NJ S3783

Commissioner of Community Affairs must adopt safety standards for existing bleachers within six months, utilizing U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines or nationally recognized model code standards to minimize fall and injury risks.

Governmental entities must upgrade bleachers within one year of regulations taking effect, or immediately if State bond funds are available; non-compliant bleachers are forbidden from use after the deadline.

Private and nonprofit entities operating places of public accommodation must upgrade bleachers within two years of regulations taking effect; non-compliant bleachers are forbidden from use after the deadline.

Non-compliant bleachers must display conspicuous warning notices in 24-point bold capital letters alerting users that the bleacher lacks required safety features.

Approximately 19,100 bleacher-related injuries occur annually in the United States, with at least 10 deaths in the past twenty years, including four children under age 15.