BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1146|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1146
Author: Jones (R), et al.
Amended: 7/6/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/30/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Skateboard parks
SOURCE: County of San Diego
DIGEST: This bill extends the existing qualified immunity that
applies to local public agencies that operate public
skateboarding parks for injuries as the result of recreational
skateboarding to also apply to other wheeled recreational
devices, as defined.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Shields public entities and public employees from liability to
any person participating in a hazardous recreational activity,
including voluntary spectators who recognized the substantial
risk of injury due to the activity. Public entities and
public employees remain liable for injuries proximately caused
by the negligent failure of the public entity or public
employee to properly construct or maintain in good repair any
AB 1146
Page 2
structure, recreational equipment or machinery, or substantial
work of improvement.
2)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. Sample hazardous recreational activities include
hang gliding, kayaking, motorized vehicle racing, pistol and
rifle shooting, rock climbing, racketeering, spelunking, sky
diving, sport parachuting, and paragliding.
3)Prohibits an operator of a skateboard park from permitting any
person to ride a skateboard therein, unless that person is
wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. Facilities owned
or operated by a local public agency, that are designed for
recreational skateboard use and unsupervised, may comply with
that requirement by: (a) adopting an ordinance requiring
anyone riding a skateboard at the facility to wear a helmet,
elbow pads, and knee pads; and (b) posting signs that inform
skateboarders that they must wear those items and that failing
to do so will subject them to a citation.
4)Defines skateboarding as a "hazardous recreational activity"
if the person skateboarding is at least 12 years of age, the
skateboarding activity causing injury was a stunt, trick, or
luge skateboarding, and the injury occurred on public property
requiring a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
5)Provides that no operator of a skateboard park may permit a
person to skateboard within that park, unless that person
wears a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
6)Requires local public agencies to maintain a record of all
known or reported injuries incurred by a skateboarder in a
public skateboard park or facility. That agency must also
maintain 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.
7)Requires copies of the records of claims and lawsuits to be
filed annually, no later than January 30 each year, with the
Assembly Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on
Judiciary.
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Page 3
This bill:
1)Expands the above provisions to include other wheeled
recreational devices, and defines those devices as
nonmotorized bicycles, scooters, in-line skates, roller
skates, or wheelchairs.
2)Provides that, for purposes of injuries that occur while
operating other wheeled recreational devices in a skateboard
facility, the qualified immunity shall apply to any claim for
injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2016.
3)Sunsets on January 1, 2020.
Background
Historically, the assumption of risk doctrine prevented
individuals from recovering for injuries caused when they
engaged in hazardous recreational activities on public property.
The rationale for this qualified immunity was that these
individuals recognized the risk inherent in the activity, and
voluntarily chose to accept that risk when engaging in that
activity.
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.
In 1997, AB 1296 (Morrow, Chapter 573, Statutes of 1997) added
skateboarding under certain conditions to the list of hazardous
recreational activities. SB 994 (Morrow, Chapter 409, Statutes
of 2002) extended the sunset date of that provision to January
1, 2008, and SB 1179 (Morrow, Chapter 140, Statutes of 2006)
further extended the sunset to January 1, 2012, unless
legislation was enacted to extend or repeal that sunset.
Lastly, SB 264 (Correa, Chapter 232, Statutes of 2011) removed
the sunset date.
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Pursuant to those provisions, a public entity has immunity from
liability for skateboarding injuries only when the participant
is at least 12 years of age, 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.
Skateboarding parks, which may be publicly or privately
operated, provide a dedicated location for individuals to
skateboard without worry of trespassing or vehicular hazards,
and, all of these skateboard parks require use of helmets, elbow
pads, and knee pads. As a further incentive to public
skateboard parks to implement these mandatory safety guidelines,
the limited immunity currently enjoyed by public entities is
conditioned upon requiring skateboarders to wear the requisite
safety equipment. Thus, the current scheme both provides
dedicated locations for young adults to skateboard and
encourages the use of proper safety equipment.
To accommodate the use of other wheeled devices in public
skateboard parks, this bill, until January 1, 2020, expands the
existing qualified immunity to also cover the use of other
wheeled recreational devices, as specified, in skateboard parks
operated by a public entity. That qualified immunity would be
subject to the same terms and conditions that currently apply to
the use of skateboards in those parks.
Comments
As stated by the author:
Under current State law, potential liability to local
government limits the participation of all-wheeled
nonmotorized devices other than skateboards at local skate
parks. Current law provides immunity from liability when
only skateboards are allowed within the skate park. The San
Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously acted to seek
a change in state law to extend local governmental immunity
for injuries that occur in local skate parks to include
other all-wheeled non-motorized recreational devices, such
as bicycles, scooters, in-line skates, and wheelchairs.
As the popularity of skate parks and other wheeled
activities in skate parks continue to rise, this change in
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state law would allow local governments to accommodate these
uses 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 7/8/15)
County of San Diego (source)
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Park and Recreation Society
California State Association of Counties
City of Encinitas
City of Laguna Hills
City of Poway
City of San Marcos
City of Vista
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
Friends of the Lakeside SkatePark Committee
Urban Counties Caucus
Windsor Scooter Park Coalition
Three individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/7/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
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Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Atkins
Prepared by:Benjamin Palmer / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
7/8/15 15:52:50
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