Amended in Senate April 4, 2013

Senate Bill No. 564

Introduced by Senator Monning

February 22, 2013

An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 115815) to Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to recreational activities.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 564, as amended, Monning. Ski resorts: safety plans: accident reports.

Existing law regulates certain behavior related to recreational activities and public safety, including, among other things, playgrounds and wooden playground equipment.

This bill would require ski resorts, as defined, to prepare an annual safety plan begin insert , as defined, end insert that includes begin delete the specification and detailed description of any and all of the resort’s safety and accident prevention related management and operational standards, practices, methods and materials, policies, and procedures in specified categories, including the category of natural and manmade hazard warnings, markers, and shielding end delete begin insert , at a minimum, a detailed description of any and only those policies, procedures, standards, methods, and materials consistently employed to reduce patron deaths and injuries on the resort, as provided, among other things end insert . The bill would require the safety plan to be posted on the ski resorts Internet Web site, if any, and at a location in the ski resort. The bill would require the ski resort to create monthly and annual reports that include information begin delete , end delete of all known deaths and injuries of patrons of the resort begin insert , as provided end insert . The bill would require the ski resort to make copies of the safety plan and reports available upon request. begin delete The bill would protect the documentation and testimony used to prepare the reports from all civil discovery, subpoena, or other demand relating to civil procedure. end delete begin insert The bill would authorize a requesting individual to initiate a civil cause of action to compel the production of the safety plan or reports if a resort fails to make them available upon request. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Article 3 (commencing with Section 115815) is
added to Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and
Safety Code, to read:

 

Article 3.  Ski Resorts

 

115815.  

For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:

begin insert

(a) “Safety plan” or “plan” refers to a document describing a
plan or program to prevent accidents and reduce the number of
deaths as well as the frequency and severity of injuries that
generally conforms to the structure and content of model safety
plans and programs recommended by property and casualty
insurance companies in the United States.

end insert begin insert

(b) “Season” refers to the entire period of snow sport operations
from a resort’s opening in the fall or early winter of one calendar
year to its closure in the spring or early summer of the subsequent
calendar year.

end insert begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  “Ski resort” or “resort” means any ski and other snow sport
facility or resort that operates in California.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  “Skier day” refers to a ski industry term used to denote
utilization of a snow sport resort by a guest who skis or engages
in other snow sports during a single calendar day of resort
operations. The number of skier days are used to track utilization
as well as to normalize other patron volume related statistics over
a defined period of resort operations.

begin delete

(c) “Signage key” means a summary, written or graphic, or both,
document that describes the intended meaning or instruction of
specific signage shapes, colors, symbols, and language.

end delete begin insert

(e) “Terrain park” refers to a designated area within a resort
specifically groomed for jumping and other acrobatics.

end insert

115816.  

A ski resort shall prepare an annual safety begin delete plan that
conforms with the requirements of federal regulations applicable
to ski resorts operating on federal property. In addition to meeting
federal requirements, the plan shall include the specification and
detailed description of any and all of the resort’s safety and accident
prevention related management and operational standards,
practices, methods and materials, policies, and procedures in, at a
minimum the following categories: end delete

begin delete

(a) Signage and signage key design, content, and placement.

(b) Padding, fencing, and other impact protection.

(c) Trail intersection design and management, speed and
congestion controls, and other collision prevention safeguards.

(d) Natural and manmade hazard warnings, markers, and
shielding.

(e) Lift chair design and operation.

(f) Boundary markings, barriers, and exit management.

(g) Terrain park design and operation.

(h) Reckless behavior management.

(i) Accident reporting, tracking, and analysis.

(j) Mountain personnel qualifications, staffing, and management.

(k) Officer or manager, or both, assignments and accountability
for safety and accident prevention.

(l) Avalanche prevention and management.

(m) Rescue procedures and performance management.

(n) Alcohol availability and use limitations.

(o) Patron and staff helmet use.

(p) Partial and complete closure policies, criteria, and
procedures.

(q) Child accompaniment and supervision requirements.

(r) Rental equipment quality standards and maintenance.

end delete

begin delete (s) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete Mountain medical facility, if any, staffing, quality of care,
oversight, and certification. end delete begin insert plan. The safety end insert begin insert plan shall, at a
minimum, include the following: end insert

begin insert

(a) A detailed description of any and only those policies,
procedures, practices, standards, methods, and materials
consistently employed to reduce patron deaths and injuries on the
resort lifts, slopes, trails, and terrain parks.

end insert begin insert

(b) A detailed explanation of all criteria used for designating
terrain or trail difficulty.

end insert

115817.  

(a) The ski resort shall post its annual safety plan on
its Internet Web site, if one is maintained, and at a location in the
ski resort where it can be viewed by the public.

(b) The ski resort shall make copies of its annual safety plan
begin delete immediately end delete available begin insert in a prompt and timely manner end insert to any person
who requests it at the ski resort during its regular hours of
operation, and begin insert , if the resort does not have an Internet Web site, end insert
mail or e-mail copies of the plan within three business days of a
request by begin delete phone end delete begin insert telephone end insert , Internet, or mail. The resort may
charge for any postage and a per-page copying fee, not to exceed
the usual and customary charge of public libraries in the area of
the resort.

begin delete

115818.  

(a) (1) By the 15th calendar day after the end of each
full or partial calendar month of operation, the ski resort shall
create a report of all known deaths and injuries of patrons of the
resort that occur either on site or off site if the off site injury or
death involved voluntarily or involuntarily egress out of the resort
boundaries. The report shall not include a victims identity. The
report shall include all the following information for each death
or injury if available:

(A) Age and sex of the victim.

(B) Type of recreational activity and equipment.

(C) Date, time, and location.

(D) Ambient and surface conditions.

(E) Apparent mechanism of injury.

(F) Apparent location of injuries.

(G) Apparent nature of injuries.

(H) Consciousness and alertness of the victim.

(I) Injury severity score.

(J) Mode of transportation used to move the person from the
resort.

(2) The monthly report shall include the number of skier days
for the month.

(b) Within 60 calendar days of the end of its operation for a
season, the resort shall prepare a summary annual report that, at a
minimum, includes for the most recent past season a summary of
all of the following:

(1) The total number of deaths and injuries, as described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), that occurred.

(2) The total number of ambulance, ground, and air transports
from the resort.

(3) The total number of skier days for the season.

(c) The ski resort shall make copies of the monthly and annual
reports immediately available to any person who requests them at
the ski resort during its regular hours of operation and mail or
e-mail copies of the reports within three business days of a request
by phone, Internet, or mail. The resort may charge for any postage
and a per-page copying fee, not to exceed the usual and customary
charge of public libraries in the area of the resort.

115819.  

Any documentation or testimony used by the ski resort
to create the reports prepared pursuant to Section 115818 shall be
protected from all civil discovery, subpoena, or other demand
relating to civil procedure.

115820.  

This article does not change existing state, local, and
case law with respect to the application of the assumption of risk
doctrine to participants in recreational activities at ski resorts in
the state.

end delete begin insert

begin insert 115818. end insert   

(a) (1) By the 15th calendar day after the end of each
full or partial calendar month of snow sport operations, the resort
shall create a summary monthly report of the number of all deaths
that occur onsite, or subsequent to an accident that occurred onsite
or after voluntary or unintended egress from the resort boundaries,
and all injuries to any person that occurred onsite about which
the resort is aware, unless the injury does not require medical
service other than ordinary first aid onsite. The summary report
shall specify the number of injured patrons using air or ground
ambulance transportation from the resort to a medical facility.
The summary report shall include, individual incident reports of
deaths and injuries, including all the accident and injury-related
information collected by the resort, with the identity of the victim
redacted.

(2) The summary monthly report shall also include the number
of skier days for the month, the number of days of operation, and
the approximate relative percentage of open slopes and trails by
the terrain difficulty designations used by the resort as well as the
criteria for those designations.

(b) Within 60 calendar days of the end of the calendar year or
of its operation for a season, whichever day is later, the resort
shall annually prepare a summary seasonal report consolidating
and including all of the information from the reports required
pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) (1) The resort shall make copies of the reports required
pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) available in a prompt and
timely manner to any person who requests them at the resort during
its regular hours of operation and mail or e-mail copies of the
reports within three business days of a request by telephone,
Internet, or mail. The resort may charge for any postage and a
per page copying fee not to exceed the usual and customary charge
of public libraries in the area of the resort.

(2) This subdivision does not require a resort to publicly post
the reports required pursuant to subdivisions (a) or (b) on its
Internet Web site or anywhere on its premise.

end insert begin insert

begin insert 115819. end insert   

If a resort fails to comply with a request made pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 115817 or subdivision (c) of Section
115818, the requesting individual may use that failure as the basis
to initiate a civil cause of action to compel the production of the
requested information. If the individual prevails in a civil action
to compel the production of these reports or documents, the resort
shall pay the cost of the individual’s attorney’s fees and court
costs.

end insert begin insert

begin insert 115820. end insert   

This article does not change the existing assumption
of risk doctrine as it applies to ski resorts.

end insert