H196 Summary: Zip Lines/Challenge Courses/Sanders' Law

• Establishes "Sanders' Law" to regulate zip lines, aerial adventure parks, canopy tours, and challenge courses in North Carolina under the Department of Labor's Elevator and Amusement Device Bureau.

• Requires owners to obtain annual certificates of operation, maintain $1,000,000 minimum liability insurance per occurrence, and pass inspections by qualified third-party inspectors.

• Mandates compliance with one of four national safety standards (ACCT, PRCA, ERCA, or ASTM) for design, construction, installation, maintenance, and operation of regulated devices.

• Requires owners to conduct daily pre-opening inspections, train employees, maintain emergency evacuation plans, and report serious injuries or fatalities to the Commissioner within 24 hours.

• Establishes civil penalties up to $5,000 per day for violations, criminal penalties ranging from Class 2 misdemeanor to Class E felony for willful violations causing death or serious injury, with effective date of December 1, 2017.