--- title: HB 391. Professions and businesses; certain boxing, wrestling, and martial art associations and federations; change certain provisions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb391 cite_as: HB 391, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb391 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb391.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb391/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70192 date: 2025-04-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb390.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb392.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 235 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb391.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 391 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-11 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Brent Cox - Alan Powell - Rick Jasperse - Buddy DeLoach - Dale Washburn text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB391/2025 upstream_id: 1965818 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - combat sports regulation - martial arts - kickboxing - amateur athletics - professional licensing --- # HB 391. Professions and businesses; certain boxing, wrestling, and martial art associations and federations; change certain provisions ## Text 25 LC 55 0443 House Bill 391 By: Representatives Cox of the 28th, Powell of the 33rd, Jasperse of the 11th, DeLoach of the 167th, and Washburn of the 144th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, re lating to professions and1 businesses, so as to change certain provisions relating to cert ain boxing, wrestling, and2 martial art associations and federations; to revise a definition; to change the applicability of3 certain provisions as to matches, contests, or exhibitions; to provide for related matters; to4 repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to professions and businesses,8 is amended in Code Section 43-4B-1, relating to definitions, by revising paragraph (1) as9 follows:10 "(1) 'Amateur,' when applied to a person engaged in boxing, wrestling, or a martial art,11 means a person who receives no compensation and engages in a ma tch, contest, or12 exhibition of boxing, wrestling, or a martial art that is governed or authorized by:13 (A) U.S.A. Boxing;14 (B) The Georgia High School Athletic Association;15 (C) The National Collegiate Athletic Association;16 H. B. 391 - 1 - 25 LC 55 0443 (D) Amateur Athletic Union;17 (E) Golden Gloves;18 (F) Team Georgia Amateur Wrestling;19 (G) USA Wrestling;20 (H) National High School Coaches Association;21 (I) North American Sport Karate Association;22 (J) International Sport Kick Boxing/Karate Association;23 (K) World Kick Boxing Association;24 (L) United States Kick Boxing Association;25 (M) International Sport Combat Federation;26 (N)(J) Professional Karate Commission; or27 (O) International Kick Boxing Federation; or28 (P)(K) The local affiliate of any organization listed in this paragraph."29 SECTION 2.30 Said title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 43-4B-2, relating to31 application of provisions of such chapter, as follows:32 "(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to apply to any match, contest,33 or exhibition:34 (1) In which the contestants are all amateurs; and35 (2) Which is governed or authorized by:36 (A) U.S.A. Boxing;37 (B) The Georgia High School Athletic Association;38 (C) The National Collegiate Athletic Association;39 (D) Amateur Athletic Union;40 (E) Golden Gloves;41 (F) Team Georgia Amateur Wrestling;42 H. B. 391 - 2 - 25 LC 55 0443 (G) USA Wrestling;43 (H) National High School Coaches Association;44 (I) North American Sport Karate Association;45 (J) International Sport Kick Boxing/Karate Association;46 (K) World Kick Boxing Association;47 (L) United States Kick Boxing Association;48 (M) International Sport Combat Federation;49 (N)(J) Professional Karate Commission; or50 (O) International Kick Boxing Federation; or51 (P)(K) The local affiliate of any organization listed in this paragraph."52 SECTION 3.53 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.54 H. B. 391 - 3 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. House Bill 391 would shorten the list of martial arts and kickboxing organizations whose amateur matches are exempt from Georgia's combat sports regulation law, removing several kickboxing and karate federations from that list. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law (O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 4B) regulates boxing, wrestling, and martial arts matches, but exempts amateur contests governed by certain recognized organizations, such as USA Boxing, the Georgia High School Athletic Association, and USA Wrestling. Currently the list of recognized organizations also includes several kickboxing and karate groups, including the North American Sport Karate Association, the International Sport Kick Boxing/Karate Association, the World Kick Boxing Association, the United States Kick Boxing Association, the International Sport Combat Federation, and the International Kick Boxing Federation. This bill removes those six organizations from both the definition of 'amateur' in O.C.G.A. § 43-4B-1 and the list of organizations whose matches are exempt from state regulation in O.C.G.A. § 43-4B-2. It keeps the Professional Karate Commission and local affiliates of the remaining listed organizations on the exempt list. The bill does not include a special effective date, so it would take effect under Georgia's standard rules once signed. ### What it does - Removes six kickboxing and karate organizations, including the North American Sport Karate Association and the International Kick Boxing Federation, from the legal definition of an 'amateur' fighter in O.C.G.A. § 43-4B-1. - Removes the same six organizations from the list of groups whose amateur matches are exempt from state combat sports regulation under O.C.G.A. § 43-4B-2. - Keeps the Professional Karate Commission and its local affiliates on the list of organizations whose amateur matches remain exempt from regulation. - Narrows which sanctioning bodies can classify a kickboxing, karate, or martial arts contestant as an unpaid amateur under Georgia law. ### Who it affects Amateur kickboxers, karate practitioners, and mixed martial artists in Georgia; event promoters and gyms that host matches under the affected organizations; and the state agency that regulates boxing, wrestling, and martial arts matches under Title 43, Chapter 4B. ### Why it matters Matches sanctioned by the six removed organizations would no longer automatically qualify for the amateur exemption, meaning those events could become subject to Georgia's combat sports licensing and oversight requirements that currently apply to professional or non-exempt contests. ### Key provisions - Section 1 rewrites the definition of 'amateur' in O.C.G.A. § 43-4B-1, dropping five organizations (paragraphs I through M) from the list of bodies that can govern an exempt amateur match. - Section 1 also removes the International Kick Boxing Federation (former paragraph O) from that same definition while keeping the Professional Karate Commission and local affiliates. - Section 2 makes the identical changes to O.C.G.A. § 43-4B-2, which lists the organizations whose amateur matches are exempt from the chapter's regulatory requirements. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-11) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Brent Cox, Alan Powell, Rick Jasperse, Buddy DeLoach, Dale Washburn - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70192 > The history, votes, and amendments (235 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb391.md?full=1