Detailed Instructions: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Problem:SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Sports Relocation Reform Act of
1996''.

SEC. 2. RELOCATION OF CERTAIN TEAMS.

(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
(1) the term 'home territory' means the geographic
metropolitan area within which a member team operates and plays
the majority of its home games;
(2) the term 'interested party' includes, with respect to a
member team--
(A) any political subdivision of a State that
provides, or has provided, financial assistance,
including tax abatement, for facilities (including a
stadium or arena) in which the member team plays;
(B) a representative of the political subdivision
with jurisdiction over the geographic area in which the
stadium or arena of the member team is located;
(C) a member team;
(D) the owner or operator of a stadium or arena of
a member team; and
(E) any other person who is determined by the
sports league of the member team to be an affected
party;
(3) the term 'member team' means a team of professional
athletes--
(A) organized to play professional football,
basketball, or hockey; and
(B) that is a member of a professional sports
league;
(4) the term 'person' means any individual, partnership,
corporation, or unincorporated association, any combination or
association thereof, or any State or political subdivision of a
State;
(5) the term 'professional sports league' means an
association that--
(A) is composed of 2 or more member teams;
(B) regulates the contests and exhibitions of its
member teams; and
(C) has been engaged in competition in a particular
sport for a period of more than 7 years; and
(6) the terms 'stadium' and 'arena' mean the principal
physical facility within which a member team has played the
majority of its home games.
(b) Establishment of Rule.--
(1) In general.--Subject to the requirements set forth in
this section, any professional sports league may establish a
rule--
(A) authorizing the membership of that league to
decide whether or not a member team of that league may
be relocated outside of the home territory of that
member team; and
(B) requiring that any person seeking to change the
home territory of that member team obtain the approval
of the appropriate professional sports league.
(2) Inapplicability of antitrust laws.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the antitrust laws shall not apply to
the enforcement or application by a professional sports league
of any rule established pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c) Procedural Requirements.--
(1) Request for approval.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 210 days before the
commencement of the season in which a member team
proposes to play in a new location, any person seeking
to change the home territory of that member team shall
submit a request for approval of the proposed change to
the appropriate professional sports league.
(B) Requirements.--Each request for approval
submitted under subparagraph (A) shall--
(i) be in writing;
(ii) be delivered in person or by certified
mail to each interested party by not later than
30 days after submission to the appropriate
professional sports league under subparagraph
(A);
(iii) be made available by the date
specified in clause (ii) to the news media;
(iv) be published by the date specified in
clause (iii) in 1 or more newspapers of general
circulation within the home territory of the
member team; and
(v) contain--
(I) an identification of the
proposed location of the member team;
(II) a summary of the reasons for
the change in home territory based on
the criteria described in paragraph
(2)(B); and
(III) the date on which the
proposed change would become effective.
(2) Procedures.--
(A) Establishment.--Each professional sports league
shall establish rules and procedures for approving or
disapproving requests submitted under paragraph (1),
that shall--
(i) include criteria to be considered and
taken as a whole by the professional sports
league in approving or disapproving such
requests; and
(ii) be made available upon request to any
interested party.
(B) Criteria to be considered.--The criteria
described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall include--
(i) the extent to which fan loyalty to and
support for the member team has been
demonstrated, through attendance, ticket sales,
and television ratings, during the tenure of
the member team in the home territory;
(ii) the degree to which the member team
has engaged in good faith negotiations with
appropriate persons concerning the terms and
conditions under which the member team would
continue to play its games in the home
territory of the member team;
(iii) the degree to which the ownership or
management of the member team has contributed
to any circumstance that might demonstrate the
need for the relocation of the member team;
(iv) the extent to which the member team
has, directly or indirectly, received public
financial support by means of any publicly
financed playing facility, rent abatement,
special tax treatment, any other form of public
financial support, any other public benefits
not generally available to businesses as a
whole within the jurisdiction, and the extent
to which such support continues;
(v) the adequacy of the stadium or arena of
the member team, and the willingness of the
stadium or arena authority and the local
government to remedy any deficiencies in the
stadium or arena;
(vi) whether the member team has incurred
net operating losses, exclusive of depreciation
or amortization, sufficient to threaten the
continued financial viability of the member
team;
(vii) whether any other member team in the
professional sports league is located in the
home territory of the member team;
(viii) whether the member team proposes to
relocate to a territory in which no other
member team in the professional sports league
is located;
(ix) whether the stadium or arena
authority, if public, is opposed to the
relocation;
(x) the effect that relocation would have
on contracts, agreements, or understandings
between the member team and public and private
parties; and
(xi) any other criteria considered to be
appropriate by the professional sports league.
(3) Hearings.--In determining whether to approve or
disapprove a proposed request submitted under paragraph (1),
the professional sports league shall--
(A) conduct a hearing at which interested parties
shall be afforded an opportunity to submit written
testimony and exhibits; and
(B) keep a written record of that hearing and any
testimony and exhibits submitted under subparagraph
(A).
(d) Judicial Review.--
(1) In general.--A decision by a professional sports league
to approve or disapprove a request submitted under paragraph
(c)(1) may only be reviewed in a civil action filed by an
interested party in accordance with this subsection.
(2) Venue.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), an action under this subsection may be filed only
in the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia.
(B) Exception.--If the home territory of the member
team or the proposed home territory of the member team
is located within a 50-mile radius of the District of
Columbia, an action under this subsection may be filed
only in the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
(3) Time.--
(A) Filing.--An action under this subsection shall
be filed not later than 14 days after the date of the
formal vote of the professional sports league approving
or disapproving the proposed relocation.
(B) Review.--Not later than 30 days after the
filing of the action in accordance with subparagraph
(A), the district court shall issue an order with
respect to that action.
(4) Standard of review.--The scope of judicial review in
any action under this subsection shall be limited to a
determination of whether--
(A) in deciding whether to approve or disapprove a
proposed relocation, the professional sports league
failed to comply with this section; and
(B) the decision of the professional sports league
to approve or disapprove a proposed relocation was
arbitrary or capricious.
(5) Relief granted by court.--
(A) In general.--In any action under this
subsection, if the district court makes a determination
described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4),
the court shall--
(i) remand the matter for further
consideration by the professional sports
league; and
(ii) enjoin any relocation of the member
team at issue until the professional sports
league has reconsidered the matter in
accordance with the order of the court under
this paragraph.
(B) Limitation of court.--The court may not grant
any relief in any action under this subsection other
than enjoining or approving enforcement of the decision
by the professional sports league to approve or
disapprove a request submitted under paragraph (c)(1).
(C) Prohibition of multiple lawsuits by other
interested parties.--An interested party shall have a
right of intervention in a civil action described in
paragraph (1), but may not file an additional civil
action after the initial civil action has been filed.
Solution:
Sports Relocation Reform Act of 1996 - Authorizes any U.S. professional sports league to establish a rule: (1) authorizing the league membership to decide whether or not a member team may be relocated; and (2) requiring that any person seeking to change the home territory of a member team obtain league approval. Makes the antitrust laws inapplicable to the enforcement or application of any such rules.
Outlines procedural requirements for requests for approval of a proposed relocation, requiring each league to establish rules and procedures governing such requests. Outlines criteria to be considered during such process, including fan loyalty and the extent to which the requesting team has entered into good faith negotiations of terms and conditions required to continue to play in the current territory. Requires the league to conduct hearings in which interested parties are afforded an opportunity to submit written testimony and exhibits. Provides for judicial review through a civil action filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with an exception for a team located in the District of Columbia area. Authorizes such Court to remand the matter for further consideration by the league and enjoin any relocation until the league has completed such reconsideration. Prohibits multiple lawsuits by other interested parties.