New Mexico Register / Volume XXXIV, Issue 24 / December 19, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RULE HEARING AND ATHLETIC COMMISSION MEETING

The New Mexico Athletic Commission and the Regulation and Licensing Department will hold a rule hearing on Thursday, January 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., immediately followed by a meeting of the Athletic Commission for adoption of the proposed rule changes listed below. The hearing and subsequent commission meeting will take place at the University Arena, located at 1111 University Blvd SE., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106.

The hearing and subsequent Athletic Commission meeting may also be accessed virtually via Microsoft Teams.

Meeting Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MmFhNzVhZTYtMTAxNy00MmMzLWFhMjgtMWQ2Zjg3Mzc5ZGI3%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2204aa6bf4-d436-426f-bfa4-04b7a70e60ff%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2238faec28-2659-42de-b21f-5493e3af2911%22%7d

Meeting Access Code: 263 702 463 959

Join by Phone: Tel: +15053124308

Phone Access Code: 654 524 926# 

The purpose of this rule hearing is to receive public comment related to the following proposed rule changes:

15.6.5 NMAC – REQUIREMENTS TO SAFEGUARD HEALTH

15.6.8 NMAC – CONDUCT OF BOXING CONTESTS

15.6.11 NMAC – SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR WRESTLING

15.6.20 NMAC – MIXED MARTIAL ARTS AND EXHIBITIONS

15.6.21 NMAC – BARE KNUCKLE MODIFIED

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, copies of the proposed rules may be obtained through the New Mexico Athletic Commission website at https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/athletic-commission/statutes-rules-and-rule-hearing or by contacting the Executive Director, Richard Espinoza at (505) 475-4658.

The New Mexico Athletic Commission and the Regulation and Licensing Department will begin accepting written public comment regarding the proposed rule changes beginning Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 8:00 a.m. and ending Thursday January 18, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Written public comment may be submitted either by email to Athletic.Commission@rld.nm.gov or by postal mail to the following address:

Attn: New Mexico Athletic Commission

P.O. Box 25101

Santa Fe, NM 87504

Written comments received during the public comment period (December 19, 2023 – January 18, 2023) will be posted to the website page linked above. Public comments will also be accepted during the rule hearing and may be submitted in writing or presented orally by those attending in-person. The members of the New Mexico Athletic Commission will not enter substantive discussion of public comments during the rule hearing but will consider and deliberate any public comment during the regular commission meeting immediately following the conclusion of the public rule hearing.

The agenda for the New Mexico Athletic Commission regular meeting, which will begin immediately after the public rule hearing, will be available no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting, and available on the website linked above or by contacting the commission executive director.

If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or the regular advisory board meeting, please contact the Executive Director, Richard Espinoza at (505) 476-4658 at least 7 days prior to the rule hearing and regular commission meeting. Public documents, including the proposed rules, meeting agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats.

Statutory Authority:

The rule changes are authorized by the Professional Athletic Competition Act (Act), Section 60-2A-4 NMSA 1978, which provides explicit authority for the Athletic Commission to adopt rules for the administration of the Act.

Purpose of Proposed Rules:

The proposed rule changes are intended, primarily, to bring greater clarity regarding the requirements for licensure under the Professional Athletic Competition Act.

Summary of Proposed Changes:

The proposed changes to Section 15.6.5 now permit hand bandages on unarmed combatants’ hands to be up to sixty feet in length; each hand may not be held in place by more than ten feet of adhesive tape. The proposed changes for Section 15.6.8 remove the following: (1) the prohibition against “seconds,” a substitute fighter, coaching contestants during the progress of a fight round, (2) the requirement that female boxers wear breast protectors, and (3) the requirement that boxing contestants have a “clean, shaven appearance” or “braided” hair. The proposed changes for Section 15.6.11 remove all requirements pertaining to managers and promoters, how wrestling exhibitions must be conducted, and how tag team wrestling must be conducted. The proposed changes to Section 15.6.20 include the addition of “atom weight” fighters up to one-hundred-five pounds, and “straw weight” up to one-hundred-fifteen pounds; the changes include the removal of the rule that requires that there may be “no yelling of profanity from anyone working the corner.” The proposed changes to Section 15.6.21 include the following changes to the requirements for Bare-Knuckle Modified Rounds: (1) to be no longer than two minutes in duration with a sixty second rest period intermission allowed between rounds, (2) the addition of provisions governing the use of gloves, (3) to prohibit the use of “grease, gels, balms, lotions, oil or other substances from being applied to the hair, face or body; (4) the addition of “legal techniques” permitted during a contest.