South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006

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Bill 803


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Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 41-18-10, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITION OF TERMS IN THE "SOUTH CAROLINA AMUSEMENT RIDES SAFETY CODE", SO AS TO DEFINE "CATAPULTING AMUSEMENT RIDE"; TO ADD SECTION 41-18-160 SO AS TO ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR OBTAINING A PERMIT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION FOR THE OPERATION OF A CATAPULTING AMUSEMENT RIDE; TO AMEND 52-19-20, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF "BUNGEE JUMPING", SO AS TO DELETE REFERENCES TO THE CORD USED IN BUNGEE JUMPING BEING MADE OF WIRE ROPE, CABLE, OR SPRINGS OR OTHER DEVICE SIMILAR IN DESIGN OR USE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 52-19-50, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO DEFINITION OF TERMS USED IN CONNECTION WITH PERMITTING AND REGULATING BUNGEE JUMPING, SO AS TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "BUNGEE CATAPULTING", SO AS TO CONFORM THIS DEFINITION TO THE DEFINITION OF "BUNGEE CATAPULTING" AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 41-18-10.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 41-18-10 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 283 of 1998, is amended by adding an appropriately numbered item to read:

"( )    'Catapulting amusement ride' means an amusement ride whereby a person, or persons, riding in a safety car, or other suitable safety device, is attached to wire ropes or cables that may be attached to springs or other devices similar in design or use which are engineered to simulate bungee catapulting or reverse bungee jumping as defined in Section 52-19-50(5) whereby a person or passenger is released from a fixed position, thus catapulting or otherwise launching the jumper or passenger into the air or towards the ground."

SECTION    2.    Chapter 18 of Title 41 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 41-18-160.    (A)    A catapulting amusement ride must meet the following requirements before the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation may issue a permit:

(1)    the ride must have been in operation in another state or country for more than five years in order to compile a safety record that must be reviewed by the department;

(2)    the ride must have an exemplary safety record in the discretion of the department;

(3)    the ride must have cables or wire ropes attached to the safety car in at least four places;

(4)    the ride may not incorporate or use bungee cords anywhere within the design of the ride; and

(5)    at no time may a safety car or other suitable safety device be attached directly to a spring which is stretched or elongated in the manner of a bungee cord from the top of a tower or fixed position above the safety car or other suitable device.

(B)    The department may deny a permit for a catapulting amusement ride if one or more of the requirements in subsection (A) are not satisfied."

SECTION    3.    Section 52-19-20 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 36 of 2001, is further amended to read:

"Section 52-19-20.    (A)    For purposes of this chapter, the term 'bungee jumping' includes and refers to the sport, activity, or practice of jumping, stepping out, dropping, or otherwise being released into the air while attached or fastened to a cord made of rubber, latex, or other elastic-type material, whether natural or synthetic or wire rope or cable or springs or other devices similar in design or use, whereby the cord, wire rope, cable, spring, or other device similar in design or use stops the fall, lengthens and shortens, allows the person to bounce up and down, and is intended to finally bring the person to a stop at a point above the surface.

(B)    Each bungee operation must be considered a new device."

SECTION    4.    Section 52-19-50(5) of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 36 of 2001, is further amended to read:

"(5)    'Bungee catapulting' or 'reverse bungee jumping' means the sport, activity, or practice whereby a person or safety car is either attached to a single bungee cord or wire rope or cable or springs or other devices similar in design or use which or to more than one bungee cord, or to a wire rope or cable or spring that is in any manner attached to a bungee cord whereby the bungee cord is stretched and then released, thus catapulting or otherwise launching the jumper or passenger into the air from a fixed position. Bungee catapulting is prohibited in this State."

SECTION    5.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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