BILL ANALYSIS SB 880 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 29, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY Mike Feuer, Chair SB 880 (Yee) - As Amended: June 15, 2010 As Proposed to Be Amended SENATE VOTE : 21-13 SUBJECT : PUBLIC SAFETY: SNOW SPORT HELMETS KEY ISSUES : 1)SHOULD PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE PARTICIPATING IN DOWNHILL SKIING OR SNOWBOARDING BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A PROPERLY FITTED AND FASTENED SNOW SPORT HELMET, MEETING SPECIFIED STANDARDS, OR FACE A $25 PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF THIS REQUIREMENT? 2)SHOULD THESE PROVISIONS BE ENACTED CONTINGENT UPON ENACTMENT OF AB 1652, WHICH REQUIRES SKI RESORTS TO PREPARE AND MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AN ANNUAL SAFETY PLAN AND MONTHLY REPORTS, AS SPECIFIED? FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal. SYNOPSIS As proposed to be amended, this bill constitutes the most significant step forward that the Legislature has taken in many years to improve safety standards and practices at California's ski resorts. This bill, with its companion bill AB 1652, represents the culmination of several years of effort by leaders on this issue from both houses to improve safety at ski resorts and protect young skiers and snowboarders from suffering severe injuries that could be prevented by use of a sport helmet. To that end, this bill requires persons under 18 years of age participating in downhill skiing or snowboarding to wear a properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmet, meeting specified standards, or face a $25 penalty for violation of this requirement. This bill also requires ski resorts to provide notice of this helmet requirement by posting signs at the resort as well as including notice on all trail maps and resort Internet websites. This bill does not increase or decrease any SB 880 Page 2 duties imposed under existing tort law. The California Psychological Association, the sponsor of this bill, and other supporters cite numerous research studies that they contend demonstrate the protective effect that helmets have on reducing the severity of injuries suffered by skiers and snowboarders. As proposed to be amended, this bill includes contingent enactment language stating that these provisions shall not become operative unless AB 1652 (Jones) is also enacted into law this session. AB 1652 is in the process of being amended to require ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan and make a specified report about any fatal accidents available to the public each month. It is the intent of both authors that the two bills, SB 880 and AB 1652, represent a comprehensive, jointly developed approach towards promoting ski safety in California, and thus should be enacted together or neither should be enacted. This bill enjoys broad support from numerous associations of psychologists and other health providers, as well as ski safety advocates. The position of the ski resort industry is not known at this time, and there is no known opposition to this bill. SUMMARY : Seeks to require persons under 18 years of age to wear a snow sport helmet when participating in downhill skiing or snowboarding, as specified. Specifically, this bill : 1)Prohibits persons under 18 years of age from operating snow skies or a snowboard, or from riding upon a seat or device attached to snow skies or a snowboard, while participating in downhill skiing or snowboarding, unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmet that meets specified standards. 2)Establishes a fine of $25 for any violation of this bill. Dismisses charges against a person for violating this bill, if the person alleges in court under oath that this is their first charge, unless it is otherwise established in court that it is not the first charged violation against the person. 3)Makes the parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor jointly and severally liable with the minor for any fine imposed under this act. 4)Exempts Nordic skiing (i.e. cross-country) from these provisions. SB 880 Page 3 5)Provides that this bill does not increase or decrease duties imposed under existing law. 6)Requires a ski resort to post signs at the resort giving reasonable notice of the helmet requirement and the potential fine for violations, and further requires the ski resort to provide prominent written notice of the helmet requirement on all trail maps and resort Internet Web sites. 7)Provides for contingent enactment with AB 1652 (Jones), with the intent that these provisions shall not become operative unless AB 1652 (Jones) is also signed into law in the 2009-10 session. EXISTING LAW : 1)Prohibits a person under 18 years of age from operating a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, in-line or roller skates, or a skateboard, nor riding upon a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, or a skateboard as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, or any other public bicycle path or trail unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets ASTM International, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards, or standard subsequently established by those entities. This requirement also applies to a person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat that is attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle. Violations are punishable by a fine of not more than $25. (Vehicle Code Section 21212 (a).) 2)Prohibits operators of skateboard parks from permitting any person to ride a skateboard therein, unless the person is wearing specified protective equipment, including a helmet. Establishes that any recreational skateboard facility owned or operated by a local public agency, that is not supervised on a regular basis, can be deemed in compliance with the protective equipment requirement by: 1) adoption of a local ordinance requiring any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear protective equipment; and, 2) posting signs at the facility alerting riders of the requirement to wear protective equipment, and stating that any person failing to do so will be subject to citation. (Health and Safety Code Section 115800.) SB 880 Page 4 3)Provides that every person who, among other things, willfully commits a trespass by knowingly skiing in an area or on a ski trail which is closed to the public and has signs posted indicating the closure is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code Section 602.8 (r).) COMMENTS : As proposed to be amended, this bill constitutes the most significant step forward that the Legislature has taken in many years to improve safety standards and practices at California's ski resorts. This bill, with its companion bill AB 1652, represents the culmination of several years of effort by Senator Yee and Assemblymember Jones to improve safety at ski resorts and protect skiers and snowboarders from suffering severe injuries that may very well be preventable. To that end, this bill requires persons under 18 years of age participating in downhill skiing or snowboarding to wear a properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmet, meeting specified standards, or face a $25 penalty for violation of this requirement. This bill also requires ski resorts to provide notice of this helmet requirement by posting signs at the resort as well as including notice on all trail maps and resort Internet websites. As proposed to be amended, this bill includes contingent enactment language stating that these provisions shall not become operative unless AB 1652 (Jones) is also enacted into law this session. AB 1652, as briefly described below, would require ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan, as specified, and make available to the public each month a report describing any fatal accidents that may have occurred at the ski resort. Author's Statement of Purpose. According to the author, this bill is intended to decrease the number of serious injuries resulting from skiing or snowboarding by requiring, for the first time in California, that young participants of these winter sports wear a helmet. The author states: California's ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation that lacks basic safety standards in place for children. Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. SB 880 can significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable SB 880 Page 5 population. Research Data Supporting the Need for Helmet Protection Among Skiers and Snowboarders. The topic of head injury associated with skiing and snowboarding has been the subject of several epidemiological and neuropsychological studies in recent years. In January 1999, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a report on an investigational study of skiing- and snowboarding-related head and neck injuries, in an attempt to determine whether helmets would have prevented or reduced the severity of injuries. They note that head injuries account for 14 percent of skiing and snowboarding accidents, as well as 56 percent of related deaths. Falls were the leading cause of head and neck injuries, when individuals either hit a surface (48 percent) or hit their ski equipment (21 percent). About two-thirds of the falls to a surface resulted in injuries to parts of the head which were identified as addressable by use of a helmet. Overall, the study indicated that 44 percent of head injuries, an estimated 7,700 injuries annually, could be addressed by helmet use. The study also showed that for children under 15 years of age, 53 percent of head injuries (approximately 2,600 of the 4,950 head injuries annually) are addressable by use of a helmet. One recent study cited by the author found that helmets may reduce the risk of head injuries in skiers and snowboarders by 29% to 56%. ("Effectiveness of Helmets in Skiers and Snowboarders: Case-Control and Case Crossover Study," Hagel, Pless, et al., 2005.) The author also points to research showing that helmet use for skiers and snowboarders under the age of 13 reduces the incidence of head injury requiring investigation and/or treatment. ("Effect of Helmet Wear on the Incidence of Head/face and Cervical Spine Injuries in Young Skiers and Snowboarders," Macnab, Smith, et al.) The author also asserts that head injuries sustained without a helmet are not only dangerous, but pose significant financial hardship. According to the American Medical Association, first-year acute care costs for all skiers under age 17 who sustain a head injury range from $1.5 million for patients with mild traumatic brain injury to $82 million for those with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Annual lifetime care costs per individual, excluding first year costs, range from $329,000 for mild TBI to $8.96 million for severe TBI. SB 880 Page 6 Previous Informational Hearing by this Committee. In November 2008, the Assembly Judiciary Committee held an informational hearing on "Ski and Snowboard Health, Safety and Liability Standards." At that hearing, the Committee reviewed testimony that, unlike most states with major ski resorts, the ski industry in California reportedly lacks uniform safety policies, procedures and signage requirements. The Committee also heard testimony that California would benefit from enactment of its first ski safety statute, especially one that established ski and snowboard safety standards and provided for increased oversight and certain information to be made available to the public. As proposed to be amended, enactment of this bill is contingent upon enactment of AB 1652 (Jones). As proposed to be amended, the bill states that its provisions shall not become operative unless AB 1652 (Jones) is also signed into law in the 2009-10 session. AB 1652 is currently set to be heard by the Senate Health Committee on June 30, 2010, but, according to its author, will be amended before that date to require California ski resorts to: (1) prepare an annual safety plan that conforms with the requirements of federal regulations applicable to ski resorts operating on federal property, and make the safety plan available to the public upon request; (2) make available to the public a monthly report containing specified information about fatal accidents occurring on ski resort property; (3) establish a standardized signage policy used to indicate a ski area boundary, hazard, or other safety information; and (4) establish a policy for standardized safety padding or other barriers for all lift towers and fixed snowmaking equipment located on or near groomed ski runs. It is the intent of both authors that the two bills, SB 880 and AB 1652, represent a comprehensive, jointly developed approach towards promoting ski safety in California, and thus should be enacted together or neither should be enacted. Liability standards remain unchanged by this bill. The California ski industry enjoys legal liability protection through a common law doctrine of "assumption of risk" as well as contractual negligence waivers included on ski pass purchase agreements. As a result of these protections, ski resorts have limited exposure to legal liability. This bill expressly provides that none of its provisions shall be construed to SB 880 Page 7 increase or decrease duties imposed under existing law, including the duty of care that applies to ski resorts under tort law. ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill is supported by numerous associations of psychologists, nurses, and chiropractors who in their respective practices report seeing patients who have suffered serious injuries while snowboarding or skiing without using a helmet. The psychological associations report neuropsychological research findings (cited above) that indicate helmets protect against more severe injuries and are associated with a quicker return to pre-accident functioning among injured patients. These medical professionals support this bill because, generally speaking, they believe it has the potential to prevent some of the traumatic head and muscular injuries that these professionals treat each winter during peak skiing and snowboarding seasons. PREVIOUS LEGISLATION : AB 990 (Jones) of 2009 would have required ski resorts to prepare and file an annual safety report with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and to report to DOSH on a quarterly basis any serious injuries or fatalities involving patrons at the ski resort. AB 990 was held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. SB 284 (Cox) of 2009 would have required DOSH to utilize the most current safety standards when inspecting aerial passenger tramways operated at ski resorts. SB 284 would have also required ski resorts to file an annual safety plan with DOSH, make the safety plan available on demand, report to DOSH, within 24 hours, any fatalities involving patrons at the resort, and standardize safety signage and equipment padding in use at the resort. SB 284 died in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. AB 2218 (Keeley) of 2002 would have created the California Ski Safety Commission (Commission) in order to adopt uniform signs and provide a copy of its standards and recommendations to all ski areas doing business in California. AB 2218 would have also required ski areas that post signs to use the signs adopted by the Commission. AB 2218 failed passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : SB 880 Page 8 Support California Psychological Association (sponsor) Alameda County Psychological Association American Academy of Pediatrics American Board of Trial Advocates American College of Emergency Physicians American Psychological Association - Division One "Clinical and Professional Practice" Association of California Insurance Companies California Brain Injury Association California Children's Hospital Association California Chiropractic Association California Emergency Nurses Association California Hospital Association California Medical Association California Nurses Association California School Nurses Organization California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization California Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation California Psychiatric Association California Travel Industry Association Central Coast Center for Independent Living Children's Advocacy Institute Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland Children's Specialty Care Coalition Contra Costa Psychological Association Los Angeles County psychological Association Marin County Psychological Association Monterey Bay Psychological Association National Academy of Neuropsychology National Ski Areas Association Occupational Therapy Association of California Orange County Psychological Association Pacific Cascade Psychological Association Redwood Psychological Association Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. Sacramento Valley Psychological Association San Gabriel Valley Psychological Association Santa Clara County Psychological Association San Diego Psychological Association San Joaquin Psychological Association San Francisco Psychological Association EDITORIAL: Santa Rosa Press Democrat SB 880 Page 9 Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334