FISCAL NOTE TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1666

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: SEPTEMBER 25, 1996

      Assembly Bill No. 1666 of 1996 would require the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), in consultation with the Department of Education, to promulgate rules and regulations regarding public playground safety. The regulations are to be based upon the guidelines in the Handbook for Public Playground Safety produced by the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission. These guidelines are patterned upon recommendations of the COMSIS Corporation in "Development of Human Factors Criteria for Playground Equipment Safety," and are geared to the different needs of children from preschool age to 12 years old. Their purpose is to promote greater safety awareness among those who purchase, install, and maintain public playground equipment.

      The guidelines would apply to any playground operated by a public agency, nonprofit entity, or private entity, as defined under the bill, if the playground were open to the public or to users of facilities operated by the entity.

      The regulations would apply to all playgrounds newly constructed by a public agency or private entity more than six months after the guidelines were promulgated.

      Governmental entities would be required to upgrade existing playgrounds to meet the guidelines as State funds are made available for that purpose. Nonprofit entities would be required to conform existing playgrounds with the standards for surfacing to be provided in regulations promulgated under the bill by January 1, 2000, and would be required to conform existing playgrounds with other elements of the promulgated playground standards by January 1, 2010, unless the playground equipment were replaced or reconstructed prior to that date. Private entities which operate playgrounds would be required to conform all playground elements by January 1, 2000.

      The bill specifies that playgrounds governed by the legislation are those designed, equipped, and set aside for play by six or more children.

      The bill would not require the Department of Community Affairs to enforce the regulations. In addition, the bill specifically provides that the guidelines would not affect the liability or absence of liability of playground operators. Rather, the bill provides that State funding for the planning, development or redevelopment of a playground, or for the operation, maintenance, and supervision of a playground, would be withheld unless the playground conforms to the guidelines.

      The bill provides a standard as to what constitutes a significant addition to project cost, by specifying 15 per cent. This provision relates to playground projects which are State funded prior to promulgation of the guidelines, but are required to conform to the guidelines unless the alterations would add more than 15 per cent to the cost.

      The DCA has advised the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) that this bill will have no financial effect on the State, because it anticipates that the regulations will mirror the federal standards produced by the United states Consumer Products Safety Commission. The DCA also has advised the OLS that, if the department is called upon to provide information to the public concerning these requirements, costs will be incurred for printing and mailing the information, but it is not known at this time what the department might be expected to do beyond the required adoption of rules or regulations.

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concurs with the department's analysis. The OLS also notes that, in the future, the cost of constructing new playgrounds by public agencies may be higher in order for the playgrounds to meet these new guidelines. Furthermore, State funds made available in the future to upgrade existing playgrounds may either have to be increased or be made available for fewer playgrounds.

This fiscal note has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.