Bill To Allow More Access To Accident Data From Colorado Resorts Fails, Resorts Say It Would ‘Scare Prospective Skiers’
CBS Denver 2 hrs ago Syndicated Local – CBS Denver
DENVER (CBS) – A Colorado bill aimed at making data from ski resorts more available failed to gain traction this legislative session, but will likely be back next time around. The Ski Area Safety Plans and Accident Reporting Bill, or SB21-184, failed to pass its first committee hearing.
Sponsored by Democrats Sen. Tammy Story, of Conifer, and Sen. Jessie Danielsen, of Wheat Ridge, SB21-184 would have required ski area operators to “adopt and disclose safety plans, disclose seasonal ski accident statistics and maintain an accident data database.”
Colorado rejects effort to require ski areas to report injuries
Durango, Colorado Currently Sun 26% chance of precipitation 2% chance of precipitation 8% chance of precipitation
Senate Bill 184 would have forced resorts to be transparent
Thursday, April 15, 2021 7:34 PM Ski patrollers tend to an injured skier in Vail’s Game Creek Bowl on Dec. 11. Jason Blevins/The Colorado Sun
Colorado rejects effort to require ski areas to report injuries Ski patrollers tend to an injured skier in Vail’s Game Creek Bowl on Dec. 11. Jason Blevins/The Colorado Sun
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Colorado state lawmakers on Thursday killed a bill that would have required ski areas to publish ski injury statistics and safety plans.
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A bill before lawmakers this week would require Colorado ski resorts to publicly report injury and fatality statistics, a measure that’s being met with strong resistance from the ski industry and its backers. Proponents say such a law would force resorts to be more accountable for safety problems.
“The bill is a fairly straightforward approach to try and find out where there are problem areas that are causing significant safety concerns,” said Jessie Danielson, D-Jefferson County, one of the bill’s sponsors.
Senate Bill 184, titled “Ski Area Safety Plans and Accident Reporting,” is slated for a hearing on Thursday. Under it, resorts would also be required to publish safety plans that indicate what they are doing to reduce injuries and fatalities.
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Echo Mountain Resort ski patrolman Paul Amundson adjusts a boundary rope in 2017. A bill in the Colorado Senate, sponsored by two Jefferson County Democrats, would require more transparency from ski areas regarding their safety plans and accident data. (Andy Cross, Denver Post file)
A bill sponsored by two state senators that would require Colorado ski resorts to collect and publish safety plans and accident data is scheduled to be heard in a committee of the legislature next week.
Sponsored by Democrats Tammy Story of Conifer and Jessie Danielsen of Wheat Ridge, SB21-184 would require ski area operators to “adopt and disclose safety plans, disclose seasonal ski accident statistics and maintain an accident data database,” according to a summary of the bill on the general assembly’s website.