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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1357 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the safety of residents traveling over roads whose ownership and jurisdiction are in dispute between the State and the counties, commonly known as "roads in limbo", is affected by the lack of any maintenance to such roads. The legislature also finds that government agencies are unwilling to maintain these roads because the maintenance activities may be construed as assuming ownership and jurisdiction over the disputed roads, and the government agency may be subject to liability due to the maintenance activities. The purpose of this Act is to enable government agencies to maintain roads whose ownership and jurisdiction are in dispute between the State and the counties without incurring liability or assuming ownership or jurisdiction over those roads.
SECTION 2. Chapter 662, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§662- No liability for maintenance or repair of disputed roads. A state agency maintaining or repairing a road whose ownership is in dispute between the State and a county shall not be liable to any person for injury or damage sustained when using that road and shall not be deemed to have assumed ownership or jurisdiction over the disputed road."
SECTION 3. Section 46-15.9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§46-15.9 Traffic regulation; repair
and maintenance; public right to use public streets, roads, or highways whose
ownership is in dispute[.]; county liability. (a) Any
provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any county and its authorized
personnel may impose and enforce traffic laws and shall enforce chapters 249;
286; 287; 291; 291C; 291E; 431, articles 10C and 10G; and 486, part III on
public streets, roads, or highways whose ownership is in dispute between the
State and the county.
(b) [Any provision of the law to the
contrary notwithstanding, any county and its authorized personnel may repair or
maintain, in whole or in part, public streets, roads, or highways whose
ownership is in dispute between the State and the county.] A county
agency maintaining or repairing a road whose ownership is in dispute between
the State and the county shall not be liable to any person for injury or damage
sustained when using that road.
(c) No presumption that a county owns a particular street, road, or highway shall arise as a result of the county's performance of the activities allowed by subsection (a) or (b).
(d) If a county accepts by resolution the dedication of a road whose ownership is in dispute between the county and the State, the county shall not be liable to any person for injury or damage sustained while that person is using that road for a period of ten years following the acceptance of that road by resolution.
[(d)] (e) The general public
shall have the unrestricted right to use public streets, roads, or highways
whose ownership is in dispute between the State and the county to access the
shoreline and other public recreational areas; provided that this subsection
shall not apply to any private street, road, or highway whose ownership is in
dispute.
[(e)] (f) As used in this
section[:
"Public recreational area"],
"public recreational area" means coastal and inland recreational
areas, including beaches, shores, public parks, public lands, public trails,
and bodies of water opened to the public for recreational use."
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050, and shall be repealed on December 31, 2023.
Report Title:
Liability; Road Maintenance; Disputed Roads
Description:
Allows state agencies that assume maintenance of disputed roads to improve the condition of the disputed road without incurring liability. Specifies that if a county accepts by resolution the dedication of a road in limbo, the county shall not be liable for injury or damage sustained while using that road for ten years after acceptance of that road by resolution. Specifies that a county agency maintaining or repairing a road whose ownership is in dispute between the State and the county shall not be liable to any person for injury or damage sustained when using that road. Effective 7/01/50. Repeals December 31, 2023 (SD2)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.