(A)
(1) No person shall operate an amusement ride within the state without a permit issued by the director of agriculture under division (A)(2) of this section. The owner of an amusement ride, whether the ride is a temporary amusement ride or a permanent amusement ride, who desires to operate the amusement ride within the state shall, prior to the operation of the amusement ride and annually thereafter, submit to the department of agriculture an application for a permit, together with the appropriate permit and inspection fee, on a form to be furnished by the department. Prior to issuing any permit the department shall, within thirty days after the date on which it receives the application, inspect each amusement ride described in the application. The owner of an amusement ride shall have the amusement ride ready for inspection not later than two hours after the time that is requested by the person for the inspection.
(2) For each amusement ride found to comply with the rules adopted by the director under division (B) of this section and division (B) of section 1711.551 of the Revised Code, the director shall issue an annual permit, provided that evidence of liability insurance coverage for the amusement ride as required by section 1711.54 of the Revised Code is on file with the department.
(3) The director shall issue with each permit a decal indicating that the amusement ride has been issued the permit. The owner of the amusement ride shall affix the decal on the ride at a location where the decal is easily visible to the patrons of the ride. A copy of the permit shall be kept on file at the same address as the location of the amusement ride identified on the permit, and shall be made available for inspection, upon reasonable demand, by any person. An owner may operate an amusement ride prior to obtaining a permit, provided that the operation is for the purpose of testing the amusement ride or training amusement ride operators and other employees of the owner and the amusement ride is not open to the public.
(B) The director, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules providing for a schedule of fines, with no fine exceeding five thousand dollars, for violations of sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code or any rules adopted under this division and for the classification of amusement rides and rules for the safe operation and inspection of all amusement rides as are necessary for amusement ride safety and for the protection of the general public. Rules adopted by the director for the safe operation and inspection of amusement rides shall be reasonable and based upon generally accepted engineering standards and practices. In adopting rules under this section, the director may adopt by reference, in whole or in part, the national fire code or the national electrical code (NEC) prepared by the national fire protection association, the standards of the American society for testing and materials (ASTM) or the American national standards institute (ANSI), or any other principles, tests, or standards of nationally recognized technical or scientific authorities. Insofar as is practicable and consistent with sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code, rules adopted under this division shall be consistent with the rules of other states. The department shall cause sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted in accordance with this division and division (B) of section 1711.551 of the Revised Code to be published in pamphlet form and a copy to be furnished without charge to each owner of an amusement ride who holds a current permit or is an applicant therefor.
(C) With respect to an application for a permit for an amusement ride, an owner may apply to the director for a waiver or modification of any rule adopted under division (B) of this section if there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships for the amusement ride to comply with the rules. Any application shall set forth the reasons for the request. The director, with the approval of the advisory council on amusement ride safety, may waive or modify the application of a rule to any amusement ride if the public safety is secure. Any authorization by the director under this division shall be in writing and shall set forth the conditions under which the waiver or modification is authorized, and the department shall retain separate records of all proceedings under this division.
(D)
(1) The director shall employ and provide for training of a chief inspector and additional inspectors and employees as may be necessary to administer and enforce sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code. The director may appoint or contract with other persons to perform inspections of amusement rides, provided that the persons meet the qualifications for inspectors established by rules adopted under division (B) of this section and are not owners, or employees of owners, of any amusement ride subject to inspection under sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code. No person shall inspect an amusement ride who, within six months prior to the date of inspection, was an employee of the owner of the ride.
(2) Before the director contracts with other persons to inspect amusement rides, the director shall seek the advice of the advisory council on amusement ride safety on whether to contract with those persons. The advice shall not be binding upon the director. After having received the advice of the council, the director may proceed to contract with inspectors in accordance with the procedures specified in division (E)(2) of section 1711.11 of the Revised Code.
(3) With the advice and consent of the advisory council on amusement ride safety, the director may employ a special consultant to conduct an independent investigation of an amusement ride accident. This consultant need not be in the civil service of the state, but shall have qualifications to conduct the investigation acceptable to the council.
(E)
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(1) of this section, the department shall charge the following amusement ride fees:
Permit
$
150
Annual inspection and reinspection per ride:
Kiddie rides
$
100
Roller coaster
$
1,200
Aerial lifts or bungee jumping facilities
$
450
Go karts, per kart
$
5
Inflatable rides, kiddie and adult
$
105
Other rides
$
160
Midseason operational inspection per ride
$
25
Expedited inspection per ride
$
100
Failure to cancel scheduled inspection per ride
$
100
Failure to have amusement ride ready for inspection per ride
$
100
The go kart inspection fee is in addition to the inspection fee for the go kart track.
The fees for an expedited inspection, failure to cancel a scheduled inspection, and failure to have an amusement ride ready for inspection do not apply to go karts.
As used in division (E)(1) of this section, "expedited inspection" means an inspection of an amusement ride by the department not later than ten days after the owner of the amusement ride files an application for a permit under this section.
(2) All fees and fines collected by the department under sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the amusement ride inspection fund, which is hereby created, and shall be used only for the purpose of administering and enforcing sections 1711.11 and 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code.
(3) The owner of an amusement ride shall be required to pay a reinspection fee only if the reinspection was conducted at the owner's request under division (F) of this section, if the reinspection is required by division (F) of this section because of an accident, or if the reinspection is required by division (F) of section 1711.55 of the Revised Code. If a reinspection is conducted at the request of the chief officer of a fair, festival, or event where the ride is operating, the reinspection fee shall be charged to the fair, festival, or event.
(4) The rules adopted under division (B) of this section shall define "roller coaster," "aerial lifts," "go karts," and "other rides" for purposes of determining the fees under division (E) of this section. The rules shall define "other rides" to include go kart tracks.
(F) A reinspection of an amusement ride shall take place if an accident occurs, if the owner of the ride or the chief officer of the fair, festival, or event where the ride is operating requests a reinspection, or if the reinspection is required by division (F) of section 1711.55 of the Revised Code.
(G) As a supplement to its annual inspection of a temporary amusement ride, the department may inspect the ride during each scheduled event, as listed in the schedule of events provided to the department by the owner pursuant to division (C) of section 1711.55 of the Revised Code, at which the ride is operated in this state. These supplemental inspections are in addition to any other inspection or reinspection of the ride as may be required under sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code, and the owner of the temporary amusement ride is not required to pay an inspection or reinspection fee for this supplemental inspection. Nothing in this division shall be construed to prohibit the owner of a temporary amusement ride having a valid permit to operate in this state from operating the ride at a scheduled event before the department conducts a supplemental inspection.
(H) The department may annually conduct a midseason operational inspection of every amusement ride upon which it conducts an annual inspection pursuant to division (A) of this section. The midseason operational inspection is in addition to any other inspection or reinspection of the amusement ride as may be required pursuant to sections 1711.50 to 1711.57 of the Revised Code. The owner of an amusement ride shall submit to the department, at the time determined by the department, the midseason operational inspection fee specified in division (E) of this section. The director, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules specifying the time period during which the department will conduct midseason operational inspections.
Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 483, ยง101.01, eff. 9/15/2014.
Effective Date: 12-13-2002; 09-29-2005
Section: Previous 1711.34 1711.35 1711.36-to-1711.38 1711.39-1711.40 1711.50 1711.51 1711.52 1711.53 1711.531 1711.54 1711.55 1711.551 1711.56 1711.57 1711.58 NextLast modified: October 10, 2016