BILL NUMBER: S7690A

SPONSOR: SAVINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to direct the department of state to study,
evaluate, and make recommendations concerning safety standards at base-
ball stadiums

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to gather information, based on a
Department of State report, in order to determine if further steps need
to be taken to protect spectators at baseball games from batted balls or
thrown bats.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill defines a baseball stadium as used in this
section.

Section 2 authorizes the Department of State to conduct a study of the
protective netting currently in use at baseball stadiums in the state to
              

determine whether or not the current netting is sufficient enough to
protect spectators. This section also outlines what specifically this
study is intended to examine and discover.

Section 3 grants the Department of State the authority to consult with
any state or local office, agency, or department in order to request any
relevant information needed for completion of this study.

Section 4 requires the Department of State to deliver a report of the
findings of the study to the governor, the temporary president of the
senate, and the speaker of the assembly, no later than one year after
the effective date.

Section 5 sets the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

The amended version of this bill requires the Department of State to
conduct a study to determine whether current protective netting prac-
tices are sufficient in protecting consumers. The original version of
the bill would have required protective netting at baseball stadiums to
be extended from the area behind home plate to the foul poles at either
end of both foul lines, in addition to requiring posted notices warning
of the dangers of baseballs landing in the seating area.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to a 2014 Bloomberg News report, approximately 1,750 Major
League Baseball (MLB) fans are hurt by foul balls each season - roughly
one person every two to three games. In addition to the two MLB teams,
there are six minor league teams in New York which play in stadiums with
over a 5,000-person capacity. While all MLB teams have voluntarily
committed to installing protective netting exceeding MLB guidelines,
which require netting to extend to the "near ends of both dugouts", some
minor league teams in New York State have not extended their netting. In
addition, it has yet to be demonstrated that the extended netting
installed by the MLB teams is sufficient to properly protect fans from
foul balls and thrown bats.
According to a recent Marist College poll released October 24, 2017,
more than three in four baseball fans, 76%, do not think watching a
baseball game through protective netting detracts from the enjoyment of
the experience. Sixty-eight percent of respondents say the addition of
protective netting does not change how they feel about watching the
game, while 8% who think it makes the experience more enjoyable. When
fans bring their children to games, most responded that they would
select seats in a shielded area. 80% of fans say they would select seats
in an area with netting while 17% would not.

This legislation would enable the legislature to obtain important infor-
mation regarding injuries suffered at baseball stadiums by spectators
due to being struck by baseballs or thrown bats, in order to examine
whether further steps need to be taken in the future to protect the
spectators of baseball games.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.