BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1179
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 13, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Dave Jones, Chair
SB 1179 (Morrow) - As Amended: May 16, 2006
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES: SKATEBOARDING
KEY ISSUES :
1)SHOULD THE SUNSET PROVISION BE EXTENDED UNTIL 2011 IN ORDER TO
ALLOW SKATEBOARDING TO CONTINUE AS A HAZARDOUS RECREATIONAL
ACTIVITY, WHERE CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES ARE MET?
2)SHOULD THE AGE LIMIT FOR QUALIFIED IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR
SKATEBOARD INJURIES AT SKATEBOARD PARKS BE LOWERED FROM 14 TO
12 YEARS OF AGE?
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial bill extends the sunset provision making
skateboarding a hazardous recreational activity when certain
circumstances are met from 2008 until 2012. Currently those
circumstances include that the person skateboarding is 14 years
of age or older; the activity that caused the injury was not
normal skateboarding but instead was stunt, trick, or luge
skateboarding; and the skateboard park is on public property.
This bill also lowers the age requirement from 14 years to 12
years of age.
SUMMARY : Seeks to extend the sunset provision in current law
that makes skateboarding a hazardous recreational activity, in
certain circumstances, as well as to lower the age where
qualified immunity from liability is present for injuries
incurred at a public skate park from 14 to 12. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Extends by four years the existing sunset for the existing
legal liability protections for cities, counties and other
public agencies that build public skateboard parks.
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2)Lowers the minimum age of qualified immunity from liability
for skateboarders in public skateboard parks from 14 years of
age to 12 years of age.
3)Extends the date that the Judicial Council report, to the
Legislature regarding injuries, claims, and results of
lawsuits, must be submitted from March 31, 2007, until March
31, 2011.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Sets forth the guidelines that an operator of a skateboard
park must follow as well as the requirements with respect to a
facility owned and operated by a local public agency.
2)Provides that a public skateboard park shall be deemed a
"hazardous recreational activity if 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
3)Requires the Judicial Council to submit a report to the
Legislature on or before March 31, 2007, relative to
incidences of injuries incurred, claims asserted and the
results of any lawsuits filed by persons injured while
skateboarding in public skateboard parks or facilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed
non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : In support of this measure, the author notes that
"numerous local governments have built skateboarding parks to
provide skateboarders appropriate venues for plying their
skills." Further, he states that existing law "provides these
local governments liability protection less than the protection
offered to [hazardous recreational activities] listed in the
Gov[ernment] Code."
In 1983, California codified a qualified immunity for public
entities and employees for injuries suffered by individuals
engaged in hazardous recreational activities. The included
activities, such as rock climbing, sky diving and sport
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parachuting, all pose a substantial risk of injury to a
participant or spectator. Over the years, other attempts have
been made to expand the list of hazardous recreational
activities. For example, mountain biking, but not ordinary use
of a bicycle, was added to the list of hazardous recreational
activities.
In 1997, AB 1296 (Morrow) added skateboarding under certain
conditions to the list of hazardous recreational activities.
That provision was extended in 2002 by SB 994 (Morrow), and will
sunset on January 1, 2008, unless legislation is enacted to
extend or repeal that provision. Skateboarding results in
public entity immunity only when the participant is at least 14,
and performing a trick, stunt or luge skateboarding on public
property meeting certain requirements. As a result of this
immunity, communities began building skateboarding parks for the
use of their residents. These skateboarding parks provide a
dedicated location for individuals to skateboard without worry
of trespassing or vehicular hazards. Pursuant to existing law,
all of these skateboard parks require use of helmets, elbow pads
and knee pads and the limited immunity currently enjoyed by
public entities is conditioned upon requiring skateboarders to
wear this safety equipment. Thus, the current scheme both
provides dedicated locations for children to skateboard, and
encourages the use of proper safety equipment.
Risks of Skateboarding : Some supporters of the measure note the
dangers of skateboarding, while others emphasize the sport's
safety. The City of Lake Forest proclaims that "[c]learly,
skateboarding is an activity that is hazardous regardless of
age." Further elaborating on the danger posed, the California
Association of Joint Powers Authorities (CAJPA), contends that
"participants . . . are well aware of risks associated with
skateboarding. Let's be realistic: we are talking about a small
platform set on wheels, and 'ridden' at significant speeds on
and around cement surfaces and obstacles." In contrast, the
website for the Skate Park Association United States of America
(SPAUSA), supporter, contains statistics detailed below which
portray skateboarding as much safer than many other sports.
Ordinary riding of a skateboard, akin to roller-skates, does not
appear to pose the same hazardous risks of other hazardous
recreational activities such as off-road motorcycling or sport
parachuting. In fact the SPAUSA website states that
"[s]kateparks with smooth surfaces and protective gear have a
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very low injury rate." That website further states that
skateboarding, with .49% of its participants injured (27,718 out
of 6,200,000), ranked significantly below ice hockey (3.6%),
football (2.78%), basketball (2.57%), soccer (1.42%) and
baseball (1.26%) in 1969. Similarly, 1999 statistics by the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that
skateboarding, with .77% of its participants injured, ranks
below football (1.99%), basketball (1.52%), soccer (1.00%) and
baseball (1.61%) for percentage of participants injured. The
SPAUSA also reports there are 7-10 million skateboarders
nationwide, 80% of whom are 18 years of age or younger.
Compared with ordinary bicycling, which is not classified as a
hazardous recreational activity, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign
(NSKC) reports significantly fewer injuries to children from
skateboarding-related accidents. "In 2002, nearly 272,800
children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms
for bicycle related injuries." During that same time period,
only 60,100 of similarly aged children were treated for
skateboard-related injuries. Unlike the data provided by
SPAUSA, this data does not include the total number of kids
engaged in each of the activities.
Additionally, the Judicial Council's reports to the Legislature,
as required by the Health and Safety Code section 115800, appear
to demonstrate skate boarding's apparently low injury rate.
Judicial Council's March 13, 2002 report found that a total of
80 skateboarding injuries occurred at skateboarding parks in
nine cities during the 2001 calendar year. This amounts to less
than one injury per skateboard park per month. Furthermore,
none of these injuries resulted in a lawsuit against the city.
In fact, there are no published California cases including suits
against a city for injuries caused at a skateboarding park.
Current Law Regarding Assumption Of Risk : Generally, every
individual has a duty to exercise ordinary care; failure to
exercise reasonable care under the circumstances results in
liability. (Parsons v. Crown Disposal Co. (1997) 15 Cal. 4th
456, 472; Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal. 2d 108, 112.)
Primary assumption of the risk limits a defendant's liability
when the inherent risks of a sport cannot be eliminated without
destroying the sport itself. (Record v. Reason (1999) 73 Cal.
App. 4th 472, 480.) These sports include those "done for
enjoyment or thrill, requir[ing] physical exertion as well as
elements of skill, and involv[ing] a challenge containing a
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potential risk of injury." (Id. at 482.) Even when assumption
of the risk applies, "defendants generally do have a duty to use
due care not to increase the risks to a participant over and
above those inherent in the sport." (Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3
Cal. 4th 296, 316.)
In Calhoon v. Lewis, California's Fourth District Court of
Appeal stated that "[s]kateboarding is a type of activity
covered by the primary assumption of risk doctrine." (81 Cal.
App. 4th 108, 115.) Thus, defendants cannot be held liable for
risks inherent in the sport of skateboarding. For example, a
skateboarder who enters a neighbor's yard, attempts to perform a
trick, loses his balance, hits a planter and impales himself on
a metal pipe cannot hold the neighbor liable unless they held
out their yard to skateboarders. (Id. at 110-18.) On the other
hand, skate park owners who know that individuals will be
skateboarding in the park may be liable if their actions
increase the risk inherent in the sport of skateboarding or fail
to minimize risks to skateboarders. (Id. at 117-18.) Thus,
current law already protects both public and private individuals
from suits resulting from injuries as a result of the inherent
risk of skateboarding.
Furthermore, a 1998 Attorney General opinion requested by the
author of this bill found that "skateboarding may be considered
a 'hazardous recreational activity' under the terms of
subdivision (b) of section 831.7 even though it is not
specifically so identified in the statute." Subdivision (b) of
Government Code Section 831.7 states that a hazardous
recreational activity "means a recreational activity conducted
on property of a public entity which creates a substantial . . .
risk of injury to a participant or a spectator." Thus,
depending on the type of skateboarding conducted, the public
entity would be immune.
Lowering the Current Age Requirement for Qualified Immunity to
Lie : Given the relative low amount of injuries from
skateboarding, compared to other sports typically engaged in by
teenagers, such as basketball, football, and soccer,
skateboarding does not pose the same risk of injury to persons
under the age of 18. The current government immunity is
extended only when the skateboarder is 14 years of age or older,
but as previously noted, there are far more skateboarders under
the age of 18, then over, including a significant amount under
the age of 14, as demonstrated by the NSKC statistics showing
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over 60,000 injuries treated in emergency rooms for children
aged 5-14. Lowering the age requirement from 14 to 12 years
will increase the amount of protection local agencies have from
liability at public skate parks in correlation with the growing
amount of skateboarders who fit into this particular age range.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In support, the International Association
of Skateboard Companies states that "public entities are left
vulnerable by [these] technicalities and are consequently
hesitant to construct more skate parks."
The City of Santa Barbara states that this bill "would enable
public entities to maintain their current skateboard parks with
less risk of liability and may result in greater recreational
opportunities for the citizens of California through the
construction of new skateboard parks." Additionally, supporters
contend that skateboarding parks have the incidental effect of
reducing the amount of children who skateboard on city streets
and parking lots. In contrast, the United States Consumer
Product Safety Commission warns parents that "[s]kateboarding in
the street can result in collisions with cars causing serious
injury and even death."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California State Association of Counties
City of Arcadia
City of Lake Forest
City of Moreno Valley
City of Santa Barbara
Civil Justice Association of California
International Association of Skateboard Companies
League of California Cities
Mayor of the City of Concord
SkatePark Association United States of America
Tony Hawk Foundation
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334