Report Title:
Highways; Flexible Design; Liability Immunity
Description:
Clarifies that any decision of the State, the department of transportation, the counties, or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, to select or apply flexible highway design shall not give rise to a cause of action or claim against them.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1947 |
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TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to LIABILITY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 264-20, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§264-20[]] Flexibility in highway design; liability of State, counties, and public utilities. (a) If a highway, including any bridge, principal and minor arterial road, collector and local road, or street, requires new construction, reconstruction, preservation, resurfacing (except for maintenance surfacing), restoration, or rehabilitation, the department of transportation with regard to a state highway, or a county with regard to a county highway, may select or apply flexible highway design guidelines consistent with practices used by the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Flexibility in highway design shall consider, among other factors:
(1) Safety, durability, and economy of maintenance;
(2) The constructed and natural environment of the area;
(3) Community development plans and relevant county ordinances;
(4) Sites listed on the State or National Register of Historic Places;
(5) The environmental, scenic, aesthetic, historic, community, and preservation impacts of the activity;
(6) Access for other modes of transportation, including but not limited to bicycle and pedestrian transportation;
(7) Access to and integration of sites deemed culturally and historically significant to the communities affected;
(8) Acceptable engineering practices and standards; and
(9) Safety studies and other pertinent research.
(b) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, [the following parties shall be immune from liability for personal injury, death, or property damage in any accident arising out of the decision to elect] any decision by the State, the department of transportation, a county, or any officers, employees, or agents of the State, the department of transportation, or a county to select or apply flexibility in highway design pursuant to this section and consistent with the practices used by the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials[:] shall not give rise to a cause of action or claim against:
(1) The State;
(2) The department of transportation;
(3) The counties;
(4) Any public utility regulated under chapter 269 that places its facilities within the highway right of way; or
(5) Any officer, employee, or agent of an entity listed in paragraphs (1) to (4).
(c) The [immunity from] exception to liability provided in subsection (b) applies only to the decision to select or apply flexibility in highway design pursuant to this section and does not extend to design, construction, repair, correction, or maintenance inconsistent with subsection (a)."
SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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