BILL NUMBER: AB 1652 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 17, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 25, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jones
( Principal coauthor: Senator
Yee )
JANUARY 14, 2010
An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 115815) to
Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1652, as amended, Jones. Public safety: ski resorts.
Existing law requires a person under 18 years of age to wear a
properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet while operating a bicycle
or riding upon a bicycle as a passenger upon the streets or any
other public bicycle path. Existing law also regulates certain
behavior related to recreational activities and public safety,
including among other activities, skateboarding and recreational
water use.
This bill would require ski resorts to prepare an annual safety
plan, make the safety plan available to the public upon request, and
make available to the public a monthly report with specified details
about any fatal incidents at the resort which resulted from a
recreational activity. The bill would also require a standardized
signage policy and a standardized equipment padding policy for the
resort.
The bill would also provide that it shall become operative only if
SB 880 is also enacted.
This bill would require a person under 18 years of age or a person
employed by a ski resort, as defined, to wear a properly fitted and
fastened snow sport helmet while operating snow skis or a snowboard.
The bill would require resorts to inform all patrons at the time of
ticket or pass purchase of the helmet requirement. The bill would
require a resort to revoke the ticket or pass of a patron who
violates the helmet requirement if during the resort's usual and
customary enforcement of resort rules the resort identifies a patron
who has violated the requirement.
The bill would also require a ski resort to prepare an annual
safety plan, as specified, that conforms with the requirements of
federal regulations applicable to ski resorts operating on federal
property, as well as other specified requirements. The bill would
also require a ski resort to create a monthly summary report for each
calendar month of operation stating the number of deaths and
injuries at the resort of which mountain operational personnel are
aware. The bill would specify the type of information that would be
included in the report.
The bill would also require a ski resort to provide the annual
safety plan or the monthly summary report within 14 days, charging no
more than $0.25 per page. The bill would also provide that if a ski
resort fails to comply with those provisions, the requesting
individual is authorized to use that failure as the basis to initiate
a civil cause of action to compel the production of the requested
items. The bill would allow a prevailing plaintiff in that action to
obtain costs and fees.
The bill would specify that nothing in those measures shall be
construed to change the existing assumption of the risk doctrine as
it applies to ski resorts.
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 4 (commencing with Section 115815) is added to
Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
Article 4. Ski Resorts
115815. For the purposes of this article, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "Ski resort" means any ski resort that operates in California.
(b) "Skier day" refers to a ski industry term used to denote one
visit to a ski resort by a guest who skis or snowboards. The term is
used to compute and state attendance figures over the course of a ski
and snowboard season.
115816. (a) The ski resort shall prepare an annual safety 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 following:
(1) A description of standardized signage and signage placement
marking ski area boundaries and both natural and manmade hazards, and
a description of how that signage and its placement also facilitate
the safe flow of skiers and snowboarders.
(2) A key to all signage to be included on all trail maps and made
available upon request at ticket sales locations and other
conspicuous point-of-sale locations.
(3) The types of manmade and natural hazards or obstacles that
will be marked by signage, be subject to protection, or both, and if
subject to protection by fencing, padding, or other impact mitigation
or diversion, the plan shall include the specific methods and
materials to be used.
(b) The ski resort shall post the annual safety plan at a location
in the ski resort where it can be viewed by the public, make the
plan available to any person who requests it at the ski resort, and
make the plan available on the ski resort's Internet Web site, if one
is maintained.
115817. (a) The ski resort shall create a monthly summary report
for each calendar month of operation stating the number of deaths and
injuries at the resort of which employees of the ski resort are
aware. Injuries shall be reported in the following categories, if
known:
(1) Evacuated to a medical care facility by air or ground
emergency medical transport vehicle.
(2) Treated and released at a mountain medical care facility.
(3) Not treated but advised to seek followup medical care.
(b) The monthly summary report shall also include the total number
of skier days for that month.
(c) The ski resort shall provide the monthly summary report to any
person who requests it in person or in writing. The monthly summary
report shall be provided within three business days of a request.
(d) The monthly summary report for any month shall be made
available no later than the 15th day of the following month.
115818. If a resort fails to comply with subdivision (c) of
Section 115817, the requesting individual may use that failure as the
basis to initiate a civil cause of action to compel the production
of the requested items. If the individual prevails in a civil action
to compel the production of these reports or documents, the resort
shall also pay the cost of the individual's attorney's fees and court
costs.
115819. (a) A person under 18 years of age shall not operate snow
skis or a snowboard unless that person is wearing a properly fitted
and fastened snow sport helmet that meets the standards of the ASTM
International or the Snell Memorial Foundation, or standards
subsequently established by those entities.
(b) A person employed by a ski resort shall not operate snow skis
or a snowboard unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and
fastened snow sport helmet that meets the standards of the ASTM
International or the Snell Memorial Foundation, or standards
subsequently established by those entities.
(c) Resorts shall inform all patrons at the time of ticket or pass
purchase of the helmet requirement described in subdivision (a). If
a resort during its usual and customary enforcement of resort rules
identifies a patron who violates the requirement in subdivision (a),
the resort shall revoke the ticket or pass of the patron.
115820. Nothing in this article shall be construed to change the
existing assumption of the risk doctrine as it applies to ski
resorts.
115815. A ski resort that operates in California shall do all of
the following:
(a) Prepare an annual safety plan that conforms with the
requirements of federal regulations applicable to ski resorts
operating on federal property.
(b) Make the annual safety plan available to the public at the ski
resort, upon request.
(c) Make available to the public a monthly report containing the
following information, if known:
(1) A description of each incident resulting in a fatality which
occurred on the ski resort property and resulted from a recreational
activity, such as skiing, snowboarding, and sledding, that the resort
is designed to provide.
(2) The age of each person killed in an incident identified in
paragraph (1), the type of recreational activity involved, the cause
of the fatality, the location at the resort where the incident
occurred, and the name of any facility where medical treatment was
provided. The report shall not identify a deceased person by name or
address.
(d) Establish a standardized signage policy used to indicate a ski
area boundary, hazard, or other safety information.
(e) Establish a policy for standardized safety padding or other
barriers for lift towers and fixed snowmaking equipment located on or
in close proximity to groomed ski runs.
SEC. 2. This act shall become operative only if
Senate Bill 880 of the 2009-10 Regular Session is also enacted.