UPDATED 4:25 p.m. with information about the Assembly measure. The California state Senate approved a bill today requiring children under 18 to wear a helmet while involved in snow sports such as skiing and snow boarding.
Senate Bill 880 by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was approved by a 21-13 vote, mostly along party lines. It now goes to the Assembly.
Yee said that the Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission has found that more than 7,000 head injuries per year on snow slopes could be prevented or minimized with a helmet. For children under 15, more than half of the 4,950 snow-related head injuries each year could be avoided or rendered less serious with a helmet.
Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, split with most GOP colleagues and voted for the bill. Yee gave Cox a present to thank him for the vote -- a snow helmet. "Wear it often," Yee said.
Cox said, "Thank you for that token of appreciation for voting for that nanny-government bill."
Republican Sen. Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga, who voted against the bill, told Yee he was concerned about who would be held liable for children not wearing helmets.
Yee said the bill was written to avoid imposing liability on businesses. Law enforcement, he said, is responsible for enforcement. The proposal, he said, is designed to give parents extra support to wear helmets because they will be able to tell kids: "It's the law."
The bill calls for resorts to post signs about the helmet requirement and calls for parents to be fined $25 for a violation. The fine can be dismissed for a first offense.
UPDATE 4:25 p.m.:The Assembly today passed a similar measure, Assembly Bill 1652, on a 41-28 vote.
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