Proposal would require ski areas to register passenger ropeways

The proposal would require operators to apply each year to register passenger ropeways. Passenger ropeways include devices such as aerial lifts, surface lifts, conveyors, and tows. The board would issue a certificate if the application has enough information and the ropeway meets its rules. An operator could keep using a ropeway while an initial application is pending. An already registered ropeway could keep operating under its current registration while a renewal application is pending, until the board acts. Applications would be due by October 1 each year. Annual certificates would expire on September 30 of the following year.

The proposal would give a seven-member state board power to set ropeway safety rules, inspect equipment, and enforce compliance. The rules and inspections would cover ropeway design, construction, operation, and maintenance. The board would include people with legal, engineering, emergency response, federal land management, and ski area operating experience. The board would use current national ropeway safety standards as a guide and hold hearings when adopting rules. If an inspection or investigation finds a rule violation or a condition endangering public safety, the board would issue a written order setting a reasonable time for corrective action. It could suspend registration or ask a court to compel compliance if an operator does not comply. The board would set a reasonable time for each operator to complete corrective action.

The proposal would fund the board with registration fees and an annual assessment on ropeway receipts. Operators would pay application fees; owners of facilities with passenger ropeways would pay the assessment. The board would set annual registration fees, capped at $100 for a rope tow, $200 for a chair lift, and $300 for an aerial tramway. The board must impose an assessment of up to one quarter of one percent of gross receipts. Fees and assessment proceeds would support the board. The assessment would be based on receipts from July 1 through the following July 1 and collected annually by December 31.