IASC supports Senate Bill 1179
IASC is pleased to announce that California State Senator Morrow has drafted a new bill to get skateboarding full HRA (Hazardous Recreational Activity) protection.
Below this introductory paragraph you can read the complete text of SB1179.
IASC has been involved for many years in trying to help get skate parks built by decreasing the liability to cities, allowing them to build skate parks without fear of lawsuits. We were involved in helping promote AB1296 in 1997, and SB994 which is the current law in place which recognizes skateboarding as an HRA without offering it the full protection it offers many other sports. SB994 offers some protection to the cities and has helped California get over 200 parks built, but SB994 was not able to accomplish as much protection as we would like to see. SB994 has restrictive pad laws that are mandatory for cities to enforce and many skateboarders are put in a constant conflict with law enforcement for missing an elbow pad while other sports participants play freely without unnecessary harassment. Skateboarding statistically has fewer injuries than many other sports, but is one of the only sports with state mandated safety equipment. This newly proposed bill would give further liability protection to cities and remove the mandatory pad requirements from the state law.
We need your help in getting this bill passed. IASC is asking its members and anyone enjoying the skateboarding culture to find every skateboarder in California and get them to write letters, send emails, or make phone calls to the Judiciary Committee of the State of California in support of SB1179. IASC working on an automated process to help make this easier for all of us, but until we can get that up and running, here are some ways to get a hold of the senators.
- Senator Joseph Dunn (Chair) http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/sen/district/sd_34/_home
- Senator Bill Morrow (Vice-Chair) http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/sen/district/sd_38/_home
- Senator Dick Ackerman http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/sen/district/sd_33/_home
- Senator Martha Escutia http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/sen/district/sd_30/_home
- Senator Sheila Kuehl http://www.senate.ca.gov/ftp/sen/district/sd_23/_home
Other organizations supporting this bill: The Southern California Skatepark Coalition, SPAUSA, USA skateboarding, Skaters for Public Skateparks
BILL NUMBER: SB 1179 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED
BY Senator Morrow JANUARY 17, 2006
An act to amend Section 831.7 of the Government Code, and to repeal and add Section 115800 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to recreational activities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1179, as introduced, Morrow Recreational activities: skateboarding. Under existing law, public entities and public employees are generally not liable to any person who participates in various hazardous recreational activities, including bicycle racing or jumping and mountain bicycling.
This bill would add skateboarding to that provision of law. Existing law, effective until January 1, 2008, provides that skateboarding at a public skateboard park is a hazardous recreational activity if specified conditions are satisfied. That law, also in effect until January 1, 2008, requires local public agencies to maintain a record of all known or reported injuries incurred by skateboarders in a public skateboard park or facility, and other information regarding these incidents, as specified, and requires that copies of those records be filed annually with the Judicial Council, which is required to report to the Legislature on these incidents and any claims arising therefrom.
Existing law also prohibits the operator of a skateboard park to permit a person to ride a skateboard in the park unless the person is wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
This bill would repeal those provisions. The bill would instead grant local public agencies, as defined, that own or operate skateboard parks the authority to determine if helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads are an appropriate requirement for use by persons at skateboard parks, or specific areas thereof, which are within the local public agency's jurisdiction. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION
1. Section 831.7 of the Government Code is amended to read: 831.7. (a) Neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable to any person who participates in a hazardous recreational activity, including any person who assists the participant, or to any spectator who knew or reasonably should have known that the hazardous recreational activity created a substantial risk of injury to himself or herself and was voluntarily in the place of risk, or having the ability to do so failed to leave, for any damage or injury to property or persons arising out of that hazardous recreational activity.
(b) As used in this section, "hazardous recreational activity" means a recreational activity conducted on property of a public entity which creates a substantial (as distinguished from a minor, trivial, or insignificant) risk of injury to a participant or a spectator. "Hazardous recreational activity" also means:
(1) Water contact activities, except diving, in places where or at a time when lifeguards are not provided and reasonable warning thereof has been given or the injured party should reasonably have known that there was no lifeguard provided at the time.
(2) Any form of diving into water from other than a diving board or diving platform, or at any place or from any structure where diving is prohibited and reasonable warning thereof has been given.
(3) Animal riding, including equestrian competition, archery, bicycle racing or jumping, mountain bicycling, boating, cross-country and downhill skiing, hang gliding, kayaking, motorized vehicle racing, off-road motorcycling or four-wheel driving of any kind, orienteering, pistol and rifle shooting, rock climbing, rocketeering, rodeo, skateboarding, spelunking, sky diving, sport parachuting, paragliding, body contact sports (i.e., sports in which it is reasonably foreseeable that there will be rough bodily contact with one or more participants), surfing, trampolining, tree climbing, tree rope swinging, waterskiing, white water rafting, and windsurfing. For the purposes of this subdivision, "mountain bicycling" does not include riding a bicycle on paved pathways, roadways, or sidewalks. (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a), this section does not limit liability which would otherwise exist for any of the following:
(1) Failure of the public entity or employee to guard or warn of a known dangerous condition or of another hazardous recreational activity known to the public entity or employee that is not reasonably assumed by the participant as inherently a part of the hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or injury arose.
(2) Damage or injury suffered in any case where permission to participate in the hazardous recreational activity was granted for a specific fee. For the purpose of this paragraph, a "specific fee" does not include a fee or consideration charged for a general purpose such as a general park admission charge, a vehicle entry or parking fee, or an administrative or group use application or permit fee, as distinguished from a specific fee charged for participation in the specific hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or injury arose.
(3) Injury suffered to the extent proximately caused by the negligent failure of the public entity or public employee to properly construct or maintain in good repair any structure, recreational equipment or machinery, or substantial work of improvement utilized in the hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or injury arose.
(4) Damage or injury suffered in any case where the public entity or employee recklessly or with gross negligence promoted the participation in or observance of a hazardous recreational activity. For purposes of this paragraph, promotional literature or a public announcement or advertisement which merely describes the available facilities and services on the property does not in itself constitute a reckless or grossly negligent promotion.
(5) An act of gross negligence by a public entity or a public employee which is the proximate cause of the injury. Nothing in this subdivision creates a duty of care or basis of liability for personal injury or for damage to personal property. (d) Nothing in this section shall limit the liability of an independent concessionaire, or any person or organization other than the public entity, whether or not the person or organization has a contractual relationship with the public entity to use the public property, for injuries or damages suffered in any case as a result of the operation of a hazardous recreational activity on public property by the concessionaire, person, or organization.
SEC. 2. Section 115800 of the Health and Safety Code, as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 409 of the Statutes of 2002, is repealed. 115800. (a) No operator of a skateboard park shall permit any person to ride a skateboard therein, unless that person is wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. (b) With respect to any facility, owned or operated by a local public agency, that is designed and maintained for the purpose of recreational skateboard use, and that is not supervised on a regular basis, the requirements of subdivision (a) may be satisfied by compliance with the following: (1) Adoption by the local public agency of an ordinance requiring any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. (2) The posting of signs at the facility affording reasonable notice that any person riding a skateboard in the facility must wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads, and that any person failing to do so will be subject to citation under the ordinance required by paragraph (1). (c) "Local public agency" for purposes of this section includes, but is not limited to, a city, county, or city and county. (d) (1) Skateboarding at any facility or park owned or operated by a public entity as a public skateboard park, as provided in paragraph (3), shall be deemed a hazardous recreational activity within the meaning of Section 831.7 of the Government Code if all of the following conditions are met: (A) The person skateboarding is 14 years of age or older. (B) The skateboarding activity that caused the injury was stunt, trick, or luge skateboarding. (C) The skateboard park is on public property that complies with subdivision (a) or (b). (2) In addition to the provisions of subdivision (c) of Section 831.7 of the Government Code, nothing in this section is intended to limit the liability of a public entity with respect to any other duty imposed pursuant to existing law, including the duty to protect against dangerous conditions of public property pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 830) of Part 2 of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code. However, nothing in this section is intended to abrogate or limit any other legal rights, defenses, or immunities that may otherwise be available at law. (3) For public skateboard parks that were constructed on or before January 1, 1998, this subdivision shall apply to hazardous recreational activity injuries incurred on or after January 1, 1998, and before January 1, 2001. For public skateboard parks that are constructed after January 1, 1998, this subdivision shall apply to hazardous recreational activity injuries incurred on or after January 1, 1998, and before January 1, 2008. For purposes of this subdivision, any skateboard facility that is a movable facility shall be deemed constructed on the first date it is initially made available for use at any location by the local public agency. (4) The appropriate local public agency shall maintain a record of all known or reported injuries incurred by a skateboarder in a public skateboard park or facility. The local public agency shall also maintain a record of all claims, paid and not paid, including any lawsuits and their results, arising from those incidents that were filed against the public agency. Beginning in 1999, copies of these records shall be filed annually, no later than January 30 each year, with the Judicial Council, which shall submit a report to the Legislature on or before March 31, 2007, on the incidences of injuries incurred, claims asserted, and the results of any lawsuit filed, by persons injured while skateboarding in public skateboard parks or facilities. (5) This subdivision shall not apply on or after January 1, 2001, to public skateboard parks that were constructed on or before January 1, 1998, but shall continue to apply to public skateboard parks that are constructed after January 1, 1998. (e) This section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2008, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, enacted before January 1, 2008, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3. Section 115800 of the Health and Safety Code, as amended by Section 2 of Chapter 409 of the Statutes of 2002, is repealed. 115800. (a) No operator of a skateboard park shall permit any person to ride a skateboard therein, unless that person is wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. (b) With respect to any facility, owned or operated by a local public agency, that is designed and maintained for the purpose of recreational skateboard use, and that is not supervised on a regular basis, the requirements of subdivision (a) may be satisfied by compliance with the following: (1) Adoption by the local public agency of an ordinance requiring any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. (2) The posting of signs at the facility affording reasonable notice that any person riding a skateboard in the facility must wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads, and that any person failing to do so will be subject to citation under the ordinance required by paragraph (1). (c) "Local public agency" for purposes of this section includes, but is not limited to, a city, county, or city and county. (d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2008.
SEC. 4. Section 115800 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 115800. (a) A local public agency that owns or operates skateboard parks shall have the authority to determine if helmets, knee pads, and elbow pads are an appropriate requirement for use by persons at skateboard parks, or specific areas thereof, which are within the local public agency's jurisdiction. (b) For purposes of this section, "local public agency" includes, but is not limited to, a city, county, city and county, and special district.
