BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 264
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          Date of Hearing:   July 6, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 264 (Correa) - As Amended:  June 27, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              
          JudiciaryVote:10-0 (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Deletes a January 1, 2012 sunset date, thereby indefinitely 
            extending the classification of skateboarding as a "hazardous 
            recreational activity," thus providing local agencies 
            permanent qualified immunity for injuries resulting from 
            skateboarding at their park.

          2)Amends the current reporting requirement, of injuries and 
            lawsuits associated with skateboard parks, to mandate that 
            annual reports be provided directly to the Senate and Assembly 
            Judiciary Committees, and not via the Judicial Council.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible reimbursable costs to local entities for the 
          reporting requirement, likely much more than offset by savings 
          from the continuing liability protections provided by the bill.

           COMMENTS  

           Background and Purpose  . The qualified immunity provisions were 
          enacted in AB 1296 (Morrow)/Chapter 573 of 1997, to address 
          concerns of local governments who feared liability from 
          operating local skate parks.  In order to give teenagers and 
          young adults a safe place to skateboard and encourage local 
          entities to build more skateboard facilities, the Legislature 
          granted this conditional immunity, which in part requires local 
          entities to adopt ordinances requiring riders using the parks to 
          wear a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. The sunset on these 








                                                                  SB 264
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          provisions was extended in 2002 and again in 2006.

          The Judicial Council filed a statutorily-required report on 
          March 24, 2011 evaluating information received from 34 public 
          agencies regarding all injuries and ensuing lawsuits stemming 
          from accidents at skateboard parks. Between 2002 and 2010, 792 
          injuries were reported at skate parks.  The most common injuries 
          were facial lacerations, with arm, head and ankle injuries also 
          being prevalent. None of the reported injuries resulted in 
          claims or lawsuits being filed against the local agency 
          operating the park. The lack of lawsuits has allowed the parks 
          to be operated without the budget-related fear of crippling tort 
          lawsuits.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081