Youth Sports for All Act.

Assembly Members McKinnor and Quirk-Silva, joined by a coauthor, anchor a proposal to create a temporary, state-level, centralized framework for youth-sports governance that would convene a Blue Ribbon Commission to study the need for and feasibility of a centralized entity to support and regulate youth sports. The centerpiece is a commissioned, time-limited examination designed to inform future policy—whether through new licensing, safety standards, and cross-agency coordination or other mechanisms—contingent on funding and culminating in a formal report to the Legislature and the Governor by early 2028, with the entire article set to sunset in 2033 unless extended.

The Commission would be established and convened by the State Public Health Officer and would include ten Governor appointments, three appointments from the Senate Rules Committee, and three from the Assembly Speaker, with the Public Health Officer and a Commission-appointed co-chair. Members would possess expertise in areas such as convening organizations to address barriers, designing equitable access strategies, community-based youth development, disability-inclusive programs, publicly operated youth programs, research-informed knowledge, and engagement with youth, families, and equity-focused groups. Meetings would occur at least quarterly, records would be kept, and meetings would be open to the public; members would serve without compensation but could be reimbursed for travel and expenses. The Commission would be empowered to contract with external entities to conduct the study and would solicit public feedback before finalizing its work.

The bill creates a dedicated funding framework to support the Commission, establishing the Youth Sports Blue Ribbon Commission Fund in the State Treasury and a Special Fund Subaccount to receive federal, nonprofit, or private monies. Expenditures would occur only upon legislative appropriation, with subaccount funds continuously appropriated to the department for implementing the article. Implementation is contingent on an appropriation or on sufficient external funds, and the article would remain in effect only until January 1, 2033. The Commission’s study would cover whether a centralized entity could improve access to youth sports regardless of race, sex, disability, income, or geography; how to foster safe, inclusive environments; how to integrate regular physical activity through afterschool and community programs; the potential for statewide coaching certification and safety requirements; strategies to improve access and equity across competitive and noncompetitive sports; mechanisms to reduce financial barriers to participation; and coordination with state, local, and federal entities, including mechanisms to identify duplication and data gaps. The department may enter into contracts to conduct the study, and the final report must be delivered to the Legislature and Governor with certain formatting and timing requirements, including adherence to Government Code reporting standards.

Context for implementation and governance highlights the bill’s findings that there is a perceived lack of standards and certification for coaching, concerns about health and safety, and fragmentation within the current system, alongside disparities in participation and barriers such as cost and facility access. The bill’s authors articulate that a centralized entity could align standards, invest in youth-sports infrastructure, and promote equity and access, drawing on the 2024 Play Equity Report and related concerns. While the bill does not itself amend existing requirements such as automated external defibrillator provisions or volunteer-background checks, it signals a future regulatory pathway that would depend on the Commission’s findings and subsequent legislative action, subject to the funding and sunset constraints that shape the article’s timeline.