(a) There is created the Tennessee athletic commission. Notwithstanding § 4-3-1304(a), the Tennessee athletic commission shall be attached to the division of regulatory boards within the department of commerce and insurance for all administrative and supervisory purposes, including, but not limited to, matters relating to receipts, disbursements, budget, audit, and other similarly related administrative items.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-115-103

  • Amateur: means a person who has never competed in an unarmed combat sport competition or contest for any purse or item of value, other than for a prize or item of value that does not exceed fifty dollars ($50. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Boxing: means unarmed combat to compete with the fists. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Commission: means the Tennessee athletic commission. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Commissioner: means any member of the Tennessee athletic commission. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Contest: means an unarmed combat sport competition or exhibition in which at least one (1) of the combatants is a professional or has previously competed as a professional in this state or any other state or in which licensed combatants compete for a purse or item of value greater than that amount authorized pursuant to subdivision (1) for an amateur event. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Department: means the department of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Event: means an amateur event in which amateurs, as defined in this section, compete in an unarmed combat sport competition in accordance with this chapter. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Mixed martial arts: means unarmed combat using a combination of techniques from different disciplines of the martial arts, including kicking, wrestling and striking, subject to applicable limitations set forth in this chapter and rules promulgated by the commission. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Professional: means a person who competes or has competed in an unarmed combat sport contest for the purpose of a purse or item of value greater than that amount authorized for an amateur event, or any person who has been previously licensed in any other jurisdiction as a professional. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Promoter: means any person who produces, stages or sponsors any professional contest of unarmed combat. See Tennessee Code 68-115-102
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The entire membership of the commission as comprised on December 31, 2015, shall be vacated on January 1, 2016, and five (5) new members shall be appointed in accordance with subsection (c).
(c) The commission shall be composed of the following members:

(1) One (1) member shall be a public member, to be appointed by the governor;
(2) Two (2) of the members shall have knowledge of and experience in boxing, with one (1) of the members to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and one (1) of the members to be appointed by the governor. The member first appointed to fill a vacancy arising from the expiration of a member’s term after January 1, 2016, shall be appointed to a term of three (3) years; and
(3) Two (2) of the members shall have knowledge of and experience in mixed martial arts, with one (1) of the members to be appointed by the speaker of the senate and one (1) of the members to be appointed by the governor.
(d) Except as provided in subdivision (c)(2), a member’s term of office shall be four (4) years.
(e) All commission members shall be resident citizens of this state, and at least one (1) member of the commission shall reside in each grand division.
(f) In making appointments to the commission, the governor and the speakers of the senate and the house of representatives shall strive to ensure that the commission is representative of the state’s geographic and demographic diversity, with appropriate attention to the representation of women and minorities.
(g) In making appointments to the commission, the appointing authorities shall be provided written proof of experience by all candidates for membership on the commission.
(h) A member of the commission who is appointed to an initial term of three (3) years or less in accordance with subdivision (c)(2) may be reappointed for up to one (1) additional four-year term. Members whose initial appointments are for four (4) years and members who have been reappointed to a four-year term shall not be reappointed for one (1) year following the date upon which the member’s term expires.
(i) Three (3) members of the commission shall constitute a quorum, and any official action of the commission shall require the concurrence of at least a quorum.
(j) No member of the commission or any member of a commissioner‘s immediate family shall, at any time during the commissioner’s service as a member of the commission or for one (1) year after the commissioner’s term expires or the commissioner resigns as a member, be employed by a promoter of or promote any professional contest, or have any financial interest in the promotion or sponsorship of a professional contest. This subsection (j) shall not apply to immediate family members who compete as combatants in a professional contest or who may compete as amateurs in an amateur event if regulated by the commission pursuant to § 68-115-213.
(k) No member of the commission shall receive any complimentary tickets, nor shall any member of a commissioner’s immediate family receive any complimentary tickets, for professional contests.
(l) Commission members shall be considered officials in the executive branch, as defined in § 3-6-301.
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