BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 105
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 21, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
SB 105 (Yee) - As Amended: April 12, 2011
As Proposed to be Amended
SENATE VOTE : 32-6
SUBJECT : Public safety: snow sport helmets
KEY ISSUE : should there be a mandatory helmet requirement for
persons under 18 engaged in downhill skiing and snowboardING?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This bill seeks to require that all persons under 18 years of
age wear properly fitting helmets when downhill skiing or
snowboarding, and establishes a fine for violations of this new
helmet requirement. The author notes that the bill seeks to
enhance safety for one of the few recreational areas lacking
safety regulations for children. This Committee previously
considered and supported a nearly identical measure, SB 880
(Yee, 2010), which contained a provision making the bill
contingent on the passage of AB 1652. AB 1652 was vetoed by the
previous governor, which subsequently voided SB 880's chaptered
status. The current bill is sponsored by the California
Psychological Association and has support from numerous medical
organizations, psychiatric associations, child health advocates
and ski industry groups. This bill is opposed by Capitol
Resource Family Impact who claim that this bill is an
impermissible usurpation of the rights of parents.
SUMMARY : Requires persons under 18 years of age to wear
properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmets while downhill
skiing or snowboarding and establishes a penalty for skiers,
snowboarders, and/or their parents or legal guardians for
noncompliance. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits persons less than 18 years of age from participating
in the sport of downhill skiing or snowboarding, or from
riding upon a seat or device attached to snow skies or a
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snowboard, without a properly fitted and fastened snow sport
helmet meeting specified standards.
2)Establishes a fine of twenty-five ($25) dollars for any
violation of this section.
3)Requires ski resorts to post signs around the resort to alert
patrons about the helmet requirement for minors, and the
penalty for noncompliance. Also requires ski resorts to
provide written notice of the helmet requirement for minors on
all trail maps and resort websites.
4)Makes the parent or legal guardian of an emancipated minor
jointly and severally liable with the minor for the fine.
5)Exempts Nordic skiing (cross-country) from these provisions.
6)Provides that the bill does not increase or decrease
unspecified duties imposed under existing law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a person under 18 years of age to wear a properly
fitted and fastened bicycle helmet while operating a bicycle,
motorized bicycle, or riding upon a bicycle as a passenger,
upon the streets or any other public bicycle path. (Vehicle
Code Section 21212(a).)
2)Establishes that every person who willfully commits a trespass
by knowingly skiing in an area or on a ski trail which is
closed to the public, and which has signs posted indicating
the closure, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code Sec.
602(r).)
3)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
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be subject to citation. (Health & Safety Code Sec. 115800.)
COMMENTS : This relatively non-controversial bill is designed to
improve safety for minors on California's ski slopes. 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 105 can significantly
reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for
such a vulnerable population.
Helmets Can Reduce the High Risk of Traumatic Injury Associated
with Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding : The National Ski Areas
Association reports that serious, skiing related, head or neck
injuries occur at the rate of 43.6 per year nationwide.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), more people are injured snowboarding than any other
outdoor activity. The Consumer Product Safety Commission
released a report on an investigational study which shows that
although only 14 percent of skiing accidents involved head
injuries they account for 56 percent of skiing related deaths.
The same study determined that more than half of the head
injuries suffered by children could have been mitigated if the
child was wearing a ski helmet.
Ski helmets, when properly designed and used, partially absorb
the blunt force and dissipate the energy directed at the head
resulting from a fall on the ski slopes. Although helmets do
not lessen the risk of falls or crashes, they significantly
lessen the impact to the head associated with ski accidents.
Helmets with a rating of RS 98 or higher from the Snell Memorial
Foundation of America National Standard Institute are needed for
optimal protection. A 2006 LA Times article quoted Dr. Stuart
Levy who noted that helmets can reduce ski or snowboard
fatalities from head injuries by 80 percent.
Despite the benefits of ski helmets fewer than half of American
skiers wear proper head protection. As of 2009 estimates showed
that only 48 percent of all skiers wore helmets, a marked
improvement from 2006 when only 33.2 percent of skiers wore
helmets. Helmet advocates believe that the positive results
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experienced by mandating helmets for motorcycle and bicycle
riders will have similar results for skiing and snowboarding.
Numerous studies have shown that increasing helmet use will
reduce the risk of traumatic head injury for skiers and
snowboarders.
Reducing Falls Will Reduce the Occurrence of Traumatic Brain
Injury: According to the CDC falls are the leading cause of
traumatic brain injury in the country, accounting for 35.2
percent of all traumatic brain injuries (the second most common
cause, traffic accidents, account for 17.3 percent). Falls are
the leading cause of non-fatal injuries in children 0 to 19
years of age with nearly 8,000 children being admitted to
emergency rooms nationwide each day for fall related injuries
(2.8 million per year). In January 2010, the Senate Committee
on Health convened a hearing on traumatic brain injury. The
California Brain Association testified that 220,000 Californians
suffered brain injuries each year, not including the estimated
144,000 to 342,000 sports related concussions that go unreported
each year. The annual cost of disease management for those
suffering traumatic brain injuries ranges between $51.2 and $60
billion annually nationwide. A single person suffering a brain
injury can spend upwards of $30 million for lifetime care, a
significant portion of which is subsidized by public funds.
Reducing brain injuries will provide significant cost savings to
America's overstressed health care system.
Growing National Support for Ski Helmets : In passing this bill,
California will join a growing list of ski states implementing
mandatory helmet laws for minors while skiing. Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado and Michigan have already passed mandatory ski helmet
laws and several others, including New York and New Jersey, have
legislation pending to create similar laws.
Lacking Oversight, Safety Standards Are Not Uniform Between
California Ski Resorts : California can proudly claim some of
America's best downhill skiing resorts. California's 30 resort
facilities make up the backbone of the state's ski tourism
industry. However, as a 2008 Assembly Judiciary Committee
Hearing on "Ski and Snowboard Health, Safety and Liability
Standards" found California's resorts are not governed by a
uniform law.
Most of California's ski resorts are located on federal land,
subjecting them to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service.
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Although the U.S. Forest Service requires resorts to file an
annual operating and safety plan and possess the authority to
enforce safety improvements at resorts, the Service takes a
"hands off" approach to safety regulation and rarely mandates
rules or requires improvements be made. Additionally, all ski
resorts in California enjoy liability protection under
California's "primary assumption of risk" doctrine which shifts
liability from the resort to the skier for any injury suffered
as a result of normal athletic activity. Furthermore,
contractual waivers associated with lift ticket purchases gives
resorts added liability protection. By requiring helmets this
bill seeks to lessen the frequency and severity of injuries at
ski resorts but does not alter the liability protections ski
resorts currently enjoy.
Author's Technical Amendment: The author prudently proposes the
following technical amendment.
- On page 2 line 16 insert "a" before "snowboard"
Arguments in Support : The California Psychological Association
claims neuropsychological research has shown that half of all
skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Observations on
acute rehabilitation units from brain injured patients
demonstrates that individuals who wore helmets during their
accidents seemed to have less severe injuries and were
consequently discharged earlier, with less in the way of
post-discharge services. Individuals wearing helmets were more
likely to return to pre-accident levels of functioning sooner,
compared to their non-helmeted counterparts.
The California Ski Industry Association notes that winter sports
carry inherent risks and studies show helmet use in many
situations can lessen the risk of head injuries. They note the
most recent study by the National Ski Areas Association shows
that approximately 85 percent of kids under 9 years of age and
75 percent of kids under 14 currently wear helmets. They
believe this bill, along with their national campaign "Lids on
Kids," will do much to educate the public about the need to wear
helmets when skiing or snowboarding.
Arguments in opposition: Capitol Resource Family Impact argues
this bill will burden California businesses and constitutes an
impermissible usurpation of the rights of parents to make
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decisions for their children. Capitol Resource Family Impact
also believes the bill will be too difficult to enforce.
Other Related Bills : SB 278 (Gaines) requires ski resorts to
prepare and make public an annual safety plan, create monthly
reports describing incidents resulting in fatalities occurring
on the ski resort property, and establish policies for signage
indicating ski boundaries and safety information, and safety
padding for lift towers and other equipment near ski runs. This
bill has been referred to this Committee as well as the Assembly
Health Committee.
AB 695 (Norby) would exempt from mandatory helmet requirements
those motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or motorized bicycle
drivers who are 18 years of age or older and have completed
specified requirements.
Prior Legislation : SB 880 (Yee) Chapter 278, Statutes of 2010
was nearly identical to SB 105. SB 880 included a provision
making the bill contingent on the enactment of AB 1652 (Jones).
AB 1652 was vetoed by the governor, which subsequently voided SB
880's chaptered status.
AB 1652 (Jones- 2010) is nearly identical to SB 278 and would
have required ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan, make
the safety plan available to the public, and make available to
the public a monthly report with specified details about any
fatal incidents at the resort which resulted from a recreational
activity. The bill would also require a ski resort to establish
its own signage policy and its own safety padding policy for the
resort. Vetoed.
AB 990 (Jones- 2009) Would have required ski resorts to prepare
and file an annual safety report with Division of Occupational
Safety and Health (DOSH) and to report to the DOSH on a
quarterly basis any serious injuries or fatalities involving
patrons at the ski resort. Held in Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 2218 (Keeley) of 2002 would have created the California Ski
Safety Task Force, required the Task Force to adopt uniform sign
standards for adoption by California ski areas, and required the
Task Force to make recommendations regarding safety. Died in
Senate Appropriations Committee.
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AB 2268 (Caldera) Chapter 1000, Statutes of 1993, prohibits a
person under 18 years of age from operating, or riding upon a
bicycle as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, or other public
bicycle path or trail unless the person is wearing a helmet
meeting specified standards. The bill provides for fines to be
imposed for violations of this prohibition and requires all the
revenue derived from the fines to be allocated as specified.
Requires that the charge against a person be dismissed if it is
the first charge against that person for a violation of this
prohibition. Requires any safety helmet sold or offered for
sale to be conspicuously labeled in accordance with the
specified standards and would prohibit the sale or offer for
sale of any bicycle safety helmet which is not of a type meeting
the safety standards.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Psychological Association (sponsor)
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
California Brain Injury Association
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians (CAL/ACEP)
California Chiropractic Association
California Emergency Nurses Association
California Hospital Association
California Medical Association
California Nurses Association
California Optometric Association
California Psychiatric Association
California Psychological Association
California School Nurses Organization
California Ski Industry Association
California Ski & Snowboard Safety
California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery
California Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
California Travel Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Children's Specialty Care Coalition
Consumer Attorneys of California
National Ski Area Association
Occupational Therapy Association of California
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Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc
State Independent Living Council
Opposition
Capitol Resource Family Impact
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert & Nicholas Liedtke / JUD.
/ (916) 319-2334