HARRISBURG -- State Rep. Bob Belfanti, a legislator from central Pennsylvania, is in his 50s, considerably older than your average paintball player.

But he got interested in the growing sport, which is dominated by teenage and 20-something males, more than a decade ago when his two young sons urged him to take up the game with them.

Mr. Belfanti, a Democrat from Northumberland County, has grown to like the exercise and the camaraderie of the sport, and even owns a commercial paintball field in his hometown, about an hour north of Harrisburg.

Now he wants to make the sport safer.

He has introduced a bill to regulate paintball safety, require all players to wear strong goggles to protect their eyes, and impose age limits to keep young children from playing and getting hurt.

The House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee held a hearing on the bill, House Bill 2160, yesterday.

"I know a lot about hunting but I don't know a darn thing about paintball," said Rep. Robert Godshall, R-Montgomery, a 60-something lawmaker who is committee chairman.

"It's a growing international sport," Mr. Belfanti said.

Teams of three, five, seven or sometimes larger use paintball guns, also called markers, to shoot small gelatin-wrapped pellets of paint or colored vegetable oil at opponents.

Mr. Belfanti wants to require that all paintball goggles worn by players meet safety standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials. Cheap plastic goggles can splinter when hit by the pellets and endanger a player's eyes, he said.

All guns, or markers, would have to be equipped by safety on/off switches. The tanks of carbon dioxide or nitrogen which fire the pellets would have to be properly tested before use.

Children age 9 or younger wouldn't be allowed to play on commercial fields, under Mr. Belfanti's proposal. Children 10 to 12 could only play if a parent or guardian were playing. Teens age 13 to 18 could play only if they had written parental permission.

Also under the bill, commercial paintball fields would have to carry at least $500,000 of liability insurance, and players would have to get safety briefings before play starts.

A fine of up to $300 could be imposed on a player or paintball facility operator who doesn't comply.

The House Tourism Committee is still taking public comments on the proposal and didn't set a date for a vote.