STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2638

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2983
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
2983, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LANDOWNERS' LIABILITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to amend the definition of
"land" in the State's landowner liability law to except land open
to the public for commercial purposes.

     Your Committee finds that the proposed measure would remove
the liability protection of Chapter 520, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
from land to which the public is invited for commercial purposes.
Examples of such land would be a shopping center, a resort hotel,
or a for-profit privately owned park charging a fee for
admission.  Your Committee finds that this measure is not
intended to take liability protection away from land used for
commercial purposes to which the public is permitted access, but
which is not open to the public for commercial purposes.  For
instance, agricultural land used to grow and process crops is
used for a commercial purpose, and the public may be permitted to
hike on the land, but that land is not open to the public for
commercial purposes.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii.  Testimony in opposition to this
measure was submitted by the Land Use Research Foundation of
Hawaii, Maui Land and Pineapple Company, Inc., and Castle & Cooke
Land Company.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2638
                                   Page 2



     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Specifying that when one part of a parcel of land is
          open to the public for commercial purposes and another
          part of the same parcel is not, the second area is not
          considered open to the public for commercial purposes
          even though it is part of the same parcel of land as
          the first area; and

     (2)  Making technical, non-substantive amendments for the
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
2983, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2983, S.D.
2.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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