not affect any other section or provision of these regulations.

A decision by the commission, to deny, suspend, or revoke an application, license or certificate issued or to otherwise discipline a licensee, permit holder, or other authorized person or entity pursuant to this Part shall be reviewable pursuant to article 78 of the New York Civil Practice and Rules Law.