STAND. COM. REP. 1133

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1418

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1418, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC LAND LIABILITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is to establish a process by which the State and counties are provided protection from liability on improved and unimproved public lands when certain requirements are met relating to warning signs that conform to the Board of Land and Natural Resources' (BLNR) rules.

The Department of the Attorney General submitted testimony in

support of this bill, with comments. The Department of Land and Natural Resources submitted comments on this measure. The Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii opposed this bill.

The increasing public demand for outdoor recreation and instances of serious injuries while engaged in this activity make the need to address the issue of the standard of care to be exercised by the government in the management of public lands used for recreational purposes, of utmost importance. Your Committee finds that the provisions of H.B. No. 1214, H.D. 1, strike an equitable balance between the personal responsibility of people engaged in recreational pursuits and the duty of the government to take reasonable measures to protect citizens from harm by providing adequate warning.

After careful consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by deleting its content and inserting the provisions of H.B. No. 1214, H.D. 1, that:

(1) Establish a process whereby a sign warning of dangerous natural conditions on improved lands, as part of a comprehensive plan, shall be conclusively presumed to be legally adequate to warn of the dangerous condition if the plan has been approved by the Chairperson of BLNR (Chairperson);

(2) Require the Chairperson to consult with the Risk Assessment Working Group prior to approving the comprehensive plan for warning of dangerous conditions on improved lands;

(3) Address the legal effect of warning signs on unimproved lands;

(4) Provide for situations where a warning sign is vandalized, otherwise removed, or made illegible;

(5) Provide that chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall not apply to any process, including any action taken by the Chairperson; and

(6) Establish a Risk Assessment Working Group to provide consultation to the Chairperson on the design and placement of warning signs, devices, or systems, and comprehensive plans for them.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1418, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1418, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land Use, and Hawaiian Affairs,

 

____________________________

EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair