BILL NUMBER: AB 2023 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 659
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 21, 1998
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 20, 1998
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 1998
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 23, 1998
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gallegos
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Margett)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Washington)
FEBRUARY 18, 1998
An act to amend Section 831.8 of, and to add and repeal Section
831.9 of, the Government Code, relating to liability.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2023, Gallegos. Flood control and water conservation:
liability.
Existing law provides that, except as specified, neither an
irrigation district nor an employee thereof nor the state nor a state
employee is liable for an injury caused by the condition of canals,
conduits or drains used for the distribution of water if at the time
of the injury the person injured was using the property for any
purpose other than that for which the district or state intended it
to be used.
This bill would provide that, until January 1, 2002, neither a
public agency that operates flood control and water conservation
activities, as specified, nor its employees shall be liable for an
injury caused by the condition or use of unlined flood control
channels or adjacent groundwater recharge spreading grounds under
prescribed conditions.
This bill would also require, until January 1, 2002, the Los
Angeles County Department of Public Works to maintain a record of all
known or reported injuries incurred by the public in these channels
or recharge spreading grounds during specified times and a record of
all claims, paid and not paid, arising from those incidents, that
were filed against the county. It would also require, until January
1, 2002, copies of these records to be filed annually with the
Judicial Council, as specified, and would require the Judicial
Council to submit a report to the Legislature on or before January
31, 2001.
Because this bill would create additional duties for local
officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 831.8 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
831.8. (a) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public
entity nor a public employee is liable under this chapter for an
injury caused by the condition of a reservoir if at the time of the
injury the person injured was using the property for any purpose
other than that for which the public entity intended or permitted the
property to be used.
(b) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither an irrigation
district nor an employee thereof nor the state nor a state employee
is liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the condition of
canals, conduits or drains used for the distribution of water if at
the time of the injury the person injured was using the property for
any purpose other than that for which the district or state intended
it to be used.
(c) Subject to subdivisions (d) and (e), neither a public agency
operating flood control and water conservation facilities nor its
employees are liable under this chapter for an injury caused by the
condition or use of unlined flood control channels or adjacent
groundwater recharge spreading grounds if, at the time of the injury,
the person injured was using the property for any purpose other than
that for which the public entity intended it to be used, and, if all
of the following conditions are met:
(1) The public agency operates and maintains dams, pipes,
channels, and appurtenant facilities to provide flood control
protection and water conservation for a county whose population
exceeds nine million residents.
(2) The public agency operates facilities to recharge a
groundwater basin system which is the primary water supply for more
than one million residents.
(3) The groundwater supply is dependent on imported water recharge
which must be conducted in accordance with court-imposed basin
management restrictions.
(4) The basin recharge activities allow the conservation and
storage of both local and imported water supplies when these waters
are available.
(5) The public agency posts conspicuous signs warning of any
increase in water flow levels of an unlined flood control channel.
(d) Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public
employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous
condition of property if all of the following occur:
(1) The injured person was not guilty of a criminal offense under
Article 1 (commencing with Section 552) of Chapter 12 of Title 13 of
Part 1 of the Penal Code in entering on or using the property.
(2) The condition created a substantial and unreasonable risk of
death or serious bodily harm when such property or adjacent property
was used with due care in a manner in which it was reasonably
foreseeable that it would be used.
(3) The dangerous character of the condition was not reasonably
apparent to, and would not have been anticipated by, a mature,
reasonable person using the property with due care.
(4) The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge
of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous
character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken
measures to protect against the condition.
(e) Nothing in this section exonerates a public entity or a public
employee from liability for injury proximately caused by a dangerous
condition of property if all of the following occur:
(1) The person injured was less than 12 years of age.
(2) The dangerous condition created a substantial and unreasonable
risk of death or serious bodily harm to children under 12 years of
age using the property or adjacent property with due care in a manner
in which it was reasonably foreseeable that it would be used.
(3) The person injured, because of his or her immaturity, did not
discover the condition or did not appreciate its dangerous character.
(4) The public entity or the public employee had actual knowledge
of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous
character a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken
measures to protect against the condition.
(f) Subdivision (c) shall become inoperative on and after January
1, 2002.
SEC. 2. Section 831.9 is added to the Government Code, to read:
831.9. (a) The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works
shall maintain a record of all known or reported injuries incurred by
the public in the unlined flood control channels or adjacent
groundwater recharge spreading grounds during the activities of
groundwater recharge. The County of Los Angeles Department of Public
Works shall also maintain a record of all claims, paid and not paid,
including any civil actions or proceedings and their results,
arising from those incidents, that were filed against the county.
Beginning in 2000, copies of these records shall be filed annually,
no later than January 1 of each year, with the Judicial Council,
which shall then submit a report to the Legislature on or before
January 31, 2001, on the incidences of injuries incurred, claims
asserted, and the results of any civil action or proceeding filed, by
persons injured at these facilities.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2002,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2002, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
are the result of a program for which legislative authority was
requested by that local agency or school district, within the meaning
of Section 17556 of the Government Code and Section 6 of Article
XIIIB of the California Constitution.
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.