Could the Texas labor commissioner set a mandatory pay scale for boxing referees, judges, and other ring officials?
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This page answers the general question as of 1986. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Texas law, with citations.
Texas AG Opinion JM-465: Pay Scale for Boxing Officials
Plain-English summary
The commissioner of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards asked whether he could adopt a rule setting pay rates for people who officiated at boxing matches. JM-465 answered no. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
The Boxing and Wrestling Act authorized the commissioner to issue reasonable rules needed to enforce the act and to set qualifications for licensed promoters, boxers, wrestlers, judges, referees, seconds, timekeepers, and other participants. The opinion found no language expressly authorizing a pay scale. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
JM-465 applied the rule that an administrative agency's regulations must stay within the power the legislature granted. It concluded that wage regulation required a specific grant and could not be inferred from occupational-licensing authority. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1986. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Did the agency have general rulemaking power over boxing and wrestling?
Yes. Article 8501-1 authorized "reasonable rules and regulations" necessary to enforce the act. JM-465 said that general authority did not itself supply power to regulate compensation. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Could the commissioner license boxing judges and referees?
Yes. The act required licenses for judges, referees, seconds, timekeepers, and other listed participants, and it allowed the commissioner to set reasonable qualifications for applicants. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Why was a pay scale outside that licensing power?
The opinion said agency rules could not impose burdens, conditions, or restrictions beyond the statute. It found no authority supporting the idea that power to license private workers included power to set their wages. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Background and statutory framework
Sections 9 and 10 of article 8501-1 addressed licensing, fees, applicant qualifications, and denial of licenses. Section 4(b) authorized rules needed to enforce the act. None of those provisions mentioned compensation for boxing officials. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
JM-465 compared the proposed pay rule with State Board of Morticians v. Cortez, where a statutory power to regulate funeral establishments did not include an unexpressed power to license those establishments. The opinion used that case to support the need for a specific legislative grant when an agency claimed a distinct regulatory power. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Citations and references
- article 8501-1, V.T.C.S., sections 4(b), 9, and 10
- article 5159d, V.T.C.S.
- Bexar County Bail Bond Board v. Deckard, 604 S.W.2d 214, 216 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1980, no writ)
- State Board of Morticians v. Cortez, 333 S.W.2d 839, 841 (Tex. 1960)
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Source
- Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-0465
- Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1986/jm0465.pdf
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF via OCR. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.
The Attorney General of Texas
JIM MATTOX
Attorney General
March 31, 1986
Mr. Allen Parker, Sr.
Commissioner
Texas Department of Labor and Standards
P.O. Box 12157
Austin, Texas 78711
Opinion No. JM-465
Re: Whether the Texas Department of Labor and Standards may set a pay scale for boxing officials under article 8501-1, V.T.C.S.
Dear Mr. Parker:
You ask whether the commissioner of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards may promulgate a rule setting a pay scale for persons who officiate at boxing matches. The legislature has authorized the commissioner of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards to promulgate rules regulating the boxing and wrestling industry in Texas. V.T.C.S. art. 8501-1. The authority the legislature granted to the commissioner, however, does not expressly include the authority to set a pay scale for persons who officiate at boxing matches.
The legislature has authorized the commissioner of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards to "promulgate any and all reasonable rules and regulations which may be necessary" to enforce the provisions of the Boxing and Wrestling Act. V.T.C.S. art. 8501-1, § 4(b). The only provisions of that act that could even conceivably serve as the basis for a rule setting a pay scale for boxing officials are the provisions dealing with licensing of such officials:
Sec. 9. (a) No person shall act as a professional boxer or wrestler, manager of a professional boxer or wrestler, referee, judge, second, timekeeper, or matchmaker until he has been licensed pursuant to this Act.
(b) The application for a license shall be made upon a form furnished by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by an annual license fee as follows:
(1) boxer ----- $15
(2) wrestler ----- $15
(3) manager ----- $75
(4) matchmaker ----- $75
(5) judge ----- $15
(6) referee ----- $25
(7) second ----- $10
(8) timekeeper ----- $10(c) Revenue obtained from license fees shall be deposited to the credit of the General Revenue Fund.
Sec. 10. (a) The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations setting forth reasonable qualifications for applicants seeking licenses as a promoter, manager, matchmaker, professional boxer or wrestler, judge, referee, second, or timekeeper.
(b) The commissioner may after investigation and hearing deny an application for a license when the applicant has failed to meet the established qualifications or has violated any provision of this Act or any rule or regulation issued pursuant to this Act.
V.T.C.S. art. 8501-1, §§ 9, 10. The act also provides that the commissioner may revoke or suspend the license of an official who violates any provision of the act or any rule promulgated pursuant to the act. Id. § 4(b).
Rules promulgated by an administrative agency must be within the granted power and may not impose additional burdens, conditions, or restrictions in excess of or inconsistent with statutory provisions. Bexar County Bail Bond Board v. Deckard, 604 S.W.2d 214, 216 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1980, no writ). The legislature has the power to regulate wages paid to private employees in at least some circumstances. See art. 5159d, V.T.C.S. (minimum wage law). We find no authority, however, that would support the proposition that the authority to regulate wages is within the scope of a legislative grant of licensing authority to an administrative agency. We think that an administrative agency would need to have a specific grant of authority to do so. See State Board of Morticians v. Cortez, 333 S.W.2d 839, 841 (Tex. 1960) (power to make rules governing funeral establishments does not include power to license such establishments; board would need specific authority to do so).
Therefore, the commissioner of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards may not promulgate a rule setting a pay scale for persons who officiate at boxing matches.
SUMMARY
The commissioner of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards may not promulgate a rule setting a pay scale for persons who officiate at boxing matches.
JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas
JACK HIGHTOWER
First Assistant Attorney General
MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General
ROBERT GRAY
Special Assistant Attorney General
RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee
Prepared by Sarah Woelk
Assistant Attorney General
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