government affairs | state regulatory update
arizona | New amusement ride regulations for 2008 now require amusement ride owners, excluding inflatable devices, to have rides inspected to ASTM standards at least annually by insurer, or by a municipality, county or independent inspector experienced and educated in amusement ride inspections. Ride owners must maintain at least $1 million in liability and $500 thousand for property damage, must maintain written permit for operation of ride(s) from county, provide proof of insurance to sponsors, and maintain records of any government action on rides and serious injuries as per ASTM recording standards for at least two years. In addition, a municipal or county enforcement official may inspect, without notice, any amusement ride for probable cause and the ride owner must provide permits, records of inspection and insurance certificate, etc. to law enforcement official.
california | On May 16, there was an accident on the YO-YO ride owned by Midway of Fun carnival at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angel Camp. Twenty-three (23) people were injured when the circular chain-suspended swing ride collapsed. Three people were airlifted to local hospitals and one was admitted overnight for observation due to head trauma. Others who were on the ride at the time of the collapse suffered minor injuries. Both DOSH and CPSC are conducting investigations into this incident. DOSH closed the carnival midway and kiddieland until Sunday afternoon to conduct 100% compliance inspections. This is highly unusual and the attorney for the carnival is asking DOSH for justification for doing this, when the carnival just had an inspection some two weeks or so prior to this incident.

The ride manufacturer Chance again stressed the need for owners of the YO-YO amusement ride to follow all published manufacturer's specifications found in the ride manual, service bulletins, and the Chance Field Inspection Guide. Particular care must be taken in following all requirements as set forth in Chance service bulletin numbers B376R1077-0 and B376CRM146-A.

CalPRO alliance of carnival and ride owners held a conference call to discuss this unusual action by DOSH to shut down the entire carnival and urged all YO-YO owners to check their rides to manufacturer compliance before operating to the public.

colorado | The State's Legislative Audit Committee has been involved with amusement ride operators, consultants and engineering firms to review the State's Amusement Rides and Devices regulations. Under proposed legislation recommended by this Committee, the Division of Oil and Public Safety would require each operator of an amusement ride to submit an annual certificate of inspection to the Division, require the Director of the Division to establish minimum certification requirements for independent, third-party inspectors, require notification by operators of injuries caused by amusement rides, installation of new rides, and require a schedule for the locations of amusement rides.

Pat Crabtree, owner of Crabtree Amusements and an OABA director, has been involved with establishing these regulations.
illinois | Rep. Kevin Joyce held up the passage of HB 5319 because he wanted to make sure volunteers who work with inflatables did not have to have criminal background checks. By the time it passed the House, it was too late to get a hearing in the Senate. Margaret Vaughn, the OABA's lobbyist, instead found another bill which was still alive to amend the language from HB 5319 onto SB 1929. This bill was amended and sent to the Senate. Sen. Mike Noland of Elgin and Sen. Pam Althoff were the sponsors in the Senate.

The carnival portion of the bill was approved by the Senate Licensing Committee on May 31, Saturday morning and passed the full Senate Saturday afternoon. However because the Speaker of the House is at war with the Governor, he is targeting all bills effecting State Agencies and adding amendments that basically state that any rule-making cannot be done by the Agency but rather must come back to the General Assembly. Since the Senate President is aligned with the Governor, the Senate is stripping (non-concurring) with) these amendments off the bills and sending them back to the House to be removed, which the Speaker won't let happen.

Since the Department of Labor regulates carnivals, our bill was not immune from the political war. So though legislation thought it has been moved as far possible (passing both the House and Senate) it is still in political limbo until the House removes the anti-rulemaking amendments. The General Assembly ended their spring session just before midnight on May 31, but the Governor issued a statement today that he was calling the leaders back to balance the "unbalanced budget" which was sent to him. The Speaker is refusing to personally attend the budget meetings so the war is still on.

So for now the OABA-backed bill is basically in a holding pattern caught in a gigantic game of political chicken along with hundreds of other agency bills. Our bill did get great exposure during Friday's debate. When Rep. Bob Rita was asked by Rep. Bill Black what carnivals have to do with electrology, Rep. Rita replied, "the Bearded Lady of course!"
iowa | Senate Bill 2157 was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor on April 11, to take effect January 2009. This act calls for increases in inspection fees and strikes the provision for special inspectors authorized by the Division of Labor Services. Permit fees on rides from one to ten were increased by $10, now $20 per ride; eleven or more rides by $10, now $40 per ride. Inspection fees for rides designed for 75 lbs. or less were increased by $15, now $75 per inspection; and for rides designed for 75 lbs. or more with assembly less than 40 work hours were increased by $20, now $110, per inspection. Electrical inspection of concession booths and devices were increased by $5, now $40 each.
kansas | House Bill No. 2616, concerning amusement ride inspection and regulation, providing penalties and remedies for violation, and patron responsibility passed in the Senate as substitute House Bill 2504. According to Denny Stoecklein, general manager of the Kansas State Fair, who has been attending initial special committee hearings, tells us while there have been no serious incidents in over 10 years, this bill further requires patron safety regulations and reporting of serious injuries. The OABA and Haas & Wilkerson, along with N.A.M.E., helped Stoecklein with bill details and amendments. This bill requires ride permits, operator training and documentation, non-destructive testing of rides per ASTM standard, and allows the Secretary of Labor to adopt rules and regulations for amusement ride inspection standards and certification of inspectors. This new act was signed by the Governor and will take effect January 2009.
kentucky | Senate bill S203, filed as a result of the Six Flags ride incident was amended, passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor in April. This new law requires a business identification number, specifies mandatory pre-opening and test of ride or attraction, requiring ride operators to be age 18 and only operating one ride at a time. It also requires reporting of serious injuries or fatalities within 12 hours, provides for submission of ride manuals, bulletins and inspection records upon request by the Department of Agriculture and provides that rides must be maintained and operated in accordance with manufacturer manuals, ASTM, NEC and NFPA latest standards.

This bill was amended in the Senate by adding that a ride operator assistant may be age 16 or older to load and unload, take tickets, check ride restraints or guard entrance or exit of ride while ride is operating. It also provides for the exclusion of operators on certain rides by the Commissioner and permits the department to promulgate administrative regulations regarding ASTM standards.
minnesota | SF 1370 modifying Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 184B - Regulation of Amusement Rides took effect January 2008. This bill updates and defines Certified Amusement Inspectors, Operator, Owner, Rider, and provides for increased liability insurance of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate coverage. It also requires training documentation of ride operators and ride inspections, at least annually by certified ride inspectors having liability insurance of $1 million. In addition Daily inspections must be performed and documented and rides must be re-inspected after serious injury or illness, with records maintained by the ride owner. These regulations were discussed with carnival and ride owners during the Minnesota Federation of Fairs meeting in January and a copy of the new regulations may be obtained by calling 651.284.5064.
oklahoma | A new law that takes effect on July 1 makes Oklahoma the only state in the nation to require licensing and certification of amusement ride operators. The Oklahoma Labor Department is working with industry groups to develop licensing rules for both traveling carnivals and permanent amusement parks. According to the Department, 10 of the 31 amusement ride accidents in the state last year were caused by operator error. The Department will also begin testing water quality and mechanical equipment at waterparks. Permanent rules must be in place by next June. OABA member Frank Zaitshik, Wade Shows, is contacting the Commissioner to ask that the OABA participate, along with member carnivals operating in the State, to lend support in developing these rules.
tennessee | The OABA, carnivals, amusement parks and Tennessee Association of Fairs met with Senator Montgomery and DOL Commissioner Neely last August to discuss state's plan to introduce legislation to further regulate amusement devices. Since then SB 3547 and corresponding HB 3124 were filed in January and have quickly moved through the Senate and House Consumer and Employee Affairs Committees, with minor amendments. The OABA, amusement parks and the Tennessee Association of Fairs submitted their comments on this legislation to Labor Commissioner Neely. These bills were passed in April and signed by the Governor, effective January 2009. The OABA has notified operators of this new law.
wisconsin | At the request of the OABA, the State placed carnival owners Chuck Waterman, David Larkee and Ronald "Chip" Kedrowicz on the state's Amusement Ride Code Advisory Council to help review and recommend new regulations to further improve ride safety. They have held periodic meetings to discuss new ride regulations, including patron safety provisions and recommendations to the Department of Commerce. While the State is recommending all new amusement rides be inspected under current practice and have added two new inspectors, they have not recommended all rides be inspected annually. They are revising the ride registration and inspection process and the Council is recommending that new rides be inspected before being ridden by the public. Commerce plans to hold a public hearing this summer on the proposed regulation changes that will go into effect for the 2009 summer season.