Davis Signs Theme Park Inspection Bill

Gov. Gray Davis on Monday signed into law a bill to set up a state safety inspection system for California’s permanent theme parks, ending a battle that has been fought for more than 30 years over the need for independent oversight of rides.

The legislation, which takes effect Jan. 1, comes after a nine-month cluster of fatal and life-threatening amusement park accidents that drew attention to the lack of public scrutiny and accident reporting in California.

“In one short week [in August], with three terrible accidents at three different parks, it underscored the need for this important legislation,” said Davis’ spokesman, Michael Bustamante.

But the accident that sparked the bill by Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) was a Christmas Eve accident at Disneyland last year that killed a park visitor and injured his wife and a worker.

The measure was Torlakson’s second attempt to have the state’s theme parks inspected. In early 1998, his first effort was killed early in a committee. The Disneyland accident and the public attention that followed, he said, created a momentum that brought a different result this year.

The victory was unexpected.

“It was an uphill battle,” said Torlakson, who negotiated with the powerful theme park industry lobby on one side and fellow lawmakers on the other to get the bill (AB 850) through the Legislature and signed.

One of his most stalwart partners was Kathy Fackler of La Jolla, who roamed the halls of the Capitol pleading with legislators on behalf of her son David. The boy’s foot was partially amputated after a different Disneyland accident in 1998, and Fackler brought the victim’s point of view into the debate.

“This just takes my breath away,” Fackler said of the bill becoming law. “I never, ever thought this bill would pass.”

The coauthor of the bill, Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim), said the new law means “public safety will be enhanced.”

“Parks with good safety records have nothing to fear from this law,” he said.

Detractors said the inspection plan is Sacramento at its meddling worst. “Once again, Sacramento has decided it knows what’s best and is intruding into the private sector,” said Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove).

Torlakson said the Department of Industrial Relations will be in charge of the inspection program. A committee has been formed to devise safety standards and qualifications for inspectors, he said.

In addition to allowing annual state inspections, each park must inspect itself under state standards and file an affidavit that its rides are safe. An important feature of the law is the public reporting of all accidents other than those that require only first aid.

While insisting that its parks are safe, the industry cooperated in drafting the law, though the parks tried to push through a watered-down version.

On another measure, Davis approved legislation authorizing cash payments of up to $2,000 for relocation expenses incurred by adult victims of domestic violence.

The legislation (AB 606) by Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) also provides up to $1,000 to individuals who have been crime victims so they can add security at their homes. The grants are in addition to other compensation that crime victims can receive from the state Board of Control.

Davis also signed legislation aimed at protecting the privacy of shoppers who use so-called club cards issued by supermarket chains. The bill, (SB 926) by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Daly City), prohibits chains from selling or sharing personal information gathered from shoppers who use the discount cards.

The bill also bars supermarkets from requiring that shoppers provide their driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers to get club cards. That will permit people who don’t have licenses or Social Security numbers to obtain the cards.

In another action, Davis appointed Wayne S. Bell as deputy secretary and special counsel for the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, a $103,165-a-year post. Bell, 45, had been senior counsel at Ralphs Grocery Co. since 1989.

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Times staff writer Dan Morain contributed to this report.