O.C.’s Democratic Legislators Back State Oversight of Amusement Parks

Orange County’s two new Democratic legislators said Tuesday that they favor state oversight of amusement parks, but other local lawmakers say regulation is unneeded and would not prevent deaths.

Concern about California’s lack of regulation over permanent amusement attractions has been heightened since a Christmas Eve accident at Disneyland killed one person and severely injured two others.

Assemblyman Lou Correa of Anaheim said he favored a proposal that would protect the public without hamstringing the industry. He said he will either introduce his own bill or sign on to legislation that Bay Area Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) said he may introduce.

“The goal is to increase public safety in the parks,” Correa said in an interview. “We should have some kind of oversight.”

State Sen. Joe Dunn of Santa Ana thought about sponsoring legislation but decided Tuesday against taking that route. Instead, he said, he is prepared to back a “substantive” measure on state oversight of parks.

Dunn and Correa’s willingness to support state regulation of theme parks is an early indication of how the two Democrats see things differently from the rest of the county’s delegation. Until the two were elected, the county’s state legislators typically spoke as one conservative, Republican voice.

Moves to assert state regulation over theme parks have been considered periodically in Sacramento, usually after someone has been injured or has died on a ride.

Such efforts, including a bill Torlakson introduced last year, have always fizzled under pressure from the theme park industry, which says rigorous self-policing is best.

California is one of 10 states that does not inspect rides at permanent parks, though traveling carnivals are inspected for safety.

In the wake of the latest accident, though, even industry officials have appeared to soften. Some parks say they now would accept appropriate regulation.

But most of the state legislators from Orange County say the need for oversight has yet to be shown.

Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) said theme parks jealously guard their public images and have the incentive to keep them safe.

As a former ticket-taker on the Matterhorn about 30 years ago, Assemblywoman Patricia C. Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) said she can vouch for Disney’s rigorous training.

Besides, state oversight would have had no impact on the Christmas Eve incident, she said, because it appears to have been caused by human error. “I don’t like to regulate human error,” Bates said.

State authorities, however, are also looking into other factors, including inadequate training and faulty procedures, as the cause.

Others who say regulation is not warranted are Assembly members Bill Campbell (R-Villa Park), Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) and Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Newport Beach), and state Sens. John R. Lewis (R-Orange) and Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside).