BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1179
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1179 (Morrow)
As Amended May 16, 2006
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
JUDICIARY 9-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Jones, Berg, Haynes, | | |
| |Laird, Leslie, Levine, | | |
| |Lieber, Monta?ez, Wyland | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Seeks to extend the sunset provision in current law that
makes skateboarding a hazardous recreational activity, in certain
circumstances, as well as to lower the age where qualified immunity
from liability is present for injuries incurred at a public skate
park from 14 to 12. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends by four years the existing sunset for the existing legal
liability protections for cities, counties and other public
agencies that build public skateboard parks. Currently law is
set to sunset in 2008. This bill will sunset it in 2012.
2)Lowers the minimum age of qualified immunity from liability for
skateboarders in public skateboard parks from 14 years of age to
12 years of age.
3)Extends the date that the Judicial Council (JC) report, to the
Legislature regarding injuries, claims, and results of lawsuits,
must be submitted from March 31, 2007, until March 31, 2011.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Sets forth the guidelines that an operator of a skateboard park
must follow as well as the requirements with respect to a
facility owned and operated by a local public agency.
2)Provides that a public skateboard park shall be deemed a
hazardous recreational activity if the following conditions are
met:
SB 1179
Page 2
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; and,
c) The skateboard park is on public property.
3)Requires the JC to submit a report to the Legislature on or
before March 31, 2007, relative to incidences of injuries
incurred, claims asserted and the results of any lawsuits filed
by persons injured while skateboarding in public skateboard parks
or facilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In support of this bill, the author notes that "numerous
local governments have built skateboarding parks to provide
skateboarders appropriate venues for plying their skills."
Further, he states that existing law "provides these local
governments liability protection less than the protection offered
to [hazardous recreational activities] listed in the Gov[ernment]
Code."
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.
AB 1296 (Morrow), Chapter 573, Statutes of 1997, added
skateboarding under certain conditions to the list of hazardous
recreational activities. That provision was extended by SB 994
(Morrow), Chapter 409, Statutes of 2002, and will sunset on January
1, 2008, unless legislation is enacted to extend or repeal that
provision. Skateboarding results in public entity immunity only
when the participant is at least 14, 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. These
skateboarding parks provide a dedicated location for individuals to
skateboard without worry of trespassing or vehicular hazards.
Pursuant to existing law, all of these skateboard parks require use
of helmets, elbow pads and knee pads and the limited immunity
SB 1179
Page 3
currently enjoyed by public entities is conditioned upon requiring
skateboarders to wear this safety equipment. Thus, the current
scheme both provides dedicated locations for children to
skateboard, and encourages the use of proper safety equipment.
Some supporters of this bill note the dangers of skateboarding,
while others emphasize the sport's safety. The City of Lake Forest
proclaims that "[c]learly, skateboarding is an activity that is
hazardous regardless of age." Further elaborating on the danger
posed, the California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
(CAJPA), contends that "participants . . . are well aware of risks
associated with skateboarding. Let's be realistic: we are talking
about a small platform set on wheels, and 'ridden' at significant
speeds on and around cement surfaces and obstacles." In contrast,
the website for the Skate Park Association United States of America
(SPAUSA), contains statistics which portray skateboarding as much
safer than many other sports.
Additionally, the JC's reports to the Legislature, as required by
the Health and Safety Code Section 115800, appear to demonstrate
skate boarding's apparently low injury rate. The JC's March 13,
2002 report found that 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 per month. Furthermore, none of these injuries resulted in a
lawsuit against the city. In fact, there are no published
California cases including suits against a city for injuries caused
at a skateboarding park.
Given the relative low amount of injuries from skateboarding,
compared to other sports typically engaged in by teenagers, such as
basketball, football, and soccer, skateboarding does not pose the
same risk of injury to persons under the age of 18. The current
government immunity is extended only when the skateboarder is 14
years of age or older, but there are far more skateboarders under
the age of 18, then over, including a significant amount under the
age of 14, as demonstrated by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign
statistics showing over 60,000 injuries treated in emergency rooms
for children aged 5-14. Lowering the age requirement from 14 to 12
years will increase the amount of protection local agencies have
from liability at public skate parks in correlation with the
growing amount of skateboarders who fit into this particular age
range.
Some skateboarding groups oppose the bill, arguing the "half a
SB 1179
Page 4
loaf" approach is not meritorious.
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN:
0015690