HARRISBURG Committee holds hearing on bill addressing paintball-safety issues

Mandating insurance would put a lot of small enterprises out of business.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- A bill that would require commercial paintball fields to be insured and ban children 9 years old and younger from playing the game drew some criticism from paintball industry representatives during a legislative hearing Monday.
It was unclear when the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee would vote on the measure sponsored by Rep. Robert Belfanti Jr., D-Northumberland.
Belfanti, who began playing paintball 13 years ago at the urging of his two sons, said the measure was intended partly to make sure that paintball fields are insured in the event of liability lawsuits filed by anyone who is injured.
"There are a number of fields ... where the field owners do not have insurance, and if there is an accident, it's very simple go bankrupt and see the injured party not have their injury redressed," Belfanti said.
Paintball fields would have to carry at least $500,000 in general liability insurance and at least $10,000 in secondary health insurance under the bill.
Response
But Bob McGuire, president of the American Paintball League, based in Johnson City, Tenn., told the committee that mandating insurance would be financially burdensome. No other state has passed legislation similar to Belfanti's proposal, McGuire said.
"Its effect could be to force many small private enterprises out of business, and to chase paintball games underground, where more of the games are not properly supervised," McGuire said.
William M. Gardner Sr., president of Smart Parts Inc., a Latrobe-based maker of paintball equipment, asked the committee to remove language from the bill that would allow children 10 to 12 years old to play only if they are supervised by a parent who is also participating in the game.
"This is comparable to requiring parents or guardians to be on the field participating with young Little Leaguers, or playing baseball, football or soccer," Gardner said. "It just is not very practical."