BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    


                                                                 SB 1179
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         SENATE THIRD READING
         SB 1179 (Morrow)
         As Amended May 16, 2006
         Majority vote 

          SENATE VOTE  :39-0  
          
          JUDICIARY           9-0                                         
          
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         |Ayes:|Jones, Berg, Haynes,      |     |                          |
         |     |Laird, Leslie, Levine,    |     |                          |
         |     |Lieber, Monta?ez, Wyland  |     |                          |
         |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
         |     |                          |     |                          |
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          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.  Currently law is  
           set to sunset in 2008.  This bill will sunset it in 2012.

         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 (JC) 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:








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            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; and,
            c)   The skateboard park is on public property. 

         3)Requires the JC 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  :  None

          COMMENTS  :  In support of this bill, 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 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.
          
         AB 1296 (Morrow), Chapter 573, Statutes of 1997, added  
         skateboarding under certain conditions to the list of hazardous  
         recreational activities.  That provision was extended by SB 994  
         (Morrow), Chapter 409, Statutes of 2002, 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  







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         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.

         Some supporters of this bill 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), contains statistics which portray skateboarding as much  
         safer than many other sports.
          
         Additionally, the JC'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.  The JC'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. 

         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 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 National SAFE KIDS Campaign  
         statistics showing 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.  

         Some skateboarding groups oppose the bill, arguing the "half a  







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         loaf" approach is not meritorious.

          Analysis Prepared by  :  Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN:  
         0015690