NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 712

HOUSE BILL 630

 

 

AN ACT FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE, AND SAFETY IN MASS GATHERINGS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 130 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by adding a new article as follows:

"Article 28.

"Mass Gatherings.

"§ 130-240.  Legislative intent and purpose. — The intent and purpose of this Article is to provide for the protection of the public health, public welfare, and public safety of those persons in attendance at mass gatherings and of those persons who reside near or are located in proximity to the sites of mass gatherings or are directly affected thereby.

"§ 130-241.  Definitions. — The following definitions shall apply in the enforcement and interpretation of this Article:

(1)        'Mass gathering' means the congregation or assembly in which admission is charged in reasonable contemplation of profit of more than 5,000 people in an open space or open air for a continuous period of at least 24 hours; it shall include mass gatherings organized or held for any purpose but shall not include assemblies in permanent buildings or permanent structures designed or intended for use by large numbers of people.

(2)        'State Health Director' means the State Health Director or a representative designated by him.

(3)        'Person' means any person, firm, corporation or legal entity which holds, sponsors, organizes, conducts or promotes a mass gathering.

"§ 130-242.  Permit required; revocation of permit. — (1) No person shall organize, sponsor or hold any mass gathering unless a permit has been issued to such person by the State Health Director under the provisions of this Article. A permit shall be required for each mass gathering and is not transferable to other persons.

(2)        A permit may be revoked by the State Health Director at any time if he finds that the mass gathering is being or has been maintained or operated in violation of this Article, or that prior to the mass gathering, the planning or preparation for the mass gathering is not in compliance with this Article. A permit may be revoked upon the request of the permittee or upon abandonment of the operation. A permit will otherwise expire upon satisfactory completion of the post-gathering clean-up following the close of the mass gathering.

"§ 130-243.  Application for permit. — (1) Application for a permit for a mass gathering shall be made to the State Health Director, on a form and in a manner prescribed by him, by the person who will organize, sponsor or hold the mass gathering. The application shall be filed with the State Health Director at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the mass gathering. A fee as prescribed by the State Health Director not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall accompany the application.

(2)        The application shall contain the following information: identification of the applicant, identification of any other person(s) responsible for organizing, sponsoring or holding the mass gathering, the location of the proposed mass gathering, the estimated maximum number of persons reasonably expected to be in attendance at any one time, the date or dates and the hours during which the mass gathering is to be conducted, and a statement as to the total time period involved.

(3)        The application shall be accompanied by an outline map of the area to be used, to approximate scale, showing the location of all proposed and existing privies or toilets; lavatory and bathing facilities; all water supply sources including lakes, ponds, streams, wells, storage tanks, etc.; all areas of assemblage; all camping areas; all food service areas; all garbage and refuse storage and disposal areas; all entrances and exits to public highways; and emergency ingress and egress roads.

(4)        The application shall be accompanied by such additional plans, reports, and information required by the State Health Director as he shall deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article.

"§ 130-244.  Provisional permit; performance bond; liability insurance. — (1) Within 10 days after the receipt of the application, the State Health Director shall review the application and inspect the proposed site for the mass gathering. If it reasonably appears that the requirements of this Article can be met by the applicant, a provisional permit shall be issued.

(2)        If the State Health Director shall deem it necessary to protect the health, welfare and safety of those persons in attendance at mass gatherings and of other persons who may be affected by mass gatherings and to carry out the provisions of this Article, he may require the permittee within five days after issuance of the provisional permit to file with the State Health Director a performance bond or other surety to be executed to the State in the amount of $5,000 for up to 10,000 persons and $1,000 additional for each additional 5,000 persons or fraction thereof, reasonably estimated to attend the mass gathering. The bond, if required, shall be conditioned on full compliance with this Article and shall be forfeitable upon noncompliance and a showing by the State Health Director of any injury, damage or other loss to the State or local governmental agencies caused by the noncompliance. The permittee shall in addition file satisfactory evidence of public liability and property damage insurance in an amount determined by the State Health Director to be reasonable (but not to exceed $1,000,000 in amount) in relation to the risks and hazards involved in the proposed mass gathering.

"§ 130-245.  Issuance of permit; revocation; forfeiture of bond; cancellation. — (1) If, upon inspection by the State Health Director 15 days prior to the starting date of the mass gathering, or earlier upon request of the permittee, the required facilities are found to be in place and satisfactory arrangements are found to have been made for required services, and other applicable provisions of this Article are found to have been met, the State Health Director shall issue a permit for the mass gathering. If, upon such inspection, the facilities, arrangements, or other provisions are not satisfactory, the provisional permit shall be revoked and no permit issued.

(2)        Upon revocation of either the provisional permit or the permit, the permittee shall immediately announce cancellation of the mass gathering in as effective a manner as is reasonably possible, including but not limited to the use of whatever methods were used for advertising or promoting the mass gathering.

(3)        If the provisional permit or the permit is revoked prior to or during the mass gathering, the State Health Director may order the permittee to install such facilities and make such arrangements as may be necessary to accommodate those persons who may nevertheless attend or be present at the mass gathering despite its cancellation and to restore the site to a safe and sanitary condition. In the event the permittee fails to comply with the order of the State Health Director, the State Health Director may immediately proceed to install such facilities and make such other arrangements and provisions for clean-up as may be minimally required in the interest of public health and safety, utilizing such State and local funds and resources as may be available to him. Prior to or within 60 days after such action, the State Health Director may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to order forfeiture of the permittee's performance bond or surety for violation of this Article. The court may order that the proceeds shall be applied to the extent necessary to reimburse the State and local governmental agencies for expenditures made pursuant to the action taken by the State Health Director upon the permittee's failure to comply with his order. Any excess proceeds shall be returned to the insurer of the bond or to the surety after deducting court costs.

"§ 130-246.  Rules and regulations of the State Board of Health. — The State Board of Health is authorized and directed to develop and adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Article and to establish standards and requirements so that facilities and services shall be provided as necessary to protect the health, welfare, and safety of those attending the mass gathering and of other persons who may be affected by mass gatherings. These rules and regulations shall upon adoption have the force and effect as if they were part of this Article. They shall include, but not be limited to, the establishment of standards as follows:

(1)        General requirements relating to minimum size of activity area, distance of activity area from dwellings, distance from public water supplies and watersheds, camping areas, and an adequate command post for use by personnel of health, law enforcement and other governmental agencies.

(2)        Adequate ingress and egress roads, parking facilities and entrances and exits to public highways.

(3)        Plan for limiting attendance and crowd control, dust control, and rapid emergency evacuation.

(4)        Medical care, including facilities, services and personnel.

(5)        Sanitary water supply, source and distribution; toilet facilities; sewage disposal; solid waste collection and disposal; food dispensing; insect and rodent control; and post-gathering clean-up.

(6)        Noise level at perimeter; lighting, and signs.

"§ 130-247.  Penalty. — Any person who violates any provision of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined or imprisoned, or both, in the discretion of the court.

"§ 130-248.  Nothing in this Article shall be construed to limit the authority of counties to adopt ordinances under G.S. 153-9 (55) regulating mass gatherings of less than 5,000 persons."

Sec. 2.  If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.

Sec 3.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 1st day of July, 1971.