STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1587

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 582
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
582, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LANDOWNER LIABILITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure, as received by your Committee,
is to provide governmental agencies with civil liability immunity
when injuries occur on public trails and accesses, and to clarify
that commercial property such as a hotel is not included within
the landowner liability provided by chapter 520, Hawaii Revised
Statutes (HRS).

     Your Committee finds that government should fairly be
provided with some degree of immunity for injuries that occur on
public trails and accesses, to encourage government agencies to
provide additional trails and accesses on government lands.
However, because it is part of government's function to allow
access to public lands, your Committee does not believe that
government should be provided with a level of immunity as great
as that provided for a private landowner voluntarily allowing
public access to private land.

     Your Committee is aware that under chapter 520, HRS, there
have been instances of commercial landowners not intended to be
provided with immunity thereunder, who have asserted immunity
from claims brought by invited recreational users of the

 
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property.  However, your Committee believes that changes in the
scope of chapter 520 would be better addressed through a bill
introduced for that purpose, to permit a thorough opportunity for
public hearing by the appropriate committees.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Department of the Corporation Counsel for the City and County of
Honolulu, the Hawaii Hunting Advisory Council, the Hawaii Rifle
Association, Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, and the Hawaii
Equestrian and Trails Association.  Testimony supporting the
measure in part but opposing the commercial use provision was
submitted by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Maui Land &
Pineapple Company, Kapalua Land Company, and the Land Use
Research Foundation of Hawaii.

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

     (1)  Deleting the provision that would add government land
          into the coverage of chapter 520, HRS, relating to
          landowner immunity;

     (2)  Adding a new section to provide the State with
          liability from claims other than gross negligence
          claims arising from the use of State lands used as
          trails under chapter 198D, HRS; and

     (3)  Deleting the provision creating a commercial use
          exception in chapter 520, HRS.

     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 H.B. No.
582, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it
pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 582,
H.D. 2, S.D. 2.


 
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                                   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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