BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 105 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 21, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY Mike Feuer, Chair SB 105 (Yee) - As Amended: April 12, 2011 As Proposed to be Amended SENATE VOTE : 32-6 SUBJECT : Public safety: snow sport helmets KEY ISSUE : should there be a mandatory helmet requirement for persons under 18 engaged in downhill skiing and snowboardING? FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal. SYNOPSIS This bill seeks to require that all persons under 18 years of age wear properly fitting helmets when downhill skiing or snowboarding, and establishes a fine for violations of this new helmet requirement. The author notes that the bill seeks to enhance safety for one of the few recreational areas lacking safety regulations for children. This Committee previously considered and supported a nearly identical measure, SB 880 (Yee, 2010), which contained a provision making the bill contingent on the passage of AB 1652. AB 1652 was vetoed by the previous governor, which subsequently voided SB 880's chaptered status. The current bill is sponsored by the California Psychological Association and has support from numerous medical organizations, psychiatric associations, child health advocates and ski industry groups. This bill is opposed by Capitol Resource Family Impact who claim that this bill is an impermissible usurpation of the rights of parents. SUMMARY : Requires persons under 18 years of age to wear properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmets while downhill skiing or snowboarding and establishes a penalty for skiers, snowboarders, and/or their parents or legal guardians for noncompliance. Specifically, this bill : 1)Prohibits persons less than 18 years of age from participating in the sport of downhill skiing or snowboarding, or from riding upon a seat or device attached to snow skies or a SB 105 Page 2 snowboard, without a properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmet meeting specified standards. 2)Establishes a fine of twenty-five ($25) dollars for any violation of this section. 3)Requires ski resorts to post signs around the resort to alert patrons about the helmet requirement for minors, and the penalty for noncompliance. Also requires ski resorts to provide written notice of the helmet requirement for minors on all trail maps and resort websites. 4)Makes the parent or legal guardian of an emancipated minor jointly and severally liable with the minor for the fine. 5)Exempts Nordic skiing (cross-country) from these provisions. 6)Provides that the bill does not increase or decrease unspecified duties imposed under existing law. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires a person under 18 years of age to wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet while operating a bicycle, motorized bicycle, or riding upon a bicycle as a passenger, upon the streets or any other public bicycle path. (Vehicle Code Section 21212(a).) 2)Establishes that every person who willfully commits a trespass by knowingly skiing in an area or on a ski trail which is closed to the public, and which has signs posted indicating the closure, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code Sec. 602(r).) 3)Prohibits operators of skateboard parks from permitting any person to ride a skateboard therein unless the person is wearing specified protective equipment, including a helmet. Establishes that any recreational skateboard facility owned or operated by a local public agency that is not supervised on a regular basis can be deemed in compliance with the protective equipment requirement by: 1) adoption of a local ordinance requiring any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear protective equipment; and, 2) posting signs at the facility alerting riders of the requirement to wear protective equipment, and stating that any person failing to do so will SB 105 Page 3 be subject to citation. (Health & Safety Code Sec. 115800.) COMMENTS : This relatively non-controversial bill is designed to improve safety for minors on California's ski slopes. The author states: California's ski slopes are perhaps the last area of recreation that lacks basic safety standards in place for children. Despite repeated warnings from public health experts, professional athletes, and ski resorts, each winter brings news of hundreds of unnecessary tragedies for the failure to wear a helmet. SB 105 can significantly reduce instances of traumatic brain injury or death for such a vulnerable population. Helmets Can Reduce the High Risk of Traumatic Injury Associated with Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding : The National Ski Areas Association reports that serious, skiing related, head or neck injuries occur at the rate of 43.6 per year nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more people are injured snowboarding than any other outdoor activity. The Consumer Product Safety Commission released a report on an investigational study which shows that although only 14 percent of skiing accidents involved head injuries they account for 56 percent of skiing related deaths. The same study determined that more than half of the head injuries suffered by children could have been mitigated if the child was wearing a ski helmet. Ski helmets, when properly designed and used, partially absorb the blunt force and dissipate the energy directed at the head resulting from a fall on the ski slopes. Although helmets do not lessen the risk of falls or crashes, they significantly lessen the impact to the head associated with ski accidents. Helmets with a rating of RS 98 or higher from the Snell Memorial Foundation of America National Standard Institute are needed for optimal protection. A 2006 LA Times article quoted Dr. Stuart Levy who noted that helmets can reduce ski or snowboard fatalities from head injuries by 80 percent. Despite the benefits of ski helmets fewer than half of American skiers wear proper head protection. As of 2009 estimates showed that only 48 percent of all skiers wore helmets, a marked improvement from 2006 when only 33.2 percent of skiers wore helmets. Helmet advocates believe that the positive results SB 105 Page 4 experienced by mandating helmets for motorcycle and bicycle riders will have similar results for skiing and snowboarding. Numerous studies have shown that increasing helmet use will reduce the risk of traumatic head injury for skiers and snowboarders. Reducing Falls Will Reduce the Occurrence of Traumatic Brain Injury: According to the CDC falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury in the country, accounting for 35.2 percent of all traumatic brain injuries (the second most common cause, traffic accidents, account for 17.3 percent). Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries in children 0 to 19 years of age with nearly 8,000 children being admitted to emergency rooms nationwide each day for fall related injuries (2.8 million per year). In January 2010, the Senate Committee on Health convened a hearing on traumatic brain injury. The California Brain Association testified that 220,000 Californians suffered brain injuries each year, not including the estimated 144,000 to 342,000 sports related concussions that go unreported each year. The annual cost of disease management for those suffering traumatic brain injuries ranges between $51.2 and $60 billion annually nationwide. A single person suffering a brain injury can spend upwards of $30 million for lifetime care, a significant portion of which is subsidized by public funds. Reducing brain injuries will provide significant cost savings to America's overstressed health care system. Growing National Support for Ski Helmets : In passing this bill, California will join a growing list of ski states implementing mandatory helmet laws for minors while skiing. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado and Michigan have already passed mandatory ski helmet laws and several others, including New York and New Jersey, have legislation pending to create similar laws. Lacking Oversight, Safety Standards Are Not Uniform Between California Ski Resorts : California can proudly claim some of America's best downhill skiing resorts. California's 30 resort facilities make up the backbone of the state's ski tourism industry. However, as a 2008 Assembly Judiciary Committee Hearing on "Ski and Snowboard Health, Safety and Liability Standards" found California's resorts are not governed by a uniform law. Most of California's ski resorts are located on federal land, subjecting them to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. SB 105 Page 5 Although the U.S. Forest Service requires resorts to file an annual operating and safety plan and possess the authority to enforce safety improvements at resorts, the Service takes a "hands off" approach to safety regulation and rarely mandates rules or requires improvements be made. Additionally, all ski resorts in California enjoy liability protection under California's "primary assumption of risk" doctrine which shifts liability from the resort to the skier for any injury suffered as a result of normal athletic activity. Furthermore, contractual waivers associated with lift ticket purchases gives resorts added liability protection. By requiring helmets this bill seeks to lessen the frequency and severity of injuries at ski resorts but does not alter the liability protections ski resorts currently enjoy. Author's Technical Amendment: The author prudently proposes the following technical amendment. - On page 2 line 16 insert "a" before "snowboard" Arguments in Support : The California Psychological Association claims neuropsychological research has shown that half of all skiing deaths are caused by a head injury. Observations on acute rehabilitation units from brain injured patients demonstrates that individuals who wore helmets during their accidents seemed to have less severe injuries and were consequently discharged earlier, with less in the way of post-discharge services. Individuals wearing helmets were more likely to return to pre-accident levels of functioning sooner, compared to their non-helmeted counterparts. The California Ski Industry Association notes that winter sports carry inherent risks and studies show helmet use in many situations can lessen the risk of head injuries. They note the most recent study by the National Ski Areas Association shows that approximately 85 percent of kids under 9 years of age and 75 percent of kids under 14 currently wear helmets. They believe this bill, along with their national campaign "Lids on Kids," will do much to educate the public about the need to wear helmets when skiing or snowboarding. Arguments in opposition: Capitol Resource Family Impact argues this bill will burden California businesses and constitutes an impermissible usurpation of the rights of parents to make SB 105 Page 6 decisions for their children. Capitol Resource Family Impact also believes the bill will be too difficult to enforce. Other Related Bills : SB 278 (Gaines) requires ski resorts to prepare and make public an annual safety plan, create monthly reports describing incidents resulting in fatalities occurring on the ski resort property, and establish policies for signage indicating ski boundaries and safety information, and safety padding for lift towers and other equipment near ski runs. This bill has been referred to this Committee as well as the Assembly Health Committee. AB 695 (Norby) would exempt from mandatory helmet requirements those motorcycle, motor-driven cycle or motorized bicycle drivers who are 18 years of age or older and have completed specified requirements. Prior Legislation : SB 880 (Yee) Chapter 278, Statutes of 2010 was nearly identical to SB 105. SB 880 included a provision making the bill contingent on the enactment of AB 1652 (Jones). AB 1652 was vetoed by the governor, which subsequently voided SB 880's chaptered status. AB 1652 (Jones- 2010) is nearly identical to SB 278 and would have required ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan, make the safety plan available to the public, 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 ski resort to establish its own signage policy and its own safety padding policy for the resort. Vetoed. AB 990 (Jones- 2009) Would have required ski resorts to prepare and file an annual safety report with Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and to report to the DOSH on a quarterly basis any serious injuries or fatalities involving patrons at the ski resort. Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 2218 (Keeley) of 2002 would have created the California Ski Safety Task Force, required the Task Force to adopt uniform sign standards for adoption by California ski areas, and required the Task Force to make recommendations regarding safety. Died in Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 105 Page 7 AB 2268 (Caldera) Chapter 1000, Statutes of 1993, prohibits a person under 18 years of age from operating, or riding upon a bicycle as a passenger, upon a street, bikeway, or other public bicycle path or trail unless the person is wearing a helmet meeting specified standards. The bill provides for fines to be imposed for violations of this prohibition and requires all the revenue derived from the fines to be allocated as specified. Requires that the charge against a person be dismissed if it is the first charge against that person for a violation of this prohibition. Requires any safety helmet sold or offered for sale to be conspicuously labeled in accordance with the specified standards and would prohibit the sale or offer for sale of any bicycle safety helmet which is not of a type meeting the safety standards. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Psychological Association (sponsor) American Academy of Pediatrics American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) California Brain Injury Association California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (CAL/ACEP) California Chiropractic Association California Emergency Nurses Association California Hospital Association California Medical Association California Nurses Association California Optometric Association California Psychiatric Association California Psychological Association California School Nurses Organization California Ski Industry Association California Ski & Snowboard Safety California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery California Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation California Travel Association Child Abuse Prevention Center Children's Specialty Care Coalition Consumer Attorneys of California National Ski Area Association Occupational Therapy Association of California SB 105 Page 8 Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc State Independent Living Council Opposition Capitol Resource Family Impact Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert & Nicholas Liedtke / JUD. / (916) 319-2334