A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the law regarding the Liability of Ski Area Operators for damages related to certain winter sports.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 99C of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"Chapter 99C. 
"Actions Relating to Skier Safety and Skiing Accidents.
"§ 99C‑1.  Findings; purpose; definitions.
(a)	The General Assembly finds that the sport of skiing and other winter sports are practiced by a large number of citizens of North Carolina; that winter sports attract a large number of nonresidents to North Carolina; and that winter sports make a significant contribution to the economy of North Carolina. The General Assembly further finds that there are inherent risks in these winter sports that should be understood by each participant and that these risks are essentially impossible to eliminate by the ski area operator. It is the purpose of this Chapter to specify certain areas of responsibility and affirmative acts for which ski area operators should be liable for physical injury, loss, or property damage and to specify the risks that the winter sport participant expressly assumes and for which the ski area operator should not be liable. It is not the purpose of this Chapter to heavily regulate this industry.
(b)	As used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)	"Competitor" means a winter sports participant who is actually engaged in competition or in practice therefor with the permission of the ski area operator on any winter sport slope, alpine or Nordic trail, freestyle terrain, or any portion of such slope, trail, or terrain designated by the ski area operator for the purpose of competition.
(1a)	"Freestyle terrain" means a terrain park or a feature of a terrain park, such as a jump, rail, fun box, or any other constructed or natural feature, half‑pipe, quarter‑pipe, or freestyle bump terrain.
(2)	"Passenger" means any person who is being transported or is awaiting transportation, or being conveyed on a passenger tramway or is moving from the disembarkation point of a passenger tramway or is in the act of embarking upon or disembarking from a passenger tramway.
(3)	"Passenger tramway" means any device used to transport passengers uphill on skis or other winter sports device; in cars on tracks; or suspended in the air; by the use of steel cables, chains, belts, or ropes. "Passenger tramway" includes such devices as a chair lift, J Bar,  platter pull, rope tow, conveyor lift, and wire tow.
(4)	"Ski  area" means all the winter sports slopes, alpine and Nordic trails, freestyle terrain, and passenger tramways, that are administered or operated as a winter sports enterprise within this State.
(5)	"Ski area operator" means a person, corporation, or organization that is responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of the ski area.
(6)	"Skier" means any person who is wearing skis or any other winter sports device, any person who for the purpose of skiing or any other winter sports activity is on a designated and clearly marked winter sport slope, alpine or Nordic trail, or freestyle terrain that is located at a ski area, or any person who is a passenger or spectator of a winter sport at a ski area.
(7)	"Winter sport" means any use of snow skis, snowboards, snowshoes, or any device for skiing, sliding, jumping, or traveling on snow or ice.
"§ 99C‑2.  Duties of ski area operators and skiers.
(a)	A ski area operator shall be responsible for the maintenance and safe operation of any passenger tramway in his or her ski area and ensure that the tramway is in conformity with the rules  adopted by the  Department of Labor pursuant to G.S. 95‑120(1). The  Department of Labor shall conduct certifications and inspections of passenger tramways.
A ski area operator's responsibility regarding passenger tramways shall include, but is not limited to, ensuring that operating personnel are adequately trained and are adequate in number; meeting all standards set forth for terminals, stations, line structures, and line equipment; meeting all rules and regulations regarding the safe operation and maintenance of all passenger lifts and tramways, including all necessary inspections and record keeping.
(b)	A skier and a passenger have the following responsibilities:
(1)	To know the range of his or her own abilities to negotiate any ski slope or trail and to ski within the limits of each of these abilities.
(2)	To maintain control of his or her speed and course at all times when skiing and to maintain a proper lookout so as to be able to avoid other skiers and visible objects.
(3)	To stay clear of snow grooming equipment, all vehicles, lift  towers, signs, and any other equipment on the ski slopes and trails.
(3a)	To avoid collisions with any person or object below him or her on the ski slopes and trails.
(4)	To heed all posted information and other warnings and to refrain from acting in a manner that may cause or contribute to the injury of the skier or others.
(5)	To wear retention straps, ski brakes, or other devices to prevent runaway skis or any other winter sport device.
(6)	Before beginning to ski from a stationary position or before  entering a ski slope or trail from the side, to avoid moving  skiers already on the ski slope or trail.
(6a)	Regardless of the skier or passenger's age, to understand that he or she expressly assumes the risk of legal responsibility for any physical injury, loss, or property damage that results from participation in a winter sport, including any injury, loss, or damage caused by any one or more of the following: any variation in terrain; surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions; any bare spots, rocks, trees, or other forms of forest growth or debris; any collision with pole lines, lift towers, or any component thereof; or any collision with snow‑making equipment that is marked by a visible sign or other warning implement under subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section.
(7)	Not to move uphill on any passenger tramway or use any ski slope or trail while such person's ability to do so is impaired by the consumption of alcohol or by the use of any narcotic or other drug or while such person is under the influence of alcohol or any narcotic or any drug.
(8)	If involved in a collision with another skier or person, not to leave the vicinity of the collision before giving his or her name and current address to an employee of the ski area operator, a member of the ski patrol, or the other skier or person with whom the skier collided, except in those cases when medical treatment is required; in which case, this information shall be provided as soon as practical after the medical treatment has been obtained. If the other person involved in the collision is unknown, the skier shall leave the personal identification required by this subdivision with the ski area operator.
(9)	Not to embark upon or disembark from a passenger tramway except at an area that is designated for this purpose.
(10)	Not to throw or expel any object from a passenger tramway.
(11)	Not to perform any action that interferes with the operation or running of a passenger tramway.
(12)	Not to use such tramway unless he or she has the ability to use it with reasonable safety.
(13)	Not to engage willfully or negligently in any type of conduct that contributes to or causes injury to another person or damage to the property of another person.
(14)	Not to embark upon a passenger tramway without the authority of the ski area operator.
(c)	A ski area operator shall have the following responsibilities:
(1)	To mark all trails and maintenance vehicles and to furnish these vehicles with flashing or rotating lights that shall be in operation whenever the vehicles are working or moving in the ski area.
(2)	To mark with a visible sign or other warning implement the location of any hydrant or similar equipment that is used in  snowmaking operations and located anywhere in the ski area.
(3)	To indicate the relative degree of difficulty of a slope or trail by appropriate signs. Such signs are to be prominently  displayed at the base of a slope where skiers embark on a passenger tramway serving the slope or trail or at the top of a slope or trail. The signs must be of the type that have  been approved by the National Ski Areas Association and are in current use by the industry.
(4)	To post at or near the top of, or entrance to, any designated  slope or trail, signs giving reasonable notice of unusual conditions on the slope or trail.
(5)	To provide adequate ski patrols.
(6)	 
(7)	Not to engage willfully or negligently in any type of conduct that contributes to or causes injury to another person or damage to the property of another person.
(8)	To maintain the ski area in a reasonably safe condition, except that the operator shall not be responsible for any physical injury, loss, or property damage caused by any one or more of the following: any variation in terrain; surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions; any bare spots, rocks, trees, or other forms of forest growth or debris; any collision with pole lines, lift towers, or any component thereof; or any collision with snow‑making equipment that is marked by a visible sign or other warning implement under subdivision (2) of this subsection.
"§ 99C‑3.  Violation constitutes negligence.
(a)	A violation of any responsibility placed on the skier, passenger, or ski area operator under G.S. 99C‑2, to the extent such violation proximately causes injury to any person or damage to any property, shall constitute negligence on the part of the person violating the provisions of that section.
(b)	This section does not apply to a violation of G.S. 99C‑2(b)(14).
"§ 99C‑4.  Competition.
The ski area operator shall, prior to the beginning of a competition, allow each competitor a reasonable visual inspection of the course or area where the competition is to be held. The competitor shall be held to assume risk of all course conditions including, but not limited to, weather and snow conditions, course construction or layout, and obstacles which a visual inspection should have revealed. No liability shall attach to a ski area operator for injury or death of any competitor proximately caused by such assumed risk.
"§ 99C‑4A.  Freestyle terrain.
Regardless of the age of a skier, a skier who chooses to use freestyle terrain assumes the risk of all terrain conditions, including weather and snow conditions, terrain construction or layout, and manmade and natural obstacles that a visual inspection should have revealed. A ski area operator shall not be liable for injury or death of any skier proximately caused by such assumed risk.
"§ 99C‑5.  Operation of passenger tramway.
The operation of a passenger tramway shall not constitute the operation of a common carrier."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2008, and applies to causes of actions that arise on or after that date.