Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 1059 amends provisions of the Amusement Ride Safety Inspection and Insurance Act relating to regulation of amusement rides. It refines the definition of a Class A amusement ride to mean one with a fixed location, and defines "commissioner" and "mobile amusement ride." House Bill 1059 establishes that the commissioner of insurance, rather than the Texas Department of Insurance, is required to administer and enforce the Act. It increases the fee the commissioner may charge for each amusement ride regulated by the Act from $20 to $40 per year. It modifies the types of records and reports that an amusement ride operator is required to file with the commissioner and to maintain at the location of the amusement ride.

            House Bill 1059 specifies that the critical parts of a ride to be tested for stress and wear during inspection are to be determined by the manufacturer of an amusement ride, rather than by the Texas Department of Insurance.

            House Bill 1059 adds a new section to authorize municipal, county, or state law enforcement officials to enforce the operation and filing requirements of the Act. It permits law enforcement officials to inspect without notice any amusement ride to ensure public safety. The act allows law enforcement officials to immediately prohibit the operation of the amusement ride or a mobile amusement ride if certain conditions are not met and prescribes the requirements for reopening the ride. The act exempts amusement rides at an amusement park with more than 200,000 customers a year from the authority of law enforcement officials to prohibit operation.

            House Bill 1059 increases the offense for failing to comply with the operation requirements from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class B misdemeanor and creates a Class B misdemeanor offense for not complying with the filing of affidavits requirement or for operating an amusement ride when it has been prohibited.

            House Bill 1059 amends the Penal Code to make it a Class B misdemeanor to operate or assemble an amusement ride while intoxicated. It makes it a felony if a person operates or assembles an amusement ride while intoxicated, which then causes serious bodily injury or death to another.