BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 256
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 13, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
SB 256 (Lieu) - As Amended: August 7, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 28-10
SUBJECT : Trampoline courts: safety inspection.
SUMMARY : Requires the Division of Occupational Safety and
Health (DOSH) to formulate and propose rules and regulations
that establish a state safety program for the inspection of
trampoline courts. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DOSH to formulate and propose rules and regulations,
in addition to the existing applicable safety orders, for
adoption by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board
(OSHSB) for the safe installation, repair, maintenance, use,
operation, and inspection of all trampoline courts.
2)Exempts certain amusements from the requirements of this bill,
including playgrounds, museums, indoor entertainment
facilities, gymnastics clubs, and private events, as defined.
3)Requires the owner of a trampoline court to annually submit a
certificate of compliance to DOSH, and specifies that one
certificate may be submitted for multiple courts located at a
single site, including the following information:
a) The legal name and address of the owner and his or her
representative, if any, and the primary place of business
of the owner;
b) A description of, the name of the manufacturer of, and,
if given by the manufacturer, the serial number and model
number of, the trampoline court; and,
c) A written declaration, executed by a qualified safety
inspector, stating that, within the preceding 12-month
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period, the trampoline court was inspected by the qualified
safety inspector and that the trampoline court is in
material conformance with the requirements of this section
and all applicable rules and regulations adopted by DOSH
and OSHSB.
4)Specifies that a certificate of compliance will not be
required until one year following the promulgation of any
rules or regulations by the division governing the submission
of certificates.
5)Prohibits a person from operating 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.
6)Specifies that a "qualified safety inspector" is a person who
holds a valid professional engineer license issued by this
state or issued by an equivalent licensing body in another
state, who has been approved by DOSH as a qualified safety
inspector for permanent amusement rides, and who has
documented to the satisfaction of DOSH that he or she is
qualified to inspect trampoline courts pursuant to
requirements, as adopted pursuant to this section. Each
qualified safety inspector shall be recertified every two
years.
7)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 employee training records;
maintenance, repair, and inspection records for each
trampoline court; and records of accidents that require
medical service beyond ordinary first aid; and to make them
available to a division inspector upon request.
8)Requires DOSH to complete an annual inspection of the
trampoline court, and authorizes additional inspections when
certain conditions are met.
9)Requires each operator of a trampoline court to report to DOSH
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by telephone each known accident where 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 service other than ordinary first aid.
10)Permits a DOSH inspector to inspect any trampoline court
after the report of an accident, and authorizes him or her to
order a cessation of operation of a device, if it is
determined after inspection to be hazardous or unsafe.
Operation shall not resume until these conditions are
corrected to the satisfaction of the division. The division
must conduct any reinspection within five working days of
receiving notice that the hazardous or unsafe condition has
been corrected.
11)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 DOSH and
specifies the affected portion of the trampoline court shall
remain closed until DOSH determines that defects, if any, have
been remedied in accordance with the rules and regulations
pursuant to this part, and approves the reopening of the
affected portion.
12)Requires a state, county, or local fire or police agency that
is called to an accident involving a trampoline court where a
serious injury or death occurs to immediately notify the
nearest DOSH office.
13)Prohibits a trampoline court from operating, unless the owner
meets one of the following insurance requirements:
a) Provides an insurance policy in an amount 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;
or,
b) Meets a financial test of self-insurance, as prescribed
by rules and regulations promulgated by DOSH, to
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demonstrate financial responsibility covering liability.
The insurance policy must be obtained from one or more
admitted insurers licensed by the Department of Insurance
to write liability insurance in this state, as defined in
Section 100 of the Insurance Code, or by one or more
eligible surplus line insurers, with the insurance procured
pursuant to Section 1765.1 of the Insurance Code.
14)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 specified standards and
existing law.
15)Authorizes DOSH to adopt rules and regulations, and employ
qualified safety inspectors as it determines to be necessary
for the purposes of this part.
16)Creates the Trampoline Courts Safety Fund within the State
Treasury, and authorizes DOSH to fix and collect all fees
necessary to cover the reasonable costs of administration.
17)Specifies that all fees collected pursuant to this part shall
be deposited into the Trampoline Courts Safety Fees Account
within the Fund, and all penalties collected pursuant to this
part shall be deposited into the Trampoline Courts Safety
Penalties Account established within the Fund.
18)Requires DOSH to impose a civil penalty of not less than
fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) and not more than seventy
thousand dollars ($70,000) on any owner or operator of a
trampoline court that has willfully or intentionally violated
any rule or regulation under this bill, and that violation
results in a death or serious injury.
19)States that it is the intent of the Legislature that the
rules and regulations adopted are consistent with those
adopted by the OSHSB for traveling amusement rides, to the
extent that they are found to be appropriate, and that OSHSB
may consider other relevant information in adopting its rules
and regulations, including, but not limited to, the American
Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) International Committee
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Standards on Amusement Rides and Devices.
20)Provides definitions for the following terms: "Fund,"
"institutional trampoline," "operator," "owner," "qualified
safety inspector," "trampoline," "trampoline court," and
"trampoline court foam pit."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection
Program, administered by DOSH to regulate the installation,
repair, maintenance, use, operation and inspection of all
amusement rides for the public's protection, as specified.
(Labor Code (LAB) Section 7920 et seq.)
2)Exempts certain amusements from the Permanent Amusement Ride
Safety Inspection Program, including skating rinks, bowling
alleys, and trampoline courts. (LAB 7922)
3)Requires the owner of a permanent amusement ride to
immediately report by telephone to DOSH each accident where
maintenance, operation, or use of the ride results in a death
or serious injury. (LAB 7925)
4)Requires the owner of a permanent amusement ride to maintain
insurance for the use of the ride, as specified. (LAB 7926)
5)Requires each amusement ride owner to provide training to its
employees for safe ride operation and maintenance of amusement
rides. (LAB 7927)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill. This bill is intended to regulate
trampoline parks in the same manner as amusement parks in
order to make them safer for the general public. Under
existing law, trampolines are broadly exempted from the
Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program. This bill is
sponsored by Think Before You Bounce (TBYB).
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2)Author's statement. According to the author's office, "Since
2007, California has regulated both portable and permanent
amusement rides through Division of Occupational Safety and
Health. Currently, trampoline parks are completely
unregulated by DOSH. Trampoline parks are enclosed spaces
where trampolines are combined to allow individuals to bounce
to great heights off of walls and the floor. With safe
operation, trampoline park risks can be greatly reduced.
However, when unsafely operated, trampoline parks can be
extremely dangerous. By ensuring that trampoline parks
operate at a level comparable to permanent amusement park
rides, SB 256 seeks to bring down injury rates and ensure that
California's children and adults can more safely use
trampoline parks."
3)Amusement ride safety inspection and the growth of trampoline
parks. California's first legislation inspecting amusement
rides was passed in 1968, after the death of a teenage woman
the year prior at the Kern County Fair. In 1999,
then-Assemblymember Tom Torlakson successfully passed AB 850,
Chapter 585, Statutes of 1999, the Permanent Amusement Ride
Safety Inspection Program, which created standards for
inspecting and regulating amusement rides for the safety of
the general public. Trampoline parks and trampolines generally
were exempted from the bill, as they were not common
amusements at the time. Since then, trampoline parks have
grown in popularity throughout California. According to the
sponsor, there are currently 26 trampoline parks throughout
the state, with another 12 planned. These establishments are
currently unregulated.
4)Trampoline safety. According to the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP), "in 2009 the National Electronic Injury
Surveillance System estimated almost 98,000 trampoline-related
injuries in the U.S., resulting in 3,100 hospitalizations."
The AAP also noted that rates of trampoline-related injuries
appear to be higher for children than in adults. In addition,
the AAP report further states that "75 percent of trampoline
injuries occur when multiple people are jumping on the mat."
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends for
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backyard trampolines, "one person at a time, no somersaults or
flips, full safety pad coverage, no children younger than 6,
and adult supervision." While this data applies to
individual, backyard-type trampolines, the design of
trampoline parks is arguably much more dangerous, by
connecting multiple trampolines across a large floor-space,
along walls, and with multiple people bouncing at once.
Trampolines parks have a high incidence rate of injury.
Research done by TBYB shows an average of 2.0 to 2.7 injures
per thousand hours of use. This injury rate is more than four
times higher than that of downhill skiing, and more than two
hundred times higher than that of permanent amusement rides.
Further, there have been documented cases of significant
injuries resulting from trampoline park activities, including
deaths. One of the most notable cases is Ty Thomasson, a
30-year-old male who broke his neck landing in a pit of foam
blocks in 2012. Despite efforts by paramedics to save him,
Mr. Thomasson died at the trampoline park due to blunt force
trauma to his spine.
5)ASTM International. The ASTM Committee F24 on Amusement Rides
and Devices was formed in 1978, with the scope of developing
standard methods of testing, performance specifications,
definitions, maintenance, operations, practices, and guides
for amusement rides and devices. These standards play a role
in all aspects important to amusement rides and devices, and
the work of this Committee is coordinated with other ASTM
Committees, societies, and organizations that have mutual
interests.
In 2011, an ASTM F24 Sub-Committee met with representatives from
the International Association of Trampoline Parks to establish
a special task force that would draft standards regarding the
design, manufacture, installation, operation, maintenance,
inspection and major modification of commercial trampoline
devices found in trampoline parks. This working draft standard
has been completed, and will be voted on for adoption by the
full ASTM F24 Sub-Committee this year. The standards
developed in this report would provide DOSH with additional
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guidelines in developing the rules and regulations pursuant to
SB 256.
6)Arguments in support. According to TBYB, "Over the past five
years, trampoline parks have grown rapidly in California. We
estimate over 3 million Californians are annually attending
the 26 trampoline parks that currently exist in California and
that about 6,000 people are being injured and about 600 of
those injuries are severe enough to warrant 911 calls."
Further, TBYB notes that "trampoline parks are currently
unregulated, and proponents believe that this high incidence
of injuries demands regulation by DOSH, like permanent
amusement rides. Proponents argue that SB 256 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."
7)Arguments in opposition. The International Association of
Trampoline Parks contends that "trampolines carry a certain
level of inherent risk, and the choice of acceptable risk
should belong to the public." They also state, "We do not
believe our small, entrepreneurial industry can sustain this
exhaustive regulatory scheme."
Department of Finance (DOF) writes in opposition that it is
"unclear if additional regulations pertaining to the
inspection of trampoline courts and safety training would
result in fewer trampoline injuries. Currently, there is no
clear documentation linking trampoline injuries to operator
negligence as opposed to the inherent risk of the activity, so
the bill may be premature."
8)Previous 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.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Think Before You Bounce (sponsor)
Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC)
Consumer Federation of California
Saferparks
Opposition
Department of Finance
International Association of Trampoline Parks
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Pontes / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301