What's happening
This bill requires children in organized baseball to wear helmets with chin straps while batting and bans head-first sliding for those 13 and under.
Why it matters
Aims to reduce head and facial injuries among young baseball players. by requiring helmets with chin straps not just when batting, but also while running the bases—moments when collisions and falls are common.
Directly addresses a known safety risk. head-first sliding is a frequent cause of youth baseball injuries, and the ban for those 13 and under seeks to lower the rate of concussions, facial trauma, and related emergency room visits.
Holds organizations accountable. Schools, leagues, and adults organizing youth baseball could face civil penalties if they allow play without proper helmets or permit head-first sliding, increasing the incentive for strict enforcement of safety rules.
Could influence equipment standards and league policies statewide,. possibly increasing costs for compliance but establishing a new safety baseline that may impact insurance, liability, and parent peace of mind.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Kids Must Wear Baseball Helmets
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5766
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 15, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. BENEDETTO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring children to wear helmets with chin straps while batting and running bases and prohibiting children thirteen years old and younger from head first sliding while participating in organized baseball
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Article 25 of the public health law is amended by adding a new title 7 to read as follows:
TITLE VII
YOUTH SPORTS Section 2595. Youth baseball.
§ 2595. Youth baseball. 1. (a) Any child participating in organized baseball shall wear a helmet with a chin strap while batting and running the bases while engaging in such organized baseball.
(b) No child thirteen years old or younger shall engage in head first sliding while participating in organized baseball; provided however, that nothing within this section shall prohibit children thirteen years old and younger from playing, practicing, or otherwise participating in any form of baseball which does not involve head first sliding.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "organized baseball" shall include any practice, game or other activity which involves engaging in baseball and which is organized by a school, adult, or public or private league or other entity whose purpose is to allow children to participate in baseball.
2. Any school, adult, or league or other entity whose purpose is to allow children to participate in baseball who allows children to bat and run the bases without wearing a helmet with a chin strap or who allows children thirteen years of age or younger to engage in head first sliding while playing, practicing, or otherwise engaging in baseball shall be liable for a civil penalty under the provisions of title two of article one of this chapter.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09806-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.