BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1652
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
AB 1652 (Jones) - As Amended: February 25, 2010
SUBJECT : Public safety: ski resorts.
SUMMARY : Requires ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan
and create a monthly summary report stating the number of deaths
and injuries at the resort. Requires a person under 18 years of
age and a person employed by a ski resort to wear a properly
fitted and fastened snow sport helmet when operating snow skis
or a snowboard. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a person under 18 years of age and a person employed
by a ski resort to wear a properly fitted and fastened snow
sport helmet that meets the standards of American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) International (originally known
as the American Society for Testing and Materials) or the
Snell Memorial Foundation when operating snow skis or a
snowboard. Requires the resort to inform all patrons of the
helmet requirement at the time of ticket or pass purchase, and
revoke the ticket or pass of the patron who violates the
helmet requirement if observed during usual and customary
enforcement of resort rules.
2)Requires a ski resort that operates in California to:
a) Prepare an annual safety plan that, in addition to
meeting federal regulations, includes a description of
signage marking specified ski area boundaries and hazards,
a key to all signage on all trail maps, clearly posted at
each lift entrance and exit, the types of hazards that will
be marked by signage if subject to protection by fencing or
padding, and other specified information;
b) Post the annual safety plan at a publicly viewable
location in the ski resort, make it available to any person
who requests it at the resort, and make it available on the
ski resort's Internet Web site, if one is maintained;
c) Create a summary report for each month of operation
stating the number of deaths and injuries at the resort of
which employees of the ski resort are aware;
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d) Report injuries, with respect to treatment outcomes for
the injured person, in specified categories, and include
the total number of skier days for that month;
e) Provide the report to any person who requests it in
person or in writing, within three business days of a
request, and make it available no later than the 15th day
of the following month;
f) Generate the report, in 2) c) above, based on specified
source documentation information, such as a description of
each injury or fatality from a recreational activity that
occurred on the ski resort's property for which operating
personnel have generated a written report or of which the
resort or those personnel are aware absent a report.
Requires the ski resort to also include: age; gender; date
and time; helmet use; cause of death or injury of the
person who was injured or died; if known; and, other
specified information;
g) Include in the source documentation information whether
resort personnel recommended that the injured or deceased
person seek specified medical treatment or transportation,
and remove all personally identifying information from the
document prior to public viewing or duplication; and,
h) Make the source documentation information available to
any person who requests it in person or in writing within
14 business days of the request, and allow the resort to
charge a reasonable fee not to exceed $0.25 per page, to
provide copies and recover cost of postage, if applicable.
3)Authorizes the requesting individual to initiate a civil cause
of action against a resort if it fails to comply with
specified requirements and requires the resort to pay the cost
of the individual's attorney's fees and court costs if the
individual prevails in a civil action against the resort.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies the requirements, among other things, for obtaining
a license for and the operation of passenger aerial tramway at
ski resorts and requires the Department of Occupational Health
and Safety (DOSH) to conduct inspections of aerial tramways
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biannually.
2)Provides that every person who, among other things, willfully
commits a trespass by knowingly skiing in an area or on a ski
trail which is closed to the public and has signs posted
indicating the closure is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3)Requires the reporting of any fatality or injury of a patron
requiring more than standard first aid by an operator of
amusement rides to the DOSH.
4)Prohibits a person under 18 years of age from operating a
bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter, in-line or roller skates, or
a skateboard, nor ride upon a bicycle, a nonmotorized scooter,
or a skateboard as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, or any
other public bicycle path or trail unless that person is
wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that
meets ASTM International, the Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) standards, or standard subsequently
established by those entities. This requirement also applies
to a person who rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining
seat that is attached to the bicycle or in a trailer towed by
the bicycle. Violations are punishable by a fine of not more
than $25.
5)Existing federal law provides that the Secretary of
Agriculture is authorized to issue permits for the use and
occupancy of lands within the National Forest System for
Nordic and alpine skiing operations and purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, there are
currently no requirements concerning posting of signs related
to ski slope conditions, boundary warnings, or known hazards.
Consumers are unable to obtain information about overall death
and injury statistics or the relative safety performance of
individual ski resorts because data is only aggregated
nationally by the National Ski Area Association.
Additionally, the author sites a 2008 study conducted by
University of Washington Professor Peter Cummings, which
concluded that the use of helmets could reduce the risk of
serious injury in up to 60% of all accidents. The report also
found that skiers and snowboarders who crashed or fell had a
15% reduction in the risk of any head injury if they were
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wearing a helmet.
Several Ski resorts have recognized the life-saving value of
helmets, Vail Resorts (Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver
Creek in Colorado, along with Heavenly in California), among
several others have all announced mandatory helmet policies
for its employees beginning with the 2009-10 snow season. The
author states that this bill takes a comprehensive approach to
promote increased safety for skiers and snowboarders by
requiring better signage, accident and injury reports, and
helmet use for youth and resort employees.
2)SKI AND SNOWBOARD ACCIDENT STATISTICS . According to "Skiing
Trauma and Safety: Sixteenth Volume," accidents claimed the
lives of 562 snowboarders and skiers at U.S. ski resorts
between 1992 and 2005. The significant majority of the
fatalities were skiers. Experienced males between the ages of
18 and 43 accounted for most of the deaths, most commonly due
to severe head injuries resulting from high-speed impact with
a tree. An estimated 100,000 to 140,000 injuries at ski
resorts require treatment in an emergency room each year.
Approximately 37.1 people have died skiing or snowboarding per
year on average.
3)SKI AND SNOWBOARD HELMET STUDIES . Numerous studies conducted
in the last few years have shown that skiers and snowboarders
who wear helmets have a reduced risk of head injuries.
According to a 2005 study by Hagel, Pless, Goulet, Platt, and
Robitaille titled "Effectiveness of Helmets in Skiers and
Snowboarders: Case-Control and Case Crossover Study," helmets
may reduce the risk of head injuries in skiers and
snowboarders by 29%-56%. Another study by Macnab, Smith, and
Gagnon titled, "Effect of Helmet Wear on the Incidence of
Head/face and Cervical Spine Injuries in Young Skiers and
Snowboarders," found that helmet use for skiers and
snowboarders under the age of 13 reduces the incidence of head
injury requiring investigation and/or treatment. Both studies
concluded that helmets protect skiers and snowboarders against
head injuries.
4)ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE INFORMATIONAL HEARING . In
November 2008 the Assembly Judiciary Committee held an
informational hearing on the "Ski and Snowboard Health, Safety
and Liability Standards." The background materials stated
approximately 30 resorts in California draw skiers and
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snowboarders from all over the world. Recently publicized
deaths and injuries of resort guests and personnel have drawn
public attention to the industry's safety policies and
practices. The vast majority of the public is poorly informed
about serious risks facing the customers, as well as, the
employees at California ski resorts. The ski industry in
California has no uniform safety policies, procedures, or
signage, and those safety practices that are in place vary
from location to location. Increased snowboarding presents
unique safety issues and the need for specific new
precautionary measures.
5)FEDERAL REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO SKI RESORTS OPERATING ON
FEDERAL PROPERTY . Federal regulations state that it is the
responsibility of the authorized officer to ensure that the
holder of a winter recreation resort permit, in consultation
with the authorized officer, prepare and annually revise an
operating plan that covers all operations authorized by the
permit. The authorized officer must approve the operating
plan and annual revisions before they are implemented. Once
approved by the authorized officer, incorporate the operating
plan and annual revisions as an appendix to the permit.
The operating plan for a winter recreation resort shall, at a
minimum, address the following operations: a) ski patrol and
first aid; b) communications; c) signs; d) general safety and
sanitation; e) erosion control; f) accident reporting; g)
avalanche control; h) search and rescue; i) boundary
management; j) vegetation management; k) designation of
representatives; l) trail routes for Nordic skiing; and, m)
explosive magazine security (where applicable). The federal
requirements are non-specific, relying on federal forest
service personnel to determine whether a particular plan is
suitable or sufficient. The federal regulations provide
little guidance for state officials considering a safety plan.
6)ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT . According to the sponsor, the
California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization (CSSSO), this
bill will promote safety at California ski resorts by
requiring children to wear helmets and improve access to ski
resort safety information, which will allow consumers to make
informed decisions. While CSSSO acknowledges the inherent
dangers of skiing and snowboarding, requiring ski resorts to
enforce the use of helmets for children on slopes, make their
safety plans publicly accessible, and provide information on
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injuries and fatalities that occur at the ski resorts, coupled
with other requirements in this bill will improve safety at
ski resorts.
7)SUPPORT IF AMENDED . While the California Hospital Association
(CHA) supports the portion of the bill that requires children
to use helmets, they have concerns about provisions that allow
private rights of action for failure to provide information
about an annual safety plan, the monthly summary report, or
the source documentation information. According to the CHA,
such provisions will increase unnecessary litigation and
overall cost of business.
8)ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION . The California Ski Industry
Association (CSIA) states that the requirement to include a
description of signage and signage marking ski area
boundaries, and both "natural and manmade hazards," are
undefined, extremely vague, and opens the ski resorts to
lawsuits. CSIA also opposes the requirement to post signage
at the tops and bottoms of each ski lift, which would increase
visual clutter. Additionally, CSIA believes the requirement
to report the number of deaths and injuries is cumbersome,
potentially violates the privacy of the injured individual,
and the information could be misused or misconstrued by
someone wishing to publish the data in a misleading way.
Lastly, CSIA states that the helmet requirement in this bill
would place the ski resort in an untenable position of
enforcing the new law and open the resort to potential
lawsuits.
9)RELATED LEGISLATION .
a) SB 880 (Yee) requires a person under 18 years of age to
wear a properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmet while
operating snow skis or a snowboard, or while riding upon a
seat or other device that is attached to the snow skis or
snowboard and would provide for a fine of $25 for violating
this prohibition. SB 880 would also prohibit the sale or
offer for sale for use by an operator of snow skis or a
snowboard any safety helmet that does not meet specified
safety requirements and would require such helmets to be
labeled in accordance with these. SB 880 is currently set
for hearing in the Senate Health Committee on April 14,
2010.
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b) AB 990 (Jones) would have required ski resorts to
prepare and file an annual safety report with DOSH and to
report to the DOSH on a quarterly basis any serious
injuries or fatalities involving patrons at the ski resort.
AB 990 died on the Suspense File in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
c) SB 284 (Cox) would have required DOSH to utilize the
most current safety standards when inspecting aerial
passenger tramways operated at ski resorts. SB 284 would
have also required ski resorts to file an annual safety
plan with the DOSH, make the safety plan available on
demand, report to DOSH, within 24 hours, any fatalities
involving patrons at the resort, and standardize safety
signage and equipment padding in use at the resort. SB 284
died in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee
where it was set for a hearing, but the hearing was
cancelled at the request of the author.
10)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION . AB 2218 (Keeley) of 2002 would have
created the California Ski Safety Commission (Commission) in
order to adopt uniform signs and provide a copy of its
standards and recommendations to all ski areas doing business
in California. AB 2218 would have also required ski areas
that post signs to use the signs adopted by the Commission.
This bill failed passage in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
11)DOUBLE REFERRAL . This bill has been double-referred. Should
this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to
the Assembly Committee on Judiciary.
12)TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS :
a) On page 6, line 6 insert: ", or standard subsequently
established by those entities."
b) On page 4, line 9, amend the bill as follows: Injuries
shall be reported , with respect to treatment outcomes for
the injured person, in the following categories , if known :
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization (sponsor)
American College of Emergency Physicians/California Chapter
California Chiropractic Association
California Emergency Nurses Association
California Hospital Association (support if amended)
California School Nurses Organization
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Opposition
California Ski Industry Association
Analysis Prepared by : Martin Radosevich / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097