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Two years ago, the city of Los Angeles was roiled by a tee time brokering scandal that rocked more than just the golf world.
In response, a bill has now been introduced that would prohibit the kind of tee time brokering that generated the scandal. Authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego), AB 1954 – “Blocking Illegitimate Reservations and Protecting Equitable Access to California’s Publicly Owned Golf Courses Act” – would allow cities, charter cities and the state, to take legal action against those tee sheet arrangements that are not per a written agreement between a golf course operator and a third-party broker.
If passed, AB 1954 would preserve equitable access to publicly owned golf properties by thwarting unauthorized third-party arrangements and thereby preserve public agencies’ ability to continue providing their public parkland golf courses at affordable rates. To be clear, the bill in no way affects those third-party arrangements that are by written agreement and are of great value to both golfers and golf facilities alike.
What was a serious issue that garnered attention locally in Los Angeles is now getting statewide legislative consideration. AB 1954’s existence is due in large part to the California Alliance for Golf (CAG), of which the SCGA is the proud managing partner. While the SCGA’s advocacy efforts are primarily regionally focused, CAG was created to extend those advocacy efforts statewide.
This kind of problem-solving advocacy is a function of your SCGA membership.
To read the bill, click here.
To read more about the SCGA’s reaction to AB 1954, click here.
To read the CAG coalition support letter, click here.
