An Act concerning bleacher safety and supplementing P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Bleacher Safety Act."

2. As used in this act:

"Bleachers" means structures that provide tiered or stepped seating, generally without backrests, and may be permanent, stationary, temporary, portable, or telescopic and are used in a place of public accommodation for the seating of its occupants.

"Governmental entity" means the State, its agencies and instrumentalities, a county or municipality, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, a school district, or any other similar public entity or agency, but not the federal government or its agencies and instrumentalities.

"Nonprofit entity" means a person or entity which operates a place of public accommodation containing bleachers open to the public or open to users of a facility operated by the person or entity, and which is an exempt organization pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1966, c.30 (C.54:32B-9), the "Sales and Use Tax Act," but not a governmental entity or the federal government or its agencies and instrumentalities.

"Place of public accommodation" means a public or privately- owned sports or entertainment arena or park, gymnasium, auditorium, stadium, hall, special event center in a public park or other facility for public assembly.

"Private entity" means any person or entity which operates a place of public accommodation containing bleachers open to the public or open to users of a facility operated by the person or entity, but not a governmental entity, a nonprofit entity or the federal government or its agencies and instrumentalities.

3. a. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall adopt within six months of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill) and pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.), safety standards for existing bleachers to minimize the risk of falls or injuries from these bleachers. The commissioner shall utilize, in promulgating these standards, the guidelines created by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission for the retrofitting of existing bleachers, or other standards adopted by a nationally or internationally recognized model code organization concerning safety standards for existing bleachers.

b. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall adopt the rules and regulations necessary to effectuate this act, including regulations for the certification and inspection of bleachers pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

4. a. All governmental entities operating a place of public accommodation containing bleachers shall upgrade their bleachers by replacement or improvement as necessary to satisfy the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) to the extent State funds are available for that purpose through State bonds or other means, or within one year following the effective date of those rules and regulations. Bleachers not certified to the Commissioner of Community Affairs as complying with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) by the end of the one year period shall be forbidden to be used.

b. All private entities operating a place of public accommodation containing bleachers shall upgrade their bleachers by replacement or improvement as necessary to satisfy the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) within two years following the effective date of those rules and regulations. Bleachers not certified to the Commissioner of Community Affairs as complying with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) by the end of the two year period shall be forbidden to be used.

c. All nonprofit entities operating a place of public accommodation containing bleachers shall upgrade their bleachers by replacement or improvement as necessary to satisfy the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) within two years following the effective date of those rules and regulations. Bleachers not certified to the Commissioner of Community Affairs as complying with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) by the end of the two year period shall be forbidden to be used.

5. a. All governmental entities, private entities, and nonprofit entities operating a place of public accommodation containing bleachers which are not certified to be in compliance with the regulations promulgated pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), shall post in a conspicuous place on each bleacher until such compliance is achieved, a notice, in 24-point bold-faced capital letters, as follows:

"WARNING: P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill) REQUIRES BLEACHERS TO BE EQUIPPED WITH CERTAIN SAFETY FEATURES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTAL FALLS OR INJURIES. THIS BLEACHER IS NOT CERTIFIED AS BEING IN COMPLIANCE WITH THAT ACT. PROCEED WITH CAUTION."

b. All governmental entities, private entities, and nonprofit entities operating a place of public accommodation containing bleachers which are not certified to be in compliance with the regulations promulgated pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), upon the expiration date for compliance as set forth in section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now before the Legislature as this bill), shall post in a conspicuous place on each bleacher, a notice, in 24-point bold-faced capital letters, as follows:

"NOTICE

THIS BLEACHER IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE "NEW JERSEY BLEACHER SAFETY ACT," P.L. , c. (C. )(now before the Legislature as this bill), AND THEREFORE SHALL NOT BE OCCUPIED OR USED UNTIL PROPER CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE IS MADE TO THE COMMISSIONER OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, STATE OF NEW JERSEY."

6. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

The "New Jersey Bleacher Safety Act" would require stricter safety standards to be adopted for existing bleachers at places of public accommodation within the State. Each year, there are an average of 19,100 injuries to people in the United States, many of them children, directly attributable to falls from bleachers or unsafe conditions of bleachers. In the past twenty years, there have been at least 10 deaths related to falls from bleachers, four of them involving children under the age of 15. Recently in New Jersey, three-year old Adam J. Graham suffered severe injuries when he tumbled through a gap in the bleacher seating at a school athletic event. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, falls from bleachers can occur when guardrails are missing from the backs or open sides of bleachers. Falls from bleachers also occur when there are large enough openings between components in the seating and the guardrails to permit a person to pass through them. Often the falls involve openings between the components of the seating, such as between the footboard and seatboard, as was the case with Adam's fall, but other falls through spaces related to the guardrails have occurred as well. In addition to risk of falls, some bleachers are dilapidated or poorly constructed, and are at risk of collapsing. Currently, only the State of Minnesota regulates existing bleachers for safety purposes.

Although the New Jersey State Uniform Construction Code (UCC) has incorporated standards for bleacher safety, these standards are applicable to new bleachers only, and do not require the retrofitting of existing bleachers with safety features to prevent falls or injuries. This bill would require the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt, within six months of the effective date of the bill, safety standards for existing bleachers, which would involve replacement of these bleachers, or their retrofitting to make them safe. In promulgating the standards, the commissioner is directed by the bill to utilize the guidelines created by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for the retrofitting of existing bleachers, or to use standards for the retrofitting of bleachers developed by nationally or internationally recognized model code agencies. The commissioner is also directed by the bill to establish certification and inspection procedures.

The bill requires a place of public accommodation, defined as a public or privately- owned sports or entertainment arena or park, gymnasium, auditorium, stadium, hall, special event center in a public park or other facility for public assembly, to replace or retrofit existing bleachers in compliance with the code. Governmental entities from which funding would be available for such purposes are required to comply immediately after regulations are adopted by the Commissioner of Community Affairs. An example of governmental entities which may have access to funding for such purposes would be school districts which are eligible for funds from bond acts or other funding for school facilities. Governmental entities not having access to immediate funding would have one year from the date of the promulgation of the regulations requiring retrofitting to comply. Private or nonprofit entities would have two years to comply with the regulations. Entities would be required to post a warning notice on bleachers that have not yet been certified as being in compliance with the UCC for safety features. A bleachers that is not certified as in compliance with the State Uniform Construction Code by the end of the allotted time period (one year for governmental entities, two years for all others) will be required to have a notice posted in a conspicuous place forbidding its use until certification has occurred.