AB 755, as amended, Ammiano. Suicide barriers.
Existing law does not require bridges to be constructed with suicide barriers. Existing law requires a project study report or a project study report equivalent to be prepared prior to the inclusion of a transportation capital improvement project in the regional transportation improvement program, which is prepared by regional agencies, or the interregional transportation improvement program, which is prepared by the Department of Transportation. Existing law requires the California Transportation Commission to adopt the state transportation improvement program incorporating projects included in the regional transportation improvement program and the interregional transportation improvement program. Existing law also requires the department to prepare, for approval by the commission, a separate state highway operation and protection program for capital improvements that are necessary to preserve and protect the state highway system.
This bill would require a project study report or project study report equivalent that is prepared for any new project involving the constructionbegin delete or reconstructionend delete of abegin insert newend insert bridge,begin delete as defined, thatend deletebegin insert or the replacement of a bridge with a history of documented suicides, which projectend insert is included in the regional transportation improvement program, the interregional transportation improvement program, or the state highway operation and protectionbegin delete programend deletebegin insert
program,end insert
to include a document demonstrating that a suicide barrier was a feature considered during the project’s planning process.begin insert The bill would define “bridge” for these purposes.end insert
Existing law provides that where a public entity is under a mandatory duty imposed by an enactment that is designed to protect against the risk of a particular kind of injury, the public entity is liable for an injury of that kind proximately caused by its failure to discharge the duty unless the public entity establishes that it exercised reasonable diligence to discharge the duty.
This bill would provide that it does not impose a mandatory duty in that regard.begin delete The bill would also provide that a public entity and its employees are not liable for an injury arising from the design, installation, or maintenance of a suicide barrier, or from the lack of a suicide barrier, on a bridge.end delete
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 14527.1 is added to the Government
2Code, to read:
(a) A project study report or project study report
4equivalent that is prepared for any new project involving the
5constructionbegin delete or reconstructionend delete of abegin insert newend insert bridge,begin delete as defined in begin insert or the replacement of a bridge with a history of
6subdivision (b),end delete
7documented suicides, which project isend insert included in a regional
8transportation improvement program, as described in Section
914527, the interregional transportation improvement
program, as
10described in Section 14526, or the state highway operation and
11protection program, as defined in Section 14526.5, shall include
12a document demonstrating that a suicide barrier was a feature
13considered for each bridge during the project’s planning process.
14(b) “Bridge” means a publicly owned bridge on the national
15highway system or the federal-aid highway system, or off system,
P3 1a publicly owned bridge classified as non-federal-aid highway
2system.
3(c) This section does not impose a mandatory duty pursuant to
4Section 815.6.
5(d) A public entity and its employees shall not be liable for an
6injury arising from the design, installation, or maintenance of a
7suicide barrier, or from the lack of a suicide barrier, on a bridge.
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