BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1146
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1146 (Jones)
As Amended April 16, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+----------------------|
|Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | |
| | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Gallagher, Cristina | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Maienschein, | |
| | |O'Donnell | |
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SUMMARY: Expands local government immunity from liability for
injuries to recreational users of public skateboard parks to
include riders of wheeled recreational devices other than
skateboards, as provided. Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines the term "other wheeled recreational device" to mean
nonmotorized bicycles, scooters, in-line skates, roller skates
or wheelchairs.
2)Prohibits an operator of a skateboard park from permitting any
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person to ride other wheeled recreational devices in the
skateboard park, unless that person is wearing a helmet, elbow
pads, and knee pads.
3)Provides that a facility owned or operated by a local public
agency, that is designed and maintained for the purpose of
riding a recreational skateboard or other wheeled recreational
device, and that is unsupervised, may comply with the above
requirement by: a) adopting an ordinance requiring anyone
riding a skateboard or other wheeled recreational device at the
facility to wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads; and b)
posting signs that inform all riders that they must wear those
items and that failing to do so will subject them to a citation.
4)Provides that riding a skateboard or other wheeled recreation
device or any concurrent combination of these activities at a
public skateboard park constitutes a "hazardous recreational
activity" if the rider is at least 12 years old, the activity
causing the injury was stunt, trick, or luge riding, and the
injury occurred at a public skateboard park requiring a helmet,
elbow pads, and knee pads.
5)Requires the appropriate local public agency to maintain a
record of all known or reported injuries incurred by persons
riding skateboard or other wheeled recreational devices in a
public skateboard park or facility, as well as 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. Requires copies of the claims and lawsuits
to be filed annually, no later than January 30 each year, with
the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees.
6)Establishes a sunset date of January 1, 2020, for provisions
applying to riders of other wheeled recreation devices (but not
skateboarders), whereby such provisions will remain in effect
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only until that date unless a later enacted statute deletes or
extends the sunset.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS: This bill, sponsored by the County of San Diego
(County), seeks to expand local government immunity from liability
for injuries caused by recreational users of public skateboard
parks to include not only skateboarders (the only group covered
under existing law), but also riders of wheeled recreational
devices other than skateboards, such as nonmotorized bicycles,
scooters, and roller skates.
According to the author and sponsor, the existing immunity laws
regarding public skateboard parks force public park operators like
the County to restrict use of skateboard parks to only
skateboarders, when there is great demand by riders of other
wheeled devices, such as BMX bikes, scooters and roller skates, to
also use the slopes, ramps, and curbs available at the parks for
recreation. Citing an example in County, the proponents explain:
The County would like to accommodate other wheeled,
non-motorized recreational uses of the skate park, such
as bicycles, scooters and wheelchairs. Because [Section
115800] specifically refers to skateboarders for skate
parks operated by local governments, and does not
address or include the other all-wheeled non-motorized
uses in the liability immunity, the County posts rules
restricting the use of the Lakeside Skate Park to only
skateboarders.
As the popularity of skate parks and other wheeled
activities in skate parks continue to rise, this [bill]
would allow local governments to accommodate these uses
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and maintain immunity for injuries. Without such
changes, local governments are forced to make difficult
risk assessments on which activities to allow within
skate parks. Furthermore, allowing these other
all-wheeled non-motorized devices to participate at
local skate parks would promote safety for the riders
and protect public and private property that may
otherwise be damaged.
Background on public entity liability for skateboarding injuries.
Government Code Section 831.7 defines "hazardous recreational
activity" as a recreational activity conducted on the property of
a public entity that creates a substantial risk of injury to a
participant or spectator, and shields public entities and public
employees from liability for injuries caused by any person
participating in a hazardous recreational activity. Health and
Safety Code Section 115800 (Section 115800) deems skateboarding a
hazardous recreational activity within the meaning of Government
Code Section 831.7 if certain conditions are met. The qualified
immunity provided by Section 115800 applies only when a
skateboarder is at least 12 years old and is engaging in trick,
stunt, or luge skateboarding at a public skate park that, among
other things, requires riders to wear helmets, knee pads, and
elbow pads.
With this grant of qualified immunity, local communities are
encouraged to require use of proper safety equipment on the
premises to limit their liability and have become more comfortable
building public skateboard parks. Skateboard parks provide a
dedicated location for individuals to skateboard without
trespassing on private property or facing vehicular hazards, and
increased use of such parks helps encourage skateboarders to do
their riding off of local public streets and sidewalks, where they
potentially pose greater risk to pedestrians and bystanders.
Extending local government immunity to other users of skateboard
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parks. In order to lend support to local governments' efforts to
encourage more riders of other wheeled devices off the streets and
into public skate parks, this bill would expand existing qualified
immunity to include other groups of wheeled recreational riders.
Proponents contend that this would help local governments that
operate skate parks to avoid having to limit their use to
skateboarders only, and would protect public property and safety
that might be jeopardized by riders who would otherwise be
excluded from their local skate parks. Under this bill, the same
conditions that qualify the provision of immunity with respect to
skateboarders would apply to riders of other wheeled recreational
devices. For example, park operators would have to mirror safety
requirements for skateboarders and require riders of other wheeled
devices: to require users to wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee
pads when riding at the skate park in order for liability
protections to apply.
This bill applies to recreational use of nonmotorized wheelchairs
in a public skate park. Recent amendments to this bill define the
key term "other wheeled recreational device" to mean nonmotorized
bicycles, scooters, in-line skates, roller skates, or wheelchairs.
The list of devices is a closed list, and no other wheeled forms
of recreation fall within the bill's definition of that term.
Scooters, in-line skates, and roller skates are more similar to
skateboards in that the person rides on them in an upright
position, typically upon small polyurethane wheels, and the top
speed and maneuverability of those devices are similar to
skateboards.
This bill also includes the use of nonmotorized bicycles and
wheelchairs in the definition of "other wheeled recreational
devices." While the inclusion of bicycles may not be surprising,
the image of wheelchairs being used on the ramps and slopes of a
public skate park may be unexpected. According to the sponsor,
representatives of wheelchair riders specifically requested to be
included in the provisions of this bill, opening up skateboard
parks to other types of wheeled users, which reflects the growing
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popularity of wheelchair athletes in professional freestyle action
sports and increased participation by wheelchair users in public
recreational settings. Participants in such sports typically
employ sturdy, lightweight wheelchairs often adapted for
recreational use, but in every case are manually propelled by
using upper body and arm strength, not a motor. The strength and
dexterity required to manually steer and propel a wheelchair over
and around the slopes and ramps of a skateboard park likely limits
the number of wheelchair riders who would ride in skateboard parks
to a small self-selected minority who are capable of doing so.
For these reasons, the author believes that the inclusion of
wheelchairs in the definition of wheeled recreational devices
other than skateboards is appropriate for evaluation during the
four-year trial period that these provisions will be effective
before the proposed sunset date of January 1, 2020.
Four-year sunset date for provisions applying to riders of other
wheeled recreational devices. In order to pilot these provisions
and evaluate their impact on usage of skateboard parks and rates
of recreational injuries, this bill establishes a four-year trial
period for all provisions relating to other wheeled recreational
devices. These provisions would automatically expire on the
sunset date of January 1, 2020, unless a later enacted statute
deletes or extends the sunset.
Importantly, the liability rules for skateboarders using
skateboard parks, which have previously been evaluated by the
Legislature through a series of earlier trial periods, will not be
the subject of the trial period established by this bill. It is
the author's intent that should the provisions in this bill be
enacted this year but ultimately sunset at the end of the trial
period, the liability rules that currently apply to skateboarders
riding in skateboard parks will continue to operate without
interruption.
Reporting requirements. The Judicial Council's (Council) reports
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to the Legislature, as required by Health and Safety Code Section
115800, demonstrate a relatively low injury rate associated with
skateboarding in public skateboard parks. For example, the March
13, 2002, report found 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 each month.
The Council's March 24, 2011, report reflects the results of 34
public agencies submitting reports of skateboarding injuries in
their jurisdictions. According to the report, a total of 792
injuries were reported from 2002 to 2010, inclusive, with facial
injuries being the most common type of injury reported, followed
by injuries to the ankle, head and arm. This translates into 2.6
injuries reported by each public agency per year of the study.
The Council also states that none of the 34 public agencies
mentioned any claims or lawsuits filed against them as a result of
such injuries. The Assembly Judiciary Committee's own research
failed to identify any published California cases concerning a
lawsuit against a city for injuries caused at a public skateboard
park.
This bill would continue the current reporting scheme of requiring
local public agencies to annually file with the Assembly and
Senate Judiciary Committees copies of any records of claims or
lawsuits arising from known or reported injuries incurred by
riders at public skateboard parks. This bill clarifies that any
claims or lawsuits arising from injuries incurred by riders of
wheeled recreation devices other than skateboards must be filed
annually, in addition to those arising from skateboard accidents.
Analysis Prepared by:
Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0000172
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