Sec. 29-201. (Formerly Sec. 19-418a). Definitions.

      Sec. 29-201. (Formerly Sec. 19-418a). Definitions. As used in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

      (a) "Passenger tramway" means a device used to transport passengers in cars on tracks or suspended in the air, or uphill on skis, by the use of steel cables, chains or belts or by ropes, and usually supported by trestles or towers with one or more spans, but shall not include any such device not available for public use and not subject to a fee for use of same. The term passenger tramway shall include the following: (1) Two-car aerial passenger tramways, which are devices used to transport passengers in two open or enclosed cars attached to, and suspended from, a moving wire rope, or attached to a moving wire rope and supported on a standing wire rope, or similar devices; (2) multicar aerial passenger tramways, which are devices used to transport passengers in several open or enclosed cars attached to, and suspended from, a moving wire rope, or attached to a moving wire rope and supported on a standing wire rope, or similar devices; (3) skimobiles, which are devices in which a passenger car running on steel or wooden tracks is attached to and pulled by a steel cable, or similar devices; (4) chair lifts, which are devices which carry passengers on chairs suspended in the air and attached to a moving cable, chain or link belt supported by trestles or towers with one or more spans, or similar devices; (5) J bars, T bars, platter pulls and similar types of devices, which are means of transportation that pull skiers riding on skis by means of an attachment to a main overhead cable supported by trestles or towers with one or more spans; (6) rope tows, which are devices that pull the skiers riding on skis as the skier grasps the rope manually, or similar devices.

      (b) "Operator" means a person who owns or controls the operation of a passenger tramway or ski area. An operator of a passenger tramway shall be deemed not to be operating a common carrier.

      (c) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety.

      (d) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Safety.

      (e) "Skier" shall include the following: (1) A person utilizing the ski area under control of the operator for the purpose of skiing, whether or not he is utilizing a passenger tramway; (2) a person utilizing the passenger tramway whether or not that person is a skier, including riders on a passenger tramway operating during the nonskiing season.

      (P.A. 73-422, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 514, 610; P.A. 79-629, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 77-614 replaced labor department and commissioner with department and commissioner of public safety, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-629 included as operators persons owning or controlling operation of ski areas; Sec. 19-418a transferred to Sec. 29-201 in 1983.