Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed a bill into law this week that gives the state the power to closely regulate its trampoline parks.
“The regulation of trampoline courts is of statewide concern,” states the Arizona Department of Fire, Building, and Life Safety document that explains the law.
All new and existing trampoline parks will now have to register with the state, face yearly inspections from either an insurer or an inspector contracted with an insurer, carry an insurance policy of at least $1 million for injuries, and keep a log of emergency phone calls from at least the previous two years.
Arizona is the first state to regulate the parks.
The inspection standards will be based on guidelines drafted by the American Society of Testing and Materials, an international organization.
The law was inspired by a 30-year-old Ty Thomasson, who died in 2012 from injuries sustained after jumping into a shallow ball pit full of foam blocks at a trampoline court in Phoenix.
Brewer signed the legislation, House Bill 2179, at the state capitol on Thursday. The parks have 90 days to comply. Courts that do not meet the standards will not be allowed to operate until they do.
— Katherine Timpf is a reporter at National Review Online.