BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1652
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1652 (Jones)
As Amended April 12, 2010
Majority vote
HEALTH 12-7 JUDICIARY 7-3
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|Ayes:|Monning, Ammiano, Carter, |Ayes:|Feuer, Brownley, Evans, |
| | | |Jones, Swanson, Monning, |
| |De La Torre, De Leon, | |Nava |
| |Eng, Hernandez, Jones, | | |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, | | |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Adams, Conway, Emmerson, |Nays:|Tran, Hagman, Knight |
| |Gaines, Hayashi, Smyth, | | |
| |Audra Strickland | | |
| | | | |
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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 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
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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; report
injuries, in specified categories, and include the total
number of skier days for that month; 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;
d) 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;
e) 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,
f) 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 $.25 per page, to
provide copies and recover cost of postage, if applicable.
3)Authorizes the requesting individual to initiate a civil cause
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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.
4)States that nothing in this bill changes the existing
assumption of risk doctrine as it applies to ski resorts.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : 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 wearing a helmet.
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Martin Radosevich / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
AB 1652
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FN: 0003990