BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1146 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1146 (Jones) As Amended April 16, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+------+---------------------+----------------------| |Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | | | | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | | | | |Gallagher, Cristina | | | | |Garcia, Holden, | | | | |Maienschein, | | | | |O'Donnell | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1146 Page 2 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 AB 1146 Page 3 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 AB 1146 Page 4 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 AB 1146 Page 5 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 AB 1146 Page 6 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 AB 1146 Page 7 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 AB 1146 Page 8