BILL NUMBER: AB 850 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torlakson
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Correa)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Knox , Leach, and Romero)
(Coauthor: Senator Speier)
FEBRUARY 24, 1999
An act to amend Section 7901 of, and to add Part 8.1
An act to add Part 8.1 (commencing with Section
7920) to Division 5 of , the Labor Code, relating
to amusement rides.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 850, as amended, Torlakson. Amusement rides: safety.
Under existing law, amusement rides, as defined, are required to
be operated under a permit issued by the Division of Occupational
Safety and Health of the Department of Industrial Relations. The
existing statutory definition of "amusement ride," for purposes of
these provisions, excludes the operation of amusement devices of a
permanent nature.
This bill would expand the definition of amusement rides to also
include aquatic devices or a combination of mechanical and aquatic
devices of a permanent nature. This bill would define "permanent
amusement ride" to include, among other things, bungee jumping
services, but would exclude slides, playground equipment, and other
equipment from that definition.
This bill would establish the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety
Program (the program) . The This
bill would define "permanent amusement ride" for the purposes of the
program to mean mechanical devices, aquatic devices, or a combination
of devices, of a permanent nature that carry or convey passengers,
as specified. The bill would exclude slides, playground equipment,
and other equipment from that definition.
This bill would exclude certain parks and entities from
that the program, including, among
others, playgrounds operated by a school or local government,
museums, skating rinks, live animal shows, and permanent amusement
rides operated at a private event, as specified. This bill would
define "qualified safety inspector" for the purposes of the program
to mean a person approved by the division who holds a valid license
as a professional engineer issued by this state or equivalent license
issued by another state or who has demonstrated to the division that
he or she has a minimum of five years experience in the amusement
ride field, as specified, takes continuing education courses, and has
completed at least 80 hours of education from a school approved by
the division for amusement ride safety.
This bill would require each owner of a permanent amusement ride
to submit a certificate of compliance on an annual basis to the
division that includes, among other things, a written declaration,
executed by a qualified safety inspector, stating that within the
preceding 12-month period, the permanent amusement ride was inspected
by the inspector and that the permanent amusement ride is in
material conformance with the program and any rules adopted by the
division.
This bill would prohibit any person from operating a permanent
amusement ride that has been inspected by a qualified safety
inspector or a division inspector and found to be unsafe, until all
necessary repairs and modifications, or both, have been completed.
This bill would provide that the qualified safety inspector making
the written declaration may be an in-house, full-time safety
inspector employed by the owner of the permanent amusement ride, an
employee or agent of the insurance underwriter or insurance broker of
the amusement ride, an employee or agent of the manufacturer of the
ride, or an independent consultant or contractor.
This bill would provide that a person may operate a permanent
amusement ride only if at the time of that operation a minimum level
of insurance insures the owner or operator against liability arising
out of use of the ride, a bond is posted in that amount, or the owner
is self-insured in a manner established by the division.
This bill would require that the owner of a permanent amusement
ride provide specified training to its employees on the safe
operation and maintenance of amusement rides.
This bill would require each patron who rides a permanent
amusement ride to comply with certain warnings and to refrain from
certain behavior that may cause or contribute to the injury of the
patron or others, including, among other behavior, interfering with
the safe operation of the permanent amusement ride.
This bill would require persons who operate permanent amusement
rides to maintain accurate records of each accident of which he or
she has knowledge that results in the death of, or serious injury to,
a patron or employee, that was caused by the permanent amusement
ride, as specified, and would require the owner to immediately notify
the division by telephone or in person of that accident. The bill
would authorize a qualified safety inspector employed by the division
to inspect any amusement ride after the report of an accident to the
division.
This bill would authorize the division to inspect the records for
a permanent amusement ride or the ride, or both, if the division
finds that the certificate of compliance submitted pursuant to this
section for the ride is fraudulent or the accident statistics on the
ride raise safety concerns or indicate specific trends.
This bill would authorize the division to randomly inspect
permanent amusement parks pursuant to this section. The division
would be required to inspect 25% of the permanent amusement parks in
this state and not less than 25% of the permanent amusement rides at
the park. No amusement park would be inspected more than 2 times in
any 5-year period.
The bill would authorize the division to order cessation of
operation of a permanent amusement ride that is determined after
inspection to be hazardous or unsafe and would prohibit operation of
the ride until these conditions are corrected to the satisfaction of
the division.
This bill would authorize the division to fix and collect fees for
the inspection of permanent amusement rides. The bill would also
provide that if the division determines that any owner or operator of
a permanent amusement ride has willfully or intentionally violated
this part or any rule or regulation promulgated under this part, the
division shall impose on that owner or operator a civil penalty of
not less than $25,000 and not more than $70,000.
This bill would authorize the division to adopt rules and
regulations necessary for the administration of the program and to
employ qualified safety inspectors.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 7901 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
7901. As used in this part:
(a) "Amusement ride" means a mechanical device, aquatic device, or
combination of devices, of a permanent nature that carries or
conveys passengers along, around, or over a fixed or restricted
route or course for the purpose of giving its passengers amusement,
pleasure, thrills, or excitement. "Permanent amusement ride"
includes the business of operating bungee jumping services or
providing services to facilitate bungee jumping, but does not include
slides, playground equipment, coin-operated devices or conveyances
that operate directly on the ground or on a surface or pavement
directly on the ground. The division shall determine the specific
devices that are amusement rides for the purposes of this part. This
determination shall be made to apply equally to all operators of
similar or identical rides and shall be made pursuant to a procedure
promulgated by the standards board.
(b) "Operator" or "owner" means a person who owns or controls or
has the duty to control the operation of an amusement ride. It
includes the state and every state agency, and each county, city,
district, and all public and quasi-public corporations and public
agencies therein.
(c) "Permit" means a document issued by the division which
indicates that an inspection of the ride has been performed pursuant
to rules and regulations adopted by the division.
SEC. 2.
SECTION 1. Part 8.1 (commencing with Section 7920) is added
to Division 5 of the Labor Code, to read:
PART 8.1. PERMANENT AMUSEMENT RIDE SAFETY INSPECTION PROGRAM
7920. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this part
to create a state system for the inspection of permanent amusement
rides. This part shall be known and may be cited as the Permanent
Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program.
7921. This part applies to permanent amusement rides as defined
in Section 7901. This
7921. (a) For the purposes of this part, "permanent amusement
ride" means a mechanical device, aquatic device, or combination of
devices, of a permanent nature that carries or conveys passengers
along, around, or over a fixed or restricted route or course for the
purpose of giving its passengers amusement, pleasure, thrills, or
excitement. "Permanent amusement ride" includes the business of
operating bungee jumping services or providing services to facilitate
bungee jumping, but does not include slides, playground equipment,
coin-operated devices or conveyances that operate directly on the
ground or on a surface or pavement directly on the ground. The
division shall determine the specific devices that are permanent
amusement rides for the purposes of this part. This determination
shall be made to apply equally to all operators of similar or
identical rides and shall be made pursuant to a procedure promulgated
by the standards board.
(b) "Operator" or "owner" means a person who owns or controls or
has the duty to control the operation of an amusement ride. It
includes the state and every state agency, and each county, city,
district, and all public and quasi-public corporations and public
agencies therein.
(c) This part does not apply to any of the following:
(a)
(1) Any playground operated by a school or local government
if the playground is an incidental amenity and the operating entity
is not primarily engaged in providing amusement, pleasure, thrills,
or excitement.
(b)
(2) Museums or other institutions principally devoted to the
exhibition of products of agriculture, industry, education, science,
religion, or the arts.
(c)
(3) Skating rinks, arcades, laser or paint ball war games,
indoor interactive arcade games, bowling alleys, miniature golf
courses, mechanical bulls, inflatable rides, trampolines, ball
crawls, exercise equipment, jet skis, paddle boats, air boats,
helicopters, airplanes, parasails, hot air balloons, whether tethered
or untethered, theaters, amphitheaters, batting cages, stationary
spring-mounted fixtures, rider-propelled merry-go-rounds, games,
slide shows, live animal rides, or live animal shows.
(d)
(4) Permanent amusement rides operated at a private event
that are not open to the general public and not subject to a separate
admission charge.
7922. For the purposes of this part, "qualified safety inspector"
means either of the following:
(a) A person who holds a valid professional engineer license
issued by this state or issued by an equivalent licensing body in
another state, and who has been approved by the division as a
qualified safety inspector.
(b) A person who documents to the satisfaction of the division
that he or she meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The person has a minimum of five years experience in the
amusement ride field, at least two years of which were involved in
actual amusement ride inspection with a manufacturer, government
agency, amusement park, carnival, or insurance underwriter.
(2) The person completes not less than 15 hours per year of
continuing education at a school approved by the division, which
education shall include inservice industry or manufacturer updates
and seminars.
(3) The person has completed at least 80 hours of formal education
during the past five years from a school approved by the division
for amusement ride safety. Nondestructive-testing training, as
determined by the division, may be substituted for up to one-half of
the 80 hours of education.
7923. (a) On an annual basis, each owner of a permanent amusement
ride shall submit to the division a certificate of compliance on a
form prescribed by the division, which shall include the following:
(1) The legal name and address of the owner and his or her
representative, if any, and the primary place of business of the
owner.
(2) A description of, the name of the manufacturer of, and, if
given by the manufacturer, the serial number and model number of, the
permanent amusement ride.
(3) A written declaration, executed by a qualified safety
inspector, stating that, within the preceding 12-month period, the
permanent amusement ride was inspected by the qualified safety
inspector and that the permanent amusement ride is in material
conformance with the requirements of this section and all applicable
rules and regulations adopted by the division.
(b) The owner of multiple permanent amusement rides at a single
site may submit a single declaration that provides the information
required by subdivision (a) for each permanent amusement ride at that
site.
(c) A certificate of compliance shall not be required until one
year following the promulgation of any rules or regulations by the
division governing the submission of the certificates.
(d) No person shall operate a permanent amusement ride that has
been inspected by a qualified safety inspector or division inspector
and found to be unsafe, unless all necessary repairs or
modifications, or both, to the ride have been completed and certified
as completed by a qualified safety inspector.
(e) For the purposes of satisfying this section, a qualified
safety inspector shall meet the requirements in Section 7921 and may
be an in-house, full-time safety inspector of the owner of the
permanent amusement ride, an employee or agent of the insurance
underwriter or insurance broker of the permanent amusement ride, an
employee or agent of the manufacturer of the amusement ride, or an
independent consultant or contractor.
(f) The owner of a permanent amusement ride shall maintain all of
the records necessary to demonstrate that the requirements of this
section have been met, including, but not limited to, employee
training records and maintenance, repair, and inspection records for
each permanent amusement ride, and shall make them available to a
qualified inspector of the division upon request. The records shall
be made available for inspection by the division during normal
business hours at the owner's permanent place of business. The
owner, or representative of the owner, of the permanent amusement
ride or rides shall be present when the division inspects the
records. The owner shall make those records available for inspection
by the division during normal business hours at the owner's
permanent place of business. In conjunction with an inspection
of records conducted pursuant to this subdivision, the division shall
conduct a walk-through review of the amusement park at which the
permanent amusement ride or rides are located.
(g) Upon receipt of a certificate of compliance, the division
shall notify the owner of the permanent amusement ride or rides for
which a certificate is submitted whether the certificate meets all
the requirements of this section, and if not, what requirements must
still be met.
(h) The division may inspect the records for a permanent amusement
ride or the ride, or both, under either of the following
circumstances:
(1) The division finds that the certificate of compliance
submitted pursuant to this section for the ride is fraudulent.
(2) Accident statistics on the ride raise safety concerns or
indicate specific trends that may raise safety concerns.
7923.5. The division may randomly inspect permanent amusement
parks pursuant to this section. Each year, the division shall
inspect 25 percent of the permanent amusement parks in the state. In
inspecting a permanent amusement park, the division shall inspect
not less than 25 percent of the permanent amusement rides at the
park. No amusement park shall be inspected pursuant to this section
more than two times in any five-year period.
7924. (a) A person may operate a permanent amusement ride only
if, at the time of operation, one of the following is in existence:
(1) The owner of the permanent amusement ride 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 permanent amusement ride.
(2) The owner of the permanent amusement ride provides a bond in
an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000), except that
the aggregate liability of the surety under that bond shall not
exceed the face amount of the bond.
(3) The owner of a permanent amusement ride meets a financial test
of self-insurance, as prescribed by rules and regulations
promulgated by the division, to demonstrate financial responsibility
covering liability for injury suffered by patrons riding the
permanent amusement ride.
(b) The insurance policy or bond shall be obtained from one or
more insurers or sureties licensed by the Department of Insurance to
do business in this state, or by a nonadmitted insurer employed by a
surplus lines broker licensed by the Department of Insurance.
7925. Each owner of a permanent amusement ride shall 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 Materials, Committee F770-03, Section 4.1.3, and
Committee F853-93, Section 6.2, as amended or as may be amended from
time to time.
7926. (a) Each patron who rides a permanent amusement ride shall
comply with all warnings and instructions provided by the owner of
the permanent amusement ride.
(b) Each patron who rides a permanent amusement ride shall refrain
from behaving in any manner that may cause or contribute to the
injury of the patron or others, including all of the following:
(1) Exceeding the limits of the patron's ability.
(2) Interfering with the safe operation of the permanent amusement
ride.
(3) Disengaging any safety devices that are provided.
(4) Disconnecting or attempting to disable any safety or
restraining device of a permanent amusement ride, except at the
express instruction of the operator.
(5) Altering or enhancing the intended speed, course, or direction
of a permanent amusement ride.
(6) Using or attempting to use the controls of a permanent
amusement ride designed solely to be operated by the operator of the
permanent amusement ride.
(7) Overloading a permanent amusement ride beyond its design
capacity.
(8) Throwing, intentionally dropping, or expelling an object from
a permanent amusement ride, or toward another patron, except as
permitted by the ride operator.
(9) Purposefully embarking or disembarking from a permanent
amusement ride except at the time and area designated for such a
purpose, or at the direction and under the direct supervision of an
authorized agent or employee of the ride operator, or in an
emergency.
(10) Extending arms and legs beyond the carrier or seating area
except at the express direction of the ride operator.
(c) A patron shall not board or attempt to board a permanent
amusement ride unless the patron, or, for a minor patron, his or her
parent or guardian, reasonably determines that, at a minimum, he or
she has sufficient knowledge to use the amusement ride, knows the
range and limits of his or her ability and that the requirements of
the ride will not exceed those limits, and is not under the influence
of alcohol or any controlled substance that affects his or her
ability to safely use the ride or obey the posted or oral
instructions of the amusement ride operator.
7927. (a) Each person who operates a permanent amusement ride
shall maintain accurate records of each accident of the permanent
amusement ride, of which the operator has knowledge, that results in
death or serious injury to a patron or employee and that is caused by
the permanent amusement ride. If an accident results in the death
or serious injury of a patron or employee, the owner of
the permanent amusement ride shall immediately notify the division by
telephone or in person of that accident.
(b) The records required by this section shall be made
available for inspection by the division upon request during normal
business hours at the primary place of business of the permanent
amusement ride owner. The owner or a representative of the owner of
the permanent amusement ride shall be present when the division
inspects those records filed with the division on an
annual basis . A qualified safety inspector employed by the
division may inspect any permanent amusement ride after the report of
an accident to the division. The division may order cessation
of operation of a permanent amusement ride if it has been determined
after inspection to be hazardous or unsafe. Operation shall not
resume until these conditions are corrected to the satisfaction of
the division.
(c) For purposes of this section, "serious injury" means
overnight hospitalization, of which the owner has knowledge, within
24 hours of the injury. Serious injury does not include
overnight hospitalization for observation, first aid treatment,
including, but not limited to, sunburn treatment and subsequent
observation of minor scratches, cuts, burns, splinters, and other
minor injuries that do not ordinarily require medical care, even if
provided by a physician and surgeon or licensed medical personnel.
7928. The division shall adopt rules and regulations necessary
for the administration of this part. The division may employ
qualified safety inspectors as necessary for the purposes of this
part.
7929. The division may fix and collect fees for the inspection of
permanent amusement rides that it deems necessary to cover the
actual cost of having the inspection performed by a division
inspector.
7930. If the division determines that any owner or operator of a
permanent amusement ride subject to this part has willfully or
intentionally violated this part or any rule or regulation
promulgated under this part, the division shall impose on that owner
or operator a civil penalty of not less than twenty-five thousand
dollars ($25,000) and not more than seventy thousand dollars
($70,000).