2023 Multi-State Legislative and Regulatory Wrap Up
The vast majority of states have wrapped up their 2023 legislative sessions. This year, policy issues such as minimum wage, privacy, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), workforce development and retention, and state budgets dominated the agenda.
At the peak of the state legislative season, we were tracking nearly 1,000 individual pieces of legislation addressing a wide variety of issues that may have impacted the attractions industry directly or indirectly. We saw the most attractions focused activity in Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Hampshire, California, and Florida.
Several states passed beneficial new laws that expand the workforce. Arkansas and Iowa passed bills that would extend the amount of work hours available to those under 18. New Jersey also fully implemented their 2022 law that reforms existing labor programs. Working with lawmakers to find ways to help local operators hire the workers they need remains a top priority for our team at the state and federal level.
The State of Florida passed new amusement ride safety standards. The new law contains provisions for new inspection requirements including nondestructive testing changes, adds urgent care clinic visits to injury reporting, updates language on staff training and documentation, changes the major modification statutory definition, as well as signage updates.
For more than seven months, we worked in concert with the Florida Attractions Association (FAA) to communicate industry concerns with the bill as introduced and supported more practical amendments. While some provisions were favorably amended, others were not. We will continue to work with FAA, members, and state regulators during the rules process in an effort to better align provisions of the law with current industry standards.
We achieved our top state legislative priority when Alabama passed IAAPA-backed ride safety legislation in Alabama. The new law includes ASTM-referenced standards, a rider responsibility law, as well as insurance and inspection requirements. We applaud our sponsors, Senator Greg Albritton and Representative Alan Baker, the Alabama Legislature, Governor Kay Ivey, and the entire industry for coming together to support this new law.
Alabama was the last of three states without adequate ride safety legislation. The last two are Montana and Wyoming. It’s our goal to have all 50 states enact adequate ride safety laws, since states are best equipped to regulate and oversee our industry.
Growing IAAPA’s Grassroots Network
This summer, we ran a successful nationwide social media campaign that grew our grassroots network by 20%. We now have a total of 22,653 advocates we can “call-to-action” when lawmakers introduce legislation that impacts the attractions industry. Growing the number and quality of our grassroots advocates will remain a top priority moving forward.
Looking Ahead to 2024
While the vast majority of states have wrapped up their 2023 legislative sessions, we are involved in states that remain active working in partnership with our state and regional attractions association partners. In fact, with lawmakers pre-filing bills in some states, we are already preparing for the upcoming 2024 session. We expect state legislatures to attempt once again to tackle issues that our divided federal government cannot. Watch for a broader 2024 multi-state legislative preview later this year.
Register Now for the IAAPA Public Affairs Conference
Don’t forget to register for the upcoming IAAPA Public Affairs Conference which will be held October 24-25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. We have a packed two days with exciting speakers, valuable networking opportunities, and discussions with federal lawmakers about issues impacting the attractions industry. The conference culminates with in person meetings on Capitol Hill, and a reception and dinner at the Canadian Embassy. You can register for the conference here!