BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 256
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hern�ndez, Chair
SB 256 (Lieu) - As Amended: May 24, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 28-10
SUBJECT : Trampoline courts: safety inspections.
SUMMARY : Creates a safety program for the inspection of
trampoline courts. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)
to formulate and propose rules and regulations for adoption by
the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Board) for
the safe installation, repair, maintenance, use, operation,
and inspection of all trampoline courts, as defined.
2)Requires the owner of a trampoline court to submit to the DOSH
certification of compliance with specified information
annually.
3)Prohibits the operation of a trampoline court that has been
inspected by a qualified safety inspector or division
inspector and found to be unsafe, unless all necessary repairs
or modifications have been completed and certified as
completed by a qualified safety inspector.
4)Requires that all qualified safety inspectors be approved by
the DOSH, as specified.
5)Requires the owner of a trampoline court to maintain all of
the records necessary to demonstrate that the requirements of
this bill have been met, including, but not limited to,
employee training records, inspection records for each
trampoline court, and records of accidents requiring medical
service other than ordinary first aid, and make them available
to a DOSH inspector upon request.
6)Requires the DOSH to conduct an annual inspection of the
trampoline court.
7)Requires each operator of a trampoline court to report
immediately by telephone each known accident where
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maintenance, operation, or use of the trampoline court results
in a death or serious injury to any person unless the injury
does not require medical attention other than ordinary first
aid.
8)Requires that if a death or serious injury results from the
failure, malfunction, or operation of a trampoline court, the
equipment or conditions that caused the accident shall be
preserved for the purpose of an investigation by the DOSH.
9)States that a trampoline court may not operate unless there is
a current insurance policy in an amount of not less than one
million dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence, insuring the
owner or operator against liability for injury or death to
persons arising out of the use of the trampoline court. The
insurance policy must meet a financial test of self-insurance,
as prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated by the
DOSH.
10)Requires the owner of a trampoline court to provide training
for its employees in the safe operation and maintenance of
amusement rides, as required by the standards adopted by the
American Society for Testing and Materials.
11)Creates The Trampoline Courts Safety Fund and allows the DOSH
to fix and collect fees necessary to cover the reasonable
costs of administering this part, as specified.
12)Provides that any operator of a trampoline court who has
willfully or intentionally violated the above standards, and
that violation results in a death or serious injury, DOSH must
impose on that owner or operator a civil penalty.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Regulates the safe installation, repair, maintenance, use,
operation and inspection of all amusement rides for the
public's protection and prohibits operating permanent
amusement rides without insurance per occurrence, as
specified.
2)Exempts certain amusements from the Permanent Amusement Ride
Safety Inspection Program, including skating rinks, arcades,
bowling alleys, and trampoline courts.
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3)Mandates that amusement ride operators report to DOSH by
telephone each known incident where the maintenance, operation
or use of the ride results in death or injury that requires
medical treatment beyond first aid and additionally requires
reporting of incidents resulting in loss of consciousness
which requires medical treatment beyond first aid, as
specified.
4)Requires each amusement ride owner to provide training to its
employees for safe ride operation and maintenance and requires
the owner to maintain all records demonstrating that the
training requirements have been met.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis, the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
estimates that it would incur costs of $640,000 (special funds)
for additional staff to implement the provisions of the bill.
This amount includes about $40,000 in one-time start-up costs.
This bill also provides DIR with fee authority to cover the
reasonable costs of administration.
COMMENTS : Legislation regarding the inspection of amusement
rides was first introduced in 1968, after the death of a teenage
woman the year prior at the Kern County Fair, a subsequent
amendment on the Senate Floor removed permanent amusement rides
from the bill. It wasn't until 1999 that then-Assembly Member
Tom Torlakson successfully passed the Permanent Amusement Ride
Safety Inspection Program - AB 850.
At that time, trampoline parks, which are a series of
trampolines connected together in a large enclosed space, were
not a common amusement, and trampolines generally were exempted
from the bill. Since that time, trampoline parks have grown in
popularity throughout the state. According to the sponsor of
this bill, Think Before You Bounce, there are currently 26
trampoline parks throughout the state and another 12 planned.
Since they were exempted from the Permanent Amusement Ride
Safety Inspection Program, they are unregulated.
Unlike other unregulated amusements, however, trampoline parks
have higher incidences of injury. According to the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the National Electronic Injury
Surveillance System estimated in 2009 that almost 98,000
trampoline-related injuries in the U.S., resulting in 3,100
hospitalizations. The AAP also noted that rates of trampoline
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injury appear higher for children than in adults. Similarly,
according to research by the sponsor of the bill, trampolines
parks have an average of 2.0 to 2.7 injures per thousand hour of
use. This injury rate is more than four times higher than
downhill skiing and more than two hundred times higher than
permanent amusement rides.
Additionally, there have been cases of significant injuries,
including deaths. A recent case in California was in 2012, when
Ty Thomasson broke his neck landing in a pit of foam blocks.
Unfortunately, despite efforts by paramedics, he died from his
injury. The Coroner ruled that his death was due to blunt force
trauma to his spine. Mr. Thomasson was 30 years old.
According to information provided by the sponsor, the Santa
Clara Police Department averaged two 911 calls a month from a
local trampoline park for the period of February 2009 to
September 2012. Reported injuries to 911 ranged from compound
fractures to numerous injuries to ankles and knees to occasional
head and neck traumas for individuals ranging in age from 2 to
44.
Similarly, a law firm in the state of Washington is raising
questions about safety at a trampoline park citing injury to a
12 year old boy who struck his head on a metal pole while
jumping off a trampoline into a foam pit. A CAT scan revealed
he had a fractured skull and a concussion. Another child's leg
was shattered in several pieces at the same trampoline park.
Seeking to prevent similar serious injuries, this bill would
create an inspection program closely modeled after the
successful Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program
for trampoline parks, to make the parks safer through awareness,
regulation and design.
Upon passage out of this Committee, this bill will be referred
to the Assembly Business & Professions Committee.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents of the bill note that, over
the past five years, trampoline parks have grown rapidly in
California. Proponents assert that this bill will increase
safety at trampoline parks by creating an inspection program,
requiring appropriate levels of insurance, training employees on
the safe operation of trampoline park equipment, and requiring
trampoline courts to report serious injuries.
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue it is unclear if
additional regulations pertaining to the inspection of
trampoline courts and safety training would result in fewer
trampoline injuries. They argue that currently there is no
clear documentation linking trampoline injuries to negligence as
opposed to the inherent risk of the activity, and believe the
bill may be premature.
Prior Related Legislation :
AB 850 (Torlakson) Chapter 585, Statutes of 1999, created the
Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program.
SB 783 (Torlakson) Chapter 478, Statutes of 2007, extended to
temporary amusement rides provisions of the permanent amusement
ride requirements from prior legislation.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Consumer Federation of California
Safeparks
Think Before You Bounce (sponsor)
Opposition
Department of Finance
International Association of Trampoline Parks
Analysis Prepared by : Lorie Alvarez/ L. & E. / (916) 319-2091