7920-7932

LABOR CODE
SECTION 7920-7932




7920.  It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this part to
create a state system for the inspection of permanent amusement
rides. This part shall be known and may be cited as the Permanent
Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program.




7921.  As used in this part:
   (a) "Permanent amusement ride" means a mechanical device, aquatic
device, or combination of devices, of a permanent nature that carries
or conveys passengers along, around, or over a fixed or restricted
route or course for the purpose of giving its passengers amusement,
pleasure, thrills, or excitement. "Permanent amusement ride" includes
the business of operating bungee jumping services or providing
services to facilitate bungee jumping, but does not include slides,
playground equipment, coin-operated devices or conveyances that
operate directly on the ground or on a surface or pavement directly
on the ground. The division shall determine the specific devices that
are permanent amusement rides for the purposes of this part. This
determination shall be made to apply equally to all operators of
similar or identical rides and shall be made pursuant to a procedure
promulgated by the standards board.
   (b) "Operator" or "owner" means a person who owns or controls or
has the duty to control the operation of an amusement ride. It
includes the state and every state agency, and each county, city,
district, and all public and quasi-public corporations and public
agencies therein.
   (c) "Qualified safety inspector" means either of the following:
   (1) A person who holds a valid professional engineer license
issued by this state or issued by an equivalent licensing body in
another state, and who has been approved by the division as a
qualified safety inspector for permanent amusement rides.
   (2) A person who documents to the satisfaction of the division
that he or she meets all of the following requirements:
   (A) The person has a minimum of five years experience in the
amusement ride field, at least two years of which were involved in
actual amusement ride inspection with a manufacturer, government
agency, amusement park, carnival, or insurance underwriter.
   (B) The person completes not less than 15 hours per year of
continuing education at a school approved by the division, which
education shall include inservice industry or manufacturer updates
and seminars.
   (C) The person has completed at least 80 hours of formal education
during the past five years from a school approved by the division
for amusement ride safety. Nondestructive-testing training, as
determined by the division, may be substituted for up to one-half of
the 80 hours of education.



7922.  This part does not apply to any of the following:
   (a) Any playground operated by a school or local government if the
playground is an incidental amenity and the operating entity is not
primarily engaged in providing amusement, pleasure, thrills, or
excitement.
   (b) Museums or other institutions principally devoted to the
exhibition of products of agriculture, industry, education, science,
religion, or the arts.
   (c) Skating rinks, arcades, laser or paint ball war games, indoor
interactive arcade games, bowling alleys, miniature golf courses,
mechanical bulls, inflatable rides, trampolines, ball crawls,
exercise equipment, jet skis, paddle boats, air boats, helicopters,
airplanes, parasails, hot air balloons, whether tethered or
untethered, theaters, amphitheaters, batting cages, stationary
spring-mounted fixtures, rider-propelled merry-go-rounds, games,
slide shows, live animal rides, or live animal shows.
   (d) Permanent amusement rides operated at a private event that are
not open to the general public and not subject to a separate
admission charge.



7923.  (a) The division shall formulate and propose rules and
regulations for adoption by the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards Board for the safe installation, repair, maintenance, use,
operation, and inspection of all permanent amusement rides as the
division finds necessary for the protection of the general public
using permanent amusement rides. The rules and regulations shall be
in addition to the existing applicable safety orders and will be
concerned with engineering force stresses, safety devices, and
preventative maintenance. Nothing in this part shall limit the
authority of the division to prescribe or enforce general or special
safety orders.
   (b) It is the Legislature's intent that the rules and regulations
adopted pursuant to this part be consistent with those adopted by the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for traveling
amusement rides, to the extent that those rules and regulations are
found to be appropriate.



7924.  (a) On an annual basis, each owner of a permanent amusement
ride shall submit to the division a certificate of compliance on a
form prescribed by the division, which shall include the following:
   (1) The legal name and address of the owner and his or her
representative, if any, and the primary place of business of the
owner.
   (2) A description of, the name of the manufacturer of, and, if
given by the manufacturer, the serial number and model number of, the
permanent amusement ride.
   (3) A written declaration, executed by a qualified safety
inspector, stating that, within the preceding 12-month period, the
permanent amusement ride was inspected by the qualified safety
inspector and that the permanent amusement ride is in material
conformance with the requirements of this section and all applicable
rules and regulations adopted by the division and standards board.
   (b) The owner of multiple permanent amusement rides at a single
site may submit a single certificate of compliance that provides the
information required by subdivision (a) for each permanent amusement
ride at that site.
   (c) A certificate of compliance shall not be required until one
year following the promulgation of any rules or regulations by the
division governing the submission of the certificates.
   (d) No person shall operate a permanent amusement ride that has
been inspected by a qualified safety inspector or division inspector
and found to be unsafe, unless all necessary repairs or
modifications, or both, to the ride have been completed and certified
as completed by a qualified safety inspector.
   (e) For the purposes of satisfying this section, a qualified
safety inspector shall meet the requirements in subdivision (c) of
Section 7921 and shall be certified by the division. Each qualified
safety inspector shall be recertified every two years following his
or her initial certification. A qualified safety inspector may be an
in-house, full-time safety inspector of the owner of the permanent
amusement ride, an employee or agent of the insurance underwriter or
insurance broker of the permanent amusement ride, an employee or
agent of the manufacturer of the amusement ride, or an independent
consultant or contractor.
   (f) The owner of a permanent amusement ride shall maintain all of
the records necessary to demonstrate that the requirements of this
section have been met, including, but not limited to, employee
training records, maintenance, repair, and inspection records for
each permanent amusement ride, and records of accidents of which the
operator has knowledge, resulting from the failure, malfunction, or
operation of a permanent amusement ride, requiring medical service
other than ordinary first aid, and shall make them available to a
division inspector upon request. The owner shall make those records
available for inspection by the division during normal business hours
at the owner's permanent place of business. The owner, or
representative of the owner, may be present when the division
inspects the records. In conjunction with an inspection of records
conducted pursuant to this subdivision, the division shall conduct an
inspection of the operation of the rides at the permanent amusement
park.
   (g) Upon receipt of a certificate of compliance, the division
shall notify the owner of the permanent amusement ride or rides for
which a certificate is submitted whether the certificate meets all
the requirements of this section, and if not, what requirements must
still be met.
   (h) The division shall, in addition to the annual inspection
performed by the division pursuant to subdivision (f), inspect the
records for a permanent amusement ride or the ride, or both, under
either of the following circumstances:
   (1) The division finds that the certificate of compliance
submitted pursuant to this section for the ride is fraudulent.
   (2) The division determines, pursuant to regulations it has
adopted, that a permanent amusement ride has a disproportionately
high incidence of accidents required to be reported pursuant to
Section 7925.
   (i) The division shall conduct its inspections with the least
disruption to the normal operation of the permanent park.



7925.  (a) Each operator of a permanent amusement ride shall report
or cause to be reported to the division immediately by telephone each
known accident where maintenance, operation, or use of the permanent
amusement ride results in a death or serious injury to any person
unless the injury does not require medical service other than
ordinary first aid. If a death or serious injury results from the
failure, malfunction, or operation of a permanent amusement ride, the
equipment or conditions that caused the accident shall be preserved
for the purpose of an investigation by the division.
   (b) A division inspector may inspect any permanent amusement ride
after the report of an accident to the division. The division may
order a cessation of operation of a permanent amusement ride if it is
determined after inspection to be hazardous or unsafe. Operation
shall not resume until these conditions are corrected to the
satisfaction of the division.
   (c) Whenever a state, county, or local fire or police agency is
called to an accident involving a permanent amusement ride covered by
this part where a serious injury or death occurs, the nearest office
of the division shall be notified by telephone immediately by the
responding agency.



7926.  (a) A person may operate a permanent amusement ride only if,
at the time of operation, one of the following is in existence:
   (1) The owner of the permanent amusement ride provides an
insurance policy in an amount not less than one million dollars
($1,000,000) per occurrence insuring the owner or operator against
liability for injury or death to persons arising out of the use of
the permanent amusement ride.
   (2) The owner of the permanent amusement ride provides a bond in
an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000), except that
the aggregate liability of the surety under that bond shall not
exceed the face amount of the bond.
   (3) The owner of a permanent amusement ride meets a financial test
of self-insurance, as prescribed by rules and regulations
promulgated by the division, to demonstrate financial responsibility
covering liability for injury suffered by patrons riding the
permanent amusement ride.
   (b) The insurance policy or bond shall be obtained from one or
more insurers or sureties licensed by the Department of Insurance to
do business in this state, or by a nonadmitted insurer employed by a
surplus lines broker licensed by the Department of Insurance.




7927.  Each owner of a permanent amusement ride shall provide
training for its employees in the safe operation and maintenance of
amusement rides, as required by the standards adopted by the American
Society for Testing Materials, Committee F770-03, Section 4.1.3, and
Committee F853-93, Section 6.2, as amended or as may be amended from
time to time, and the injury prevention program required under
Section 6401.7.



7928.  The division shall adopt rules and regulations necessary for
the administration of this part. The division may employ qualified
safety inspectors as necessary for the purposes of this part.



7929.  (a) The division may fix and collect all fees necessary to
cover the cost of administering this part. Fees shall be charged to a
person or entity receiving the division's services as provided by
this part or by regulations adopted pursuant to this part, including,
but not limited to, approvals, determinations, certifications and
recertifications, receipt and review of certificates, and
inspections. In fixing the amount of these fees, the division may
include a reasonable percentage attributable to the general cost of
the division for administering this part. Notwithstanding Section
6103 of the Government Code, the division may collect these fees from
the state or any county, city, district, or other political
subdivision.
   (b) Effective June 30, 2007, all fees collected pursuant to this
section shall be deposited into the Elevator Safety Account to
support the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program. All
moneys in the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Fund as of
that date shall be transferred to the Elevator Safety Account to be
used for the same purpose, and any outstanding liabilities and
encumbrances of the fund shall become liabilities and encumbrances
payable from the Elevator Safety Account.



7930.  If the division determines that any owner or operator of a
permanent amusement ride subject to this part has willfully or
intentionally violated this part or any rule or regulation
promulgated under this part, and that violation results in a death or
serious injury as specified in Section 7925, the division shall
impose on that owner or operator a civil penalty of not less than
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) and not more than seventy
thousand dollars ($70,000).



7931.  The division shall enforce this part by the issuance of a
citation and notice of civil penalty in a manner consistent with
Section 6317. Any owner or operator who receives a citation and
penalty may appeal the citation and penalty to the Occupational
Safety and Health Appeals Board in a manner consistent with Section
6319.



7932.  (a) The provisions of this part relating to annual division
inspections shall not apply to any permanent amusement ride located
within a county or other political subdivision of the state that, as
of April 1, 1998, has adopted the provisions of Chapter 66
(commencing with Section 6601.1) of the 1994 Uniform Building Code
providing for the routine inspection of permanent amusement rides by
the county or other political subdivision of the state, provided that
the division determines that these inspections meet or exceed the
inspection standards set forth in this part.
   (b) If the county or other political subdivision suspends,
revokes, or otherwise vacates its standards for permanent amusement
rides, any permanent amusement ride located within the county or
other political subdivision shall be subject to the inspection
standards set forth in this part.