1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to bleacher safety; providing exemptions for 
  1.3             bleachers owned or erected by certain organizations; 
  1.4             providing an extension for county agricultural 
  1.5             societies; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
  1.6             16B.616, subdivision 3. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 16B.616, 
  1.9   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 3.  [SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.] In places of public 
  1.11  accommodation using bleacher seating, all bleachers or bleacher 
  1.12  open spaces over 55 inches above grade or the floor below, and 
  1.13  all bleacher guardrails if any part of the guardrail is over 30 
  1.14  inches above grade or the floor below must conform to the 
  1.15  following safety requirements: 
  1.16     (1) the open space between bleacher footboards, seats, and 
  1.17  guardrails must not exceed four inches, unless approved safety 
  1.18  nets are installed, except that retractable bleachers already in 
  1.19  place as of January 1, 2001, may have open spaces not exceeding 
  1.20  nine inches and any bleachers owned by the Minnesota amateur 
  1.21  sports commission, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota 
  1.22  state colleges and universities, or a private college or 
  1.23  university may have open spaces not exceeding nine inches; 
  1.24     (2) bleachers must have vertical perimeter guardrails with 
  1.25  no more than four-inch rail spacing between vertical rails or 
  1.26  other approved guardrails that address climbability and are 
  2.1   designed to prevent accidents; and 
  2.2      (3) the state building official shall determine whether the 
  2.3   safety nets and guardrail climbability meet the requirements of 
  2.4   the alternate design section of the State Building Code.  All 
  2.5   new bleachers manufactured, installed, sold, or distributed 
  2.6   after January 1, 2001, must comply with the State Building Code 
  2.7   in effect and this subdivision.  This subdivision does not apply 
  2.8   to temporary bleacher seating installed in the Hubert H. 
  2.9   Humphrey Metrodome for national collegiate athletic association 
  2.10  events.  This subdivision does not apply to bleachers erected by 
  2.11  the Defeat of Jesse James Days committee, a nonprofit 
  2.12  corporation located in Northfield, Minnesota.  This subdivision 
  2.13  does not apply to any outside bleachers erected in Minnesota 
  2.14  prior to January 1, 2001. 
  2.15     Sec. 2.  [AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES; EXTENSION.] 
  2.16     County agricultural societies do not have to comply with 
  2.17  bleacher requirements until January 1, 2004. 
  2.18     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.19     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.