Bill Regulating Rides Clears Hurdle

A bill that calls for semi-annual state inspections of amusement park rides won approval from a state Senate committee Wednesday, as Disneyland agreed to pay a Cal/OSHA fine prompted by a fatal accident there in December.

The regulatory bill, by state Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda), passed the Senate Industrial Relations Committee 4 to 0. It takes a more hard-line stance than a second bill, by Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), which is expected to have its first committee hearing next week.

Torlakson is seeking consensus with the amusement park industry on a bill that would require annual inspections by the state and reporting of serious accidents.

Taking a more confrontational approach, Perata’s bill calls for criminal charges if an amusement park operator willfully neglects safety.

State inspectors would have the power to close an unsafe ride. Perata’s measure also increases fines for safety violations from $6,250 to $70,000.

“Rather than allowing bottom-line interests to govern safety, we ought to take this head on,” Perata said. “Put on hefty fines and criminal penalties, then you have someone’s attention.”

Both measures could change shape many times on their journeys through the Legislature. Torlakson said he viewed Perata’s bill as a complement, rather than competition, to his own.

The bills were prompted by the fatal Christmas Eve accident at Disneyland and subsequent revelations that California is one of only 10 states that does not regulate permanent amusement parks.

That accident occurred when Disneyland assistant manager Christine Carpenter put a nylon line on the 9-pound metal cleat on the Columbia sailing ship as it was coming in to dock. The rope stretched taut, then ripped the cleat loose and hurled it into a crowd waiting to board. A Washington state man, Luan Phi Dawson, was killed, and his wife and Carpenter severely injured.

The accident also led Cal/OSHA on March 25, after a three-month investigation, to fine Disneyland $12,500, citing the amusement park for failing to train Carpenter and misusing equipment.

At Disneyland’s request, Cal/OSHA on Wednesday softened the language of the theme park’s citation for the dock accident, blaming “inadequate” rather than “nonexistent” training of Carpenter. The agency also agreed to say the Columbia was traveling “too fast for safe docking” instead of the original wording of “excessive speed.”

In return, Disneyland said it would not appeal the case and would pay the $12,500 fine that the state worker-safety agency had imposed for two “serious” training and equipment-use violations.

“An agreement was struck on the language, and we then agreed to pay the fines and put the matter behind us,” said Ray Gomez, a Walt Disney Co. spokesman.

The attorney for Dawson’s family, Wylie Aitken of Santa Ana, said the revised language has no effect on Disneyland’s responsibility. Inadequate training is the same as no training under personal injury law, he said.

“I’m puzzled by the change,” he said, calling it “some kind of semantic game without legal or moral significance.”

Aitken said he could only surmise that Disney wanted the change as a safeguard in case a jury ever deliberates awarding punitive damages--a time when recklessness becomes a factor. He said he is in the early stages of reviewing evidence and is unclear when he will present a damage claim to Disney.

“We’ll give them every opportunity to be fair” to Dawson’s family, Aitken said, describing conversations with the company so far as preliminary.

In the past, Disney has often contested Cal/OSHA fines, tying cases up in lengthy appeals. Mark Carleson, deputy chief of Cal/OSHA, said avoiding litigation was one reason the agency went along with the language changes. But he added that he also regarded “nonexistent” as perhaps too harsh a way to characterize Carpenter’s training.

“From our point of view, it doesn’t affect the disposition of the case, the violations or the penalties. So it’s fine with us,” Carleson said. “The bottom line is she wasn’t properly trained.

“If it means not having to spend time and resources defending this thing on appeal, then we feel it’s the best thing to do.”

State Sen. Perata said he decided to sponsor his bill after reading the Cal/OSHA findings.

He was “aghast” at California’s lack of regulation for permanent amusement parks.

The bill is scheduled to go to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Disney spokesmen could not be reached for comment on Perata’s bill.

“To me, it’s just errant,” Perata said. “I am not interested in chasing business out of California, but nothing will chill the business climate worse than neglect.”