GUILFORD COUNTY - North Carolina doesn't regulate the use of zip lines. Instead, each county is left to decide what makes them safe and what does not. 

After the death of a young girl last month, lawmakers are pushing for one standard.

Kersey Valley Attractions was the first amusement park in Guilford County to open a zip line course. 

"After about a year process gathering what the standards were in this industry and then showing Guilford County how I was going to exceed them, put that in writing, then they let me get a permit," said Kersey Valley owner Tony Wohlgemuth. "So, depending on what county you live in that depends on what regulations, if any, they had to comply with." 

New Hanover County Representative Ted Davis wants that to change. His 12-year-old cousin, Bonnie Burney, died in a zip lining accident last month at Camp Cheerio.

"This is something I would have looked at anyway, but to see people that I love going through that added more emphasis to me wanting to do something about it," said Rep. Davis.  

Davis introduced House Bill 39. It calls for stiffer penalties when people get hurt on faulty amusement rides. After the death of his cousin, he added a request to his bill calling on the Department of Labor to study zip lines. 

"We don't really have an absolute accurate account of how many commercial zip lines in North Carolina. We need to determine that,” said Davis. “We need to determine how many private zip lines there are. We need to determine how the zip lines work. Are they from tree to tree, mountain to mountain?" 

The department would also look to other states for advice and work with insurance companies to come up with standard policies. Wohlgemuth and his team are in favor of statewide regulations. 

"Safety should be standardized  across the board for obvious reasons, the other side for me as a business owner is to have fair competition,” said Wohlgemuth.  

Representative Davis said if the bill passes and can save even one life it would be worth the fight. 
        
The new legislation has been passed in the Senate. The House will hear it next week.

If it passes, the study must be completed by February 2016.