Bill to create water slide exemption heard in House
OLYMPIA — A bill to exempt bouncy houses, inflatable water slides and dunk tanks from water recreation permit law was heard by the Senate .
Prime sponsor of the bill, Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, said the bill was in response to an issue at Grant County festivals and parades he had noticed on the campaign trail last summer.
He said the bill was designed to solve the recent confusion groups in Grant County were facing after a change in interpretation of the law required them to apply a month in advance and pay hundreds in permitting fees to have inflatable water slides at festivals.
Manweller said the bill only applied to the Grant County area, because most districts don’t require permits for inflatable water equipment. The Public Health Department in King County said they do not require permits for small water slides and bouncy houses. They only require a permit if the water slide will take up an entire street and don’t require anything for small scale or temporary events.
The bill would allow communities who are putting on events with inflatable equipment that has been sprayed with water not to undergo the same permitting process which swimming pools, hot tubs and large water slides go through.
“This bill is one you file under, ‘It’s ridiculous we have to have a bill like this,” Manweller said.
Environmental health manager for the Grant County Department of Health, Todd Phillips, said they became aware of the need for festivals to have water recreation permits after a festival at the Gorge applied for a permit for a large water slide last year.
Phillips said the current policy requires anyone who is using water for public recreation to apply for a seasonal permit 30 days in advance, pay a $349 fee to the Grant County Department of Health and an additional fee to the state Department of Health, and undergo an inspection.
“I don’t think it’s a reasonable situation for the small events,” Phillips said. “We’re just waiting for a yes or no on the legislation and if it is a no on the legislation for some reason, we’re going to come up with our own process that is user friendly.”
Cara Hoyt, chair of the Royal City Summerfest committee, said they had been forced to shut down two inflatable waterslides during last summer’s festival because of this new interpretation of the law, costing them $1,500. Amber Reynold, director for the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce, said they found themselves in a similar situation and had to cancel children’s water activities at the Basin Summer Sounds festival.
Hoyt said she had gone to Department of Health committees and felt the interpretation of the public recreation law didn’t really apply to small festivals and until that point, they had not had issues with permitting or safety.
“No one, recently or locally has gotten sick because of any of these items,” Hoyt said. “We’ve never had a problem.”
The bill was introduced near the end of January and was voted out of the House unanimously earlier this month.
While on the floor, an amendment was introduced by a colleague to Manweller which would require the sponsor of the bill to dress up in a Wellington the Wildcat costume and be the first person to be dunked in a dunk tank at a fundraiser once the bill goes into effect. The amendment was not adopted.
During the hearing, representatives from the Department of Health and the State Board of Health signed in as pro, but did not testify. The bill should be scheduled for executive session in the coming weeks and if passed, it will go before the Senate for a vote.