BILL NUMBER: AB 92 CHAPTERED 10/12/01 CHAPTER 756 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 12, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 27, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chavez (Coauthor: Assembly Member Robert Pacheco) (Coauthor: Senator Margett) JANUARY 9, 2001 An act to amend Sections 831.8 and 831.9 of the Government Code, relating to liability. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 92, Chavez. Liability: flood control and water conservation facilities. Existing law provides that, until January 1, 2002, neither a public agency that operates flood control and water conservation facilities nor its employees shall be liable for injuries caused by the condition or use of unlined flood control channels or adjacent groundwater recharge spreading grounds under prescribed conditions. This bill would extend the operative date of the above provision to January 1, 2007. Existing law requires, until January 1, 2002, that the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works maintain a record of injuries, and the results of any civil actions ensuing therefrom, that are incurred by the public in the unlined flood control channels or adjacent groundwater recharge spreading grounds during groundwater recharge activities, and annually file a copy of that record with the Judicial Council. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to submit a report on these matters to the Legislature on or before January 31, 2001. This bill would extend that annual county reporting requirement until January 1, 2007, and would require the Judicial Council to submit another report on these matters to the Legislature by January 31, 2006. By extending the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 831.8 of the Government Code is amended to read: 831.8. (a) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition of a reservoir if at the time of the injury the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than that for which the public entity intended or permitted the property to be used. (b) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither an irrigation district nor an employee thereof nor the state nor a state employee is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition of canals, conduits or drains used for the distribution of water if at the time of the injury the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than that for which the district or state intended it to be used. (c) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public agency operating flood control and water conservation facilities nor its employees are liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition or use of unlined flood control channels or adjacent groundwater recharge spreading grounds if, at the time of the injury, the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than that for which the public entity intended it to be used, and, if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The public agency operates and maintains dams, pipes, channels, and appurtenant facilities to provide flood control protection and water conservation for a county whose population exceeds nine million residents. (2) The public agency operates facilities to recharge a groundwater basin system which is the primary water supply for more than one million residents. (3) The groundwater supply is dependent on imported water recharge which must be conducted in accordance with court-imposed basin management restrictions. (4) The basin recharge activities allow the conservation and storage of both local and imported water supplies when these waters are available. (5) The public agency posts conspicuous signs warning of any increase in waterflow levels of an unlined flood control channel or any spreading ground receiving water. (d) Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous condition of property if all of the following occur: (1) The injured person was not guilty of a criminal offense under Article 1 (commencing with Section 552) of Chapter 12 of Title 13 of Part 1 of the Penal Code in entering on or using the property. (2) The condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm when the property or adjacent property was used with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used. (3) The dangerous character of the condition was not reasonably apparent to, and would not have been anticipated by, a mature, reasonable person using the property with due care. (4) The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the condition. (e) Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous condition of property if all of the following occur: (1) The person injured was less than 12 years of age. (2) The dangerous condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm to children under 12 years of age using the property or adjacent property with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used. (3) The person injured, because of his or her immaturity, did not discover the condition or did not appreciate its dangerous character. (4) The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the condition. (f) Subdivision (c) shall become inoperative on and after January 1, 2007. SEC. 2. Section 831.9 of the Government Code is amended to read: 831.9. (a) The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works shall maintain a record of all known or reported injuries incurred by the public in the unlined flood control channels or adjacent groundwater recharge spreading grounds during the activities of groundwater recharge. The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works shall also maintain a record of all claims, paid and not paid, including any civil actions or proceedings and their results, arising from those incidents, that were filed against the county. Copies of these records shall be filed annually, no later than January 1 of each year, with the Judicial Council, which shall then submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 31, 2006, on the incidences of injuries incurred, claims asserted, and the results of any civil action or proceeding filed, by persons injured at these facilities. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2007, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2007, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district are the result of a program for which legislative authority was requested by that local agency or school district, within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.