,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hjig  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #bf1 #bjbf,mr4
 ,casar 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mr4 
,deluzio1 ,ms4 ,garcia of ,texas1 ,ms4  
,simon1 and ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois7   
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to keep      
professional sports franchises in their 
home communities1 and for other         
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,home ,team ,act of 
#bjbf4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds   
the following3  7#a7 ,professional      
sports franchises have a significant    
economic and cultural impact on their   
local communities4  7#b7 ,the relocation
 of a professional sports franchise     
abandons the home community and fan base
 of the franchise that is largely       
responsible for the growth and          
development of the franchise4  7#c7 ,the
 use of public funds1 through a         
negotiated relocation or threat to      

relocate of a professional sports       
franchise1 to pay for new sports        
stadiums have a substantial and         
detrimental effect on ,state and local  
governments and their taxpayers4  7#d7  
,the building of a stadium to secure a  
franchise in their new community may    
displace local residents with little    
consideration to their needs4  7#e7     
,article ,i1 section #h1 clause #c of   
the ,constitution of the ,united ,states
 grants ,congress the power to regulate 
interstate commerce4  7#f7 ,professional
 sports franchises have a substantial   
and direct effect upon interstate       
commerce because--  7,a7 professional   
sports games are broadcast on television
 and streamed around the country and    
across the world2  7,b7 visiting teams  
and fan bases travel from ,state to     
,state to compete in or watch games1    
purchasing tickets for travel1 lodging1 
food1 and other items2 and  7,c7        
,american professional sports leagues1  
recognizing the interstate nature of the

 revenues generated by the professional 
sports business1 have agreed to revenue 
sharing models1 whereby the revenue     
generated from a local game is shared   
amongst all the sports franchises in the
 league across ,states and for ,canadian
 sports franchises as well4  #c4        
,prohibition on community ownership bans
 and opportunity to purchase  7a7       
,prohibition ,a league1 operating in or 
affecting interstate commerce1 may not1 
as part of league requirements or       
agreements--  7#a7 prohibit ownership of
 a franchise by a government entity or  
members of the general public2 or  7#b7 
prohibit the transfer of a franchise to 
a government entity or members of the   
general public4  7b7 ,opportunity to    
purchase  7#a7 ,in general ,in          
accordance with paragraphs 7#b7 and     
7#c71 a franchise owner may not move the
 franchise from their home community1   
across ,state lines1 or eliminate the   
franchise unless the franchise owner    
offers an entity specified in paragraph 

7#b7 a fair opportunity to purchase such
 franchise4  7#b7 ,priority ,a fair     
opportunity to purchase a franchise     
pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall be     
provided1 in descending priority1 to the
 following entities3  7,a7 ,a local     
government entity or a home community   
cooperative4  7,b7 ,a nonprofit         
organization that operates in the       
community or a public-private           
partnership composed of a local         
government entity or ,state government  
entity with a home community cooperative
 or nonprofit organization headquartered
 in such unit of local government or    
,state4  7,c7 ,a private person1 private
 consortium1 or company that resides in 
the community or operates in the        
community4  7#c7 ,fair opportunity ,in  
carrying out this subsection1 a         
franchise owner shall--  7,a7 provide   
proper notice regarding the proposed new
 location of the franchise or proposed  
franchise elimination2  7,b7 offer the  
franchise for purchase for fair market  

value2 and  7,c7 accept an offer made by
 an entity described under paragraph    
7#b7 if that offer is the amount that is
 a fair price as determined under       
subsection 7c7 or more than that amount4
  7c7 ,appraisers  7#a7 ,appraisers ,the
 ,secretary of the ,treasury shall      
establish a team of professionally      
trained appraisers to evaluate a fair   
price for a franchise4  7#b7 ,deduction 
,the evaluation of a fair price         
undertaken pursuant to paragraph 7#a7   
shall deduct from the appraisal amount  
the total amount of any government      
payment1 credit1 or subsidy provided for
 the construction of any stadium where  
the franchise played the majority of    
their home games4  7d7 ,enforcement     
7#a7 ,civil penalty ,the ,attorney      
,general shall assess against a         
franchise owner in violation of this    
section a fine of #cj1jjj for each day  
the owner is in violation of this       
section4  7#b7 ,private right of action 
,a unit of local government or a ,state 

may bring a civil action for violation  
of this section in an appropriate       
district court against a franchise owner
 for injunctive and monetary relief4    
7e7 ,rule of construction  7#a7 ,in     
general ,nothing in this ,act shall be  
construed to preempt1 diminish1 or      
interfere with the right of employees to
 collectively bargain over terms and    
conditions of employment4  7#b7         
,existing agreements ,nothing in this   
,act shall be construed to preempt1     
diminish1 or interfere with a collective
 bargaining agreement that is in place  
on the date of the enactment of this    
,act4  7f7 ,definitions ,in this        
section3  7#a7 ,community ,the term     
community1 with respect to a franchise1 
means the metropolitan statistical area1
 as determined by the ,office of        
,management and ,budget1 in which the   
franchise plays the greatest number of  
regular season home games within its    
league4  7#b7 ,consortium ,the term     
consortium means a group of private     

investors created specifically for a    
particular transaction of acquiring a   
sports franchise4  7#c7 ,franchise ,the 
term franchise means a member           
professional sports team of a league4   
7#d7 ,franchise owner ,the term         
franchise owner means a person who owns 
a franchise4  7#e7 ,home community      
cooperative ,the term home community    
cooperative1 with respect to a          
franchise1 means an autonomous          
association of persons united           
voluntarily to meet their common        
economic1 social1 and cultural needs and
 aspirations through a jointly owned and
 democratically controlled enterprise   
that is based in the community in which 
the franchise plays the greatest number 
of regular season home games within its 
league4  7#f7 ,league ,the term league  
includes the ,national ,football        
,league1 the ,national ,basketball      
,association1 ,major ,league ,baseball1 
the ,national ,hockey ,league1 ,major   
,league ,soccer1 the ,women's ,national 

,basketball ,association1 and the       
,national ,women's ,soccer ,league4     
7#g7 ,local government entity ,the term 
local government entity1 with respect to
 a franchise1 means any unit of local   
government with jurisdiction over land  
use decisions in the location in which  
the franchise plays the greatest number 
of regular season home games within its 
league4  7#h7 ,nonprofit organization   
,the term nonprofit organization means  
any organization registered as a public 
charity by the ,internal ,revenue       
,service4  7#i7 ,private company ,the   
term private company means a business   
entity the securities of which do not   
trade on public markets4  7#aj7 ,proper 
notice ,the term proper notice1 with    
respect to proposed relocation or       
elimination of a franchise1 means notice
 that is provided not later than one    
year prior to the commencement of the   
season in which the franchise is to play
 home games in the proposed new location
 or the date of franchise elimination to

 all interested parties1 the news media1
 and on all social media platforms of   
the franchise1 and includes--  7,a7     
identification of the proposed new home 
location1 if applicable2  7,b7 a summary
 of the reasons for the proposed        
relocation or franchise elimination2 and
  7,c7 the date on which the proposed   
relocation or franchise elimination     
would be effective4  7#aa7 ,social media
 platform ,the term social media        
platform means a website or internet    
medium that--  7,a7 permits a person to 
become a registered user1 establish an  
account1 or create a profile for the    
purpose of allowing users to create1    
share1 and view user-generated content  
through such an account or profile2     
7,b7 enables one or more users to       
generate content that can be viewed by  
other users of the website or medium2   
and  7,c7 primarily serves as a medium  
for users to interact with content      
generated by other users of the website 
or medium4