Bill 199.

Summary.

The bill recognizes participation in sport as a fundamental right exercised freely, equally and throughout life. It covers games, recreation, organized sport, competition and Indigenous sports, and connects their promotion with other human rights and sustainable development policy. It defines sport and categories of athletes according to their participation in federation activities, noncompetitive activities or occasional practice.

The Panamanian Sports Institute (Instituto Panameño de Deportes), called PANDEPORTES, would design public policies using inclusive, differentiated, intercultural, territorial and cross sector approaches, lasting no less than ten years. It would create the National Sports Information Registry (Registro Nacional de Información Deportiva) to administer an integrated information system covering disciplines, athletes, organizations, facilities, providers and indicators. The Government Innovation Authority (Autoridad para la Innovación Gubernamental) would coordinate implementation, while public access would follow transparency and personal data rules. PANDEPORTES would promote the National Sports Observatory (Observatorio Nacional del Deporte) and programs in workplaces, families and public spaces, together with the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud), Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social) and municipalities.

Nonprofit sports associations outside the federation structure could be formed, but could organize only non federation competitions. The State would promote high performance centers, while PANDEPORTES would promote sports development centers in provincial capitals. For sports organizations, the bill establishes voluntary membership, the grant and revocation of legal personality, recognition of governing boards and oversight by PANDEPORTES. Organizations would submit audits and management reports within the first four months of each year, adopt a protocol against violence, harassment and discrimination, and maintain boards with at least 30 % representation of each gender. The Office of the Comptroller General (Contraloría General de la República) would audit state resources; organizations receiving private funds would verify their origin and adopt controls against money laundering and terrorist financing.

The bill describes the autonomy, composition and duties of the Panama Olympic Committee (Comité Olímpico de Panamá) and Panama Paralympic Committee (Comité Paralímpico de Panamá), under the rules of the International Olympic Committee (Comité Olímpico Internacional) and International Paralympic Committee (Comité Paralímpico Internacional). Each would exclusively represent the country at its respective games and sponsored competitions, register delegations and protect symbols and names. State funding is provided for the Paralympic movement. The National Sports Plan would contain strategic planning and an annual operating plan. PANDEPORTES would coordinate community programs, Indigenous sports, adapted sport, activities for minors under the Family Code (Código de la Familia) and for older adults, and protection of participating animals.

National sports federations are organized as autonomous nonprofit private entities with bylaws ratified by PANDEPORTES and duties concerning competitions, training and national team preparation. Their development programs would be agreed through arrangements with PANDEPORTES, the Panama Olympic Committee or the Panama Paralympic Committee, subject to objectives and available funding. The bill also regulates provincial, district and corregimiento (district) leagues, their membership, plans and budgets, and recognizes one league per sport in each territorial area. It defines clubs, requires National Sports Games every two years, and regulates sports schools and academies.

PANDEPORTES and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) would cooperate on international sports initiatives. People representing the country at international sports events would receive paid work leave or school permission, as applicable. Athletes would have rights to equality, integrity, health, safety, association and academic flexibility; high level and high performance athletes would also have insurance and support for competition. Professional athletes would have union and collective bargaining rights and maternity protection extending to the father. The bill establishes return to work programs, health protection, scholarships coordinated with the Institute for Training and Development of Human Resources (Instituto para la Formación y Aprovechamiento de Recursos Humanos), and possible university recognition of sporting experience. It also sets duties concerning safety, fair play and public property.

The bill creates the National Anti Doping Organization of Panama (Organización Nacional Antidopaje de Panamá) in connection with Law 46 of 2007 and the World Anti Doping Code (Código Mundial Antidopaje). It would conduct education, testing, therapeutic use authorizations, results management and disciplinary proceedings, consistent with the International Convention against Doping in Sport of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura) and standards of the World Anti Doping Agency (Agencia Mundial Antidopaje). PANDEPORTES and local governments would plan accessible facilities and could pursue concessions, subject to Cabinet Council (Consejo de Gabinete) authorization, or public private partnerships. The bill addresses research with the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación), entrepreneurship with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias), and sports tourism with the Panama Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá) and Tourism Promotion Fund (Fondo de Promoción Turística).

Sports incentives are governed by Law 383 of 2023. The bill proposes exemptions for donations and notarial and registration procedures, adds paragraph 14 to article 764 and amends article 764-B of the Tax Code (Código Fiscal) concerning sports property. The Office of the Comptroller General, through its statistics institute, would create a sports satellite account; the text also begins a provision for a sports entities registry in the Public Registry. Its content would concern athletes, sports organizations, educational institutions, employers, insurers, facility operators, and the health, tourism, research and sports services sectors in Panama.