Amd §§18-102, 18-105 & 18-106, add §18-105-a, Gen Ob L; amd §867, add §867-a, Lab L
Requires children under the age of eighteen to wear protective headgear while skiing or snowboarding; imposes civil fines for violations thereof; applies safety in skiing code requirements to snowboarders and snowboarding.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1405--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 15, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, STECK, D'URSO, RICHARDSON, JAFFEE,
PEOPLES-STOKES, LAWRENCE, MAGNARELLI, GOTTFRIED, RIVERA, ARROYO --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GRIFFIN, MORINELLO, TAYLOR -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Judiciary -- reported and referred to
the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the general obligations law and the labor law, in
relation to the duties of skiers and snowboarders
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 18-102 of the general obligations law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
3 8. "Snowboarder" means any person wearing a snowboard and actually on
4 a ski slope or a trail located at a ski area, for the purpose of snow-
5 boarding.
6 § 2. Subdivisions 13 and 14 of section 18-105 of the general obli-
7 gations law, as added by chapter 711 of the laws of 1988, are amended
8 and a new subdivision 15 is added to read as follows:
9 13. To report any personal injury to the ski area operator before
10 leaving the ski area; [and]
11 14. Not to willfully remove, deface, alter or otherwise damage
12 signage, warning devices or implements, or other safety devices placed
13 and maintained by the ski area operator pursuant to the requirements of
14 section 18-103 of this article[.]; and
15 15. Not to engage in downhill skiing in any area unless he or she is
16 wearing a protective helmet. The provisions of this subdivision shall
17 apply only to skiers under eighteen years of age.
18 § 3. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new section
19 18-105-a to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01803-03-0
A. 1405--A 2
1 § 18-105-a. Snowboarders; protective helmets. No person under eighteen
2 years of age shall engage in snowboarding in any area unless he or she
3 is wearing a protective helmet.
4 § 4. The opening paragraph of section 18-106 of the general obli-
5 gations law, as added by chapter 711 of the laws of 1988, is amended to
6 read as follows:
7 It is recognized that skiing [is a] and snowboarding are voluntary
8 [activity] activities that may be hazardous regardless of all feasible
9 safety measures that can be undertaken by ski area operators. According-
10 ly:
11 § 5. Paragraphs c and d of subdivision 1 of section 18-106 of the
12 general obligations law, paragraph c as added by chapter 711 of the laws
13 of 1988 and paragraph d as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 1989,
14 are amended and two new paragraphs e and f are added to read as follows:
15 c. To make available at reasonable fees, as required by subdivision
16 thirteen of section 18-103 of this article, instruction and education
17 for skiers relative to the risks inherent in the sport and the duties
18 prescribed for skiers by this article, and to conspicuously post notice
19 of the times and places of availability of such instruction and educa-
20 tion in locations where it is likely to be seen by skiers; [and]
21 d. To post notice to skiers of the right to a refund to the purchaser
22 in the form and amount paid in the initial sale of any lift ticket
23 returned to the ski area operator, intact and unused, upon declaration
24 by such purchaser that he or she is unprepared or unwilling to ski due
25 to the risks inherent in the sport or the duties imposed upon him or her
26 by this article[.];
27 e. To offer for sale or rental protective headgear and prohibit any
28 skier or snowboarder under eighteen years of age who is not wearing
29 protective headgear from boarding a passenger tramway. Such headgear
30 for sale or rental shall meet the standards of the American National
31 Standards Institute and standards set forth in regulations promulgated
32 by the commissioner of labor in accordance with the provisions of arti-
33 cle twenty-six of the labor law; and
34 f. To post notice in bold and conspicuous type at the point or points
35 of transaction the following: "NEW YORK STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT ALL
36 SKIERS AND SNOWBOARDERS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE WEAR PROTECTIVE
37 HEADGEAR."
38 § 6. The section heading and subdivision 1 of section 867 of the labor
39 law, as amended by chapter 711 of the laws of 1988, are amended to read
40 as follows:
41 Safety [in skiing] on the slopes code. 1. The commissioner, on the
42 advice of the passenger tramway advisory council as created pursuant to
43 section twelve-c of this chapter, shall promulgate rules and regu-
44 lations, consistent with article eighteen of the general obligations
45 law, intended to guard against personal injuries to downhill skiers and
46 snowboarders which will, in view of such intent, define the duties and
47 responsibilities of downhill skiers and snowboarders and the duties and
48 responsibilities of ski area operators. Such duties shall include, but
49 not be limited to, the provision by ski area operators of protective
50 headgear, for purchase or rental, and the requirement that skiers and
51 snowboarders under eighteen years of age wear protective headgear.
52 § 7. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 867-a to read as
53 follows:
54 § 867-a. Penalties. If the commissioner finds that a ski area operator
55 has knowingly violated paragraph e or f of subdivision one of section
56 18-106 of the general obligations law, the commissioner shall impose a
A. 1405--A 3
1 fine of up to one hundred dollars for the first such violation or up to
2 two hundred dollars for any violation that occurs within a year after a
3 prior violation.
4 § 8. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
5 have become a law.
