BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 256
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 256 (Lieu) - As Amended: August 7, 2013
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 7-0
Business and Professions
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes requirements and procedures for the
Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) to regulate
and inspect trampoline courts. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines trampoline court as an area compromised of one or more
institutional trampolines, a series of institutional
trampolines, a trampoline court foam pit, or a series of
trampoline court pits. Further requires DOSH to promulgate
procedures to determine which facilities are identified as
trampoline courts.
2)Defines operator or owner as a person who owns or controls or
has the duty to control the operation of a trampoline court,
including the state (every state agency), each county, city,
district, and all public and quasi-public corporations and
public agencies.
3)Requires DOSH to formulate and propose rules and regulations
for adoption by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards
Board (OSHSB) for the safe installation, construction, repair,
maintenance, use, operation, and inspection of all trampoline
courts for the protection of the general public using these
facilities. Further expresses legislative intent the
rules/regulations adopted be consistent with those governing
amusement rides, as appropriate.
4)Requires each owner of a trampoline court, on an annual basis,
to submit to DOSH a certificate of compliance on a form
prescribed by DOSH, which includes specified information
SB 256
Page 2
(e.g., manufacturer name(s) of trampolines used and a record
of a safety inspection conducted by a qualified inspector
within the past 12 months consistent with the measure's
requirements.).
FISCAL EFFECT
Administrative costs, of at least $730,000, to the Department of
Industrial Relations (DIR) - DOSH and Cal/OSHA, to regulate and
inspect trampoline courts, as specified. OSHSB may incur costs
as well to process any citation appeals. This measure
authorizes DOSH to establish and collect fees necessary to cover
the reasonable costs of administering the requirements of this
measure, as specified. As such, the majority of DIR's costs
will likely be offset; however, it is likely the department will
incur costs not covered by a fee.
SUMMARY CONTINUED
5)Requires the owner to maintain all necessary records to
demonstrate the requirements of this measure have been met,
including, but not limited to, employee training records,
maintenance/repair/inspection records, and accident records,
as specified. Further requires these records to be available
to DOSH for inspection.
6)Requires DOSH, in addition to the annual inspections, to
inspect trampoline court records and/or its trampolines under
either of the following circumstances:
a) DOSH finds the certificate of compliance submitted is
fraudulent.
b) DOSH determines a trampoline court has a
disproportionately high incidence of accidents, which may
be defined through regulation.
7)Requires each operator to report to DOSH, within 24 hours, by
telephone each known accident where use of the trampoline
court results in death or serious injury to any person, unless
the injury does not result in medical attention other than
first aid.
8)Authorizes DOSH to inspect the trampoline court after the
reported accident and to order the trampoline court to cease
SB 256
Page 3
operation of a device if it is determined to be hazardous or
unsafe. Further requires DOSH to re-inspect the device within
five working days of receiving written notice the unsafe
condition has been corrected, as specified.
9)Prohibits a person from operating a trampoline court unless
one of the following is in existence:
a) The owner provides an insurance policy of not less than
$1 million per occurrence insuring the owner against
liability for injury or death.
b) The owner meets a financial test of self-insurance, as
prescribed by DOSH regulations, to demonstrate financial
responsibility covering liability for injury.
10)Requires each owner of a trampoline court to provide training
for its employees on maintenance and safe operation of the
equipment, as specified.
11)Requires DOSH to adopt rules and regulations for the
administration of this measure.
COMMENTS
1)Background . AB 850 (Torlakson), Chapter 585, Statues of 1999,
established the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection
(PAR) program, administered by DOSH. DOSH adopted
administrative regulations to implement this program,
including requiring the submission of a certificate of
compliance, suspension/revocation procedures, and accident
response/notification. Likewise, OSHSB adopted technical
regulations related to the types of rides inspected and
qualifications of inspectors.
Under this program, amusement park owners are required to
maintain maintenance records and other relevant information
and make these records available to DOSH for inspection.
Likewise, incidents are required to be reported to Cal/OSHA
within 24 hours and subject to an investigation. Trampolines
are exempt from inspection. This bill is modeled after the
PAR program.
2)Purpose . According to the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP), "in 2009 the National Electronic Injury Surveillance
System estimated almost 98,000 trampoline-related injuries in
SB 256
Page 4
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 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 backyard
trampolines, "one person at a time, no somersaults or flips,
full safety pad coverage, no children younger than 6, and
adult supervision."
According to the author, "Research done by Think Before You
Bounce (TBYB), a trampoline park safety advocacy group [and
sponsor of this bill], shows an average of 2.0 to 2.7 injures
per thousand hour of use. That's more than four times higher
than downhill skiing and more than two hundred times higher
than permanent amusement rides. Currently, trampoline parks
are completely unregulated by Cal-OSHA. By ensuring that
trampoline parks operate at a level comparably 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."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081