BILL NUMBER: AB 1296	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 22, 1997

INTRODUCED BY  Assembly Members Morrow, Mazzoni, and Strom-Martin
   (Coauthor: Senator Thompson)

                        FEBRUARY 28, 1997

   An act to amend  Section 831.7 of the Government 
 , repeal, and add Section 115800 of the Health and Safety 
Code, relating to liability.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1296, as amended, Morrow.  Liability.
   Existing law provides that neither public entities nor public
employees are liable to any person who participates in a hazardous
recreational activity.  Existing law defines "hazardous recreational
activities" for these purposes to include various activities.
   This bill would  revise the list of   provide
that skateboarding at a public skateboard park is a  hazardous
recreational  activities to include skateboarding 
 activity for purposes of those provisions if the person
skateboarding is 14 years of age or older, the skateboarding activity
was stunt, trick, or luge skateboarding, and the skateboard park is
on public property, as specified  .   The bill would require
appropriate local public agencies to maintain a record of all known
or reported injuries incurred by skateboarders in a public skateboard
park or facility, and other information regarding those incidents,
as specified, and would require copies of these records to be filed
with the Legislative Analyst's office annually, beginning in 1999.
By imposing additional duties on local public agencies, the bill
would create a state-mandated local program.  The bill would require
the Legislative Analyst's office to submit a report to the
Legislature regarding this information on or before March 31, 2000,
as specified.  
   The bill would provide for the repeal of these provisions on
January 1, 2003.  
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions. 
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  
no   yes  .  State-mandated local program:
 no   yes  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  
  SECTION 1.  Section 831.7 of the Government Code  
  SECTION 1.  Section 115800 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read: 
   115800.  (a) No operator of a skateboard park shall permit any
person to ride a skateboard therein, unless that person is wearing a
helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
   (b) With respect to any facility, owned or operated by a local
public agency, that is designed and maintained for the purpose of
recreational skateboard use, and that is not supervised on a regular
basis, the requirements of subdivision (a) may be satisfied by
compliance with the following:
   (1) Adoption by the local public agency of an ordinance requiring
any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear a helmet,
elbow pads, and knee pads.
   (2) The posting of signs at the facility affording reasonable
notice that any person riding a skateboard in the facility must wear
a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads, and that any person failing to
do so will be subject to citation under the ordinance required by
paragraph (1).
   (c) "Local public agency" for purposes of this section includes,
but is not limited to, a city, county, or city and county.  
   (d) (1) Skateboarding at any facility or park owned or operated by
a public entity as a public skateboard park, as provided in
paragraph (3), shall be deemed a hazardous recreational activity
within the meaning of Section 831.7 of the Government Code if all of
the following conditions are met:
   (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.
   (C) The skateboard park is on public property that complies with
subdivision (a) or (b).
   (2) In addition to the provisions of subdivision (c) of Section
831.7 of the Government Code, nothing in this section is intended to
limit the liability of a public entity with respect to any other duty
imposed pursuant to existing law, including the duty to protect
against dangerous conditions of public property pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 830) of Part 2 of Division 3.6 of Title 1
of the Government Code.
   (3) For public skateboard parks that were constructed on or before
January 1, 1998, this subdivision shall apply to hazardous
recreational activity injuries incurred on or after January 1, 1998,
and before January 1, 2001.  For public skateboard parks that are
constructed after January 1, 1998, this subdivision shall apply to
hazardous recreational activity injuries incurred on or after January
1, 1998, and before January 1, 2003.  For purposes of this
subdivision, any skateboard facility that is a movable facility shall
be deemed constructed on the first date it is initially made
available for use at any location by the local public agency.
   (4) The appropriate local public agency shall maintain a record of
all known or reported injuries incurred by a skateboarder in a
public skateboard park or facility.  The local public agency shall
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.  Beginning in 1999, copies of
these records shall be filed annually, no later than January 30 each
year, with the Legislative Analyst's office, which shall submit a
report to the Legislature on or before March 31, 2000, on the
incidences of injuries incurred, claims asserted, and the results of
any lawsuit filed, by persons injured while skateboarding in public
skateboard parks or facilities.
   (5) This subdivision shall not apply on or after January 1, 2001,
to public skateboard parks that were constructed on or before January
1, 1998, but shall continue to apply to public skateboard parks that
are constructed after January 1, 1998.
   (e)This section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2003, and
as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, enacted
before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends that date.   
  SEC. 2.  Section 115800 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   115800.  (a) No operator of a skateboard park shall permit any
person to ride a skateboard therein, unless that person is wearing a
helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads.
   (b) With respect to any facility, owned or operated by a local
public agency, that is designed and maintained for the purpose of
recreational skateboard use, and that is not supervised on a regular
basis, the requirements of subdivision (a) may be satisfied by
compliance with the following:
   (1) Adoption by the local public agency of an ordinance requiring
any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear a helmet,
elbow pads, and knee pads.
   (2) The posting of signs at the facility affording reasonable
notice that any person riding a skateboard in the facility must wear
a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads, and that any person failing to
do so will be subject to citation under the ordinance required by
paragraph (1).
   (c) "Local public agency" for purposes of this section includes,
but is not limited to, a city, county, or city and county.
   (d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2003.
  SEC. 3.  Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.  If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
   Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.    is amended to read:
   831.7.  (a) Neither a public entity nor a public employee is
liable to any person who participates in a hazardous recreational
activity, including any person who assists the participant, or to any
spectator who knew or reasonably should have known that the
hazardous recreational activity created a substantial risk of injury
to himself or herself and was voluntarily in the place of risk, or
having the ability to do so failed to leave, for any damage or injury
to property or persons arising out of that hazardous recreational
activity.
   (b) As used in this section, "hazardous recreational activity"
means a recreational activity conducted on property of a public
entity which creates a substantial (as distinguished from a minor,
trivial, or insignificant) risk of injury to a participant or a
spectator.
   "Hazardous recreational activity" also means:
   (1) Water contact activities, except diving, in places where or at
a time when lifeguards are not provided and reasonable warning
thereof has been given or the injured party should reasonably have
known that there was no lifeguard provided at the time.
   (2) Any form of diving into water from other than a diving board
or diving platform, or at any place or from any structure where
diving is prohibited and reasonable warning thereof has been given.
   (3) Animal riding, including equestrian competition, archery,
bicycle racing or jumping, mountain bicycling, boating, cross-country
and downhill skiing, hang gliding, kayaking, motorized vehicle
racing, off-road motorcycling or four-wheel driving of any kind,
orienteering, pistol and rifle shooting, rock climbing, rocketeering,
rodeo, spelunking, skateboarding, sky diving, sport parachuting,
paragliding, body contact sports (i.e., sports in which it is
reasonably foreseeable that there will be rough bodily contact with
one or more participants), surfing, trampolining, tree climbing, tree
rope swinging, waterskiing, white water rafting, and windsurfing.
For the purposes of this subdivision, "mountain bicycling" does not
include riding a bicycle on paved pathways, roadways, or sidewalks.
   (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a), this
section does not limit liability which would otherwise exist for any
of the following:
   (1) Failure of the public entity or employee to guard or warn of a
known dangerous condition or of another hazardous recreational
activity known to the public entity or employee that is not
reasonably assumed by the participant as inherently a part of the
hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or injury
arose.
   (2) Damage or injury suffered in any case where permission to
participate in the hazardous recreational activity was granted for a
specific fee.  For the purpose of this paragraph, a "specific fee"
does not include a fee or consideration charged for a general
purpose, such as a general park admission charge, a vehicle entry or
parking fee, or an administrative or group use application or permit
fee, as distinguished from a specific fee charged for participation
in the specific hazardous recreational activity out of which the
damage or injury arose.
   (3) Injury suffered to the extent proximately caused by the
negligent failure of the public entity or public employee to properly
construct or maintain in good repair any structure, recreational
equipment or machinery, or substantial work of improvement utilized
in the hazardous recreational activity out of which the damage or
injury arose.
   (4) Damage or injury suffered in any case where the public entity
or employee recklessly or with gross negligence promoted the
participation in or observance of a hazardous recreational activity.
For purposes of this paragraph, promotional literature or a public
announcement or advertisement which merely describes the available
facilities and services on the property does not in itself constitute
a reckless or grossly negligent promotion.
   (5) An act of gross negligence by a public entity or a public
employee which is the proximate cause of the injury.
   Nothing in this subdivision creates a duty of care or basis of
liability for personal injury or for damage to personal property.
   (d) Nothing in this section shall limit the liability of an
independent concessionaire, or any person or organization other than
the public entity, whether or not the person or organization has a
contractual relationship with the public entity to use the public
property, for injuries or damages suffered in any case as a result of
the operation of a hazardous recreational activity on public
property by the concessionaire, person, or organization.