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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
3155 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC LAND LIABILITY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
Over the ensuing 27 years, the department
of land and natural resources (department) and the counties have posted the
requisite warning signage at state beach parks and county beach parks in
consultation with the task force on beach and water safety, adequately warning
of ocean dangers at virtually all public beaches that warrant the signage.
Section 171-8.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
provides for a risk assessment working group that was established 20 years ago
pursuant to Act 82, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003 (Act 82). Act 82 also mandated the adoption of rules
for warning sign design and placement of warning signs to warn the public of
the potential danger and risks of the natural conditions on improved public
lands.
When the signage initiatives were new, it
made sense to assemble the task force and working group to guide staff on new
methods to warn the public. The
department and the counties however are no longer reliant on them regarding
design and placement of warning signs.
State and county staff routinely continue to maintain and manage warning
signage, along with a variety of other closure and regulatory signage in an
internal process that is institutionalized as an essential element of
management. Rarely, new trail, park, or
beach locations are identified that need warning signage, as this process is
predominantly sign monitoring and replacement due to deleterious sign
conditions.
The purpose of this Act is to abolish the
task force on beach and water safety and the risk assessment working group, and
to require the design and placement of warning signs, devices, and systems on
certain areas of the State to be approved by the chairperson of the board of
land and natural resources for state lands and to be approved by the mayors of
the respective counties for county lands.
This Act is intended to eliminate bureaucracy and an unfunded mandate to
manage and assemble groups that have not and may not need to meet for years at
a time but maintain the liability protection for the government.
SECTION 2. Section 663-1.56, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:
"[[]§663-1.56[]] Conclusive presumptions relating to duty of
public entities to warn of dangers at public beach parks. (a) The State or county operating a public beach
park shall have a duty to warn the public specifically of dangerous shorebreak
or strong current in the ocean adjacent to a public beach park if these
conditions are extremely dangerous, typical for the specific beach, and if they
pose a risk of serious injury or death.
(b) A sign or signs warning of dangerous
shorebreak or strong current shall be conclusively presumed to be legally
adequate to warn of these dangerous conditions, if the State or county posts a
sign or signs warning of the dangerous shorebreak or strong current and the
design and placement of the warning sign or signs has been approved by the chairperson
of the board of land and natural resources[. The chairperson shall consult the governor's task
force on beach and water safety prior to approving the design and placement of
the warning sign or signs.] for state beach parks and the mayor of the
county in which the sign or signs shall be placed for county beach parks.
(c) A sign or signs warning of other extremely
dangerous natural conditions in the ocean adjacent to a public beach park shall
be conclusively presumed to be legally adequate to warn of the dangerous
natural conditions, if the State or county posts a sign or signs warning of the
extremely dangerous natural condition and the design and placement of the sign
or signs have been approved by the chairperson of the board of land and natural
resources[. The chairperson shall
consult the task force on beach and water safety prior to issuing an approval
of the design and placement of a warning sign or signs pursuant to this
section.] for state beach parks and the mayor of the county in which the
sign or signs shall be placed for county beach parks.
[(d) The State or county operating a public beach
park may submit a comprehensive plan for warning of dangerous natural
conditions in the ocean adjacent to a public beach park to the chairperson of
the board of land and natural resources who shall review the plan for adequacy
of the warning as well as the design and placement of the warning signs,
devices, or systems. The chairperson
shall consult with the task force on beach and water safety prior to issuing an
approval of the plan. The task force on
beach and water safety may seek public comment on the plan. In the event that the chairperson approves
the plan for the particular beach park after consulting with the task force and
the State or county posts the warnings provided for in the approved plan, then
the warning signs, devices, or systems shall be conclusively presumed to be
legally adequate to warn for all dangerous natural conditions in the ocean
adjacent to the public beach park.
(e)] (d) Neither the State nor a county shall have a
duty to warn on beach accesses, coastal accesses, or in areas that are not
public beach parks of dangerous natural conditions in the ocean.
[(f)] (e)
Neither the State nor [any] a county shall have a duty to
warn of dangerous natural conditions in the ocean other than as provided in
this section.
[(g)] (f) In
the event that a warning sign, device, or system posted or established in
accordance with this section is vandalized, otherwise removed, or made
illegible, the conclusive presumption provided by this section shall continue
for a period of five days from the date that the vandalism, removal, or
illegibility is discovered by the State or county. The State or county operating a public beach
park shall maintain a record regarding each report of vandalism, removal, or
illegibility that results in the replacement of a warning sign, device, or
system at a State or county public beach park.
The record shall include the date and time of the reporting and the
replacement of the warning sign, device, or system. [The State and county shall provide a copy
of the record annually to the chairperson of the board of land and natural
resources and the task force on beach and water safety.
(h)] (g)
The chairperson shall consider the needs of the public to be warned of
potentially dangerous conditions in the ocean adjacent to a public beach park
prior to issuing an approval for the design and placement of a warning sign [or
a comprehensive plan]. The
chairperson may require warning devices or systems in addition to the signing
before approving the design and placement of a warning sign [or a
comprehensive plan]. The approval of
the design and placement of a warning sign, device, or system [or
comprehensive plan] provided in this section shall be a discretionary
decision under chapter 662.
[(i)] (h)
Chapter 91 shall not apply to any process, including any action taken by
the chairperson, established or made pursuant to this section.
[(j)] (i)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to have an impact upon
governmental liability for the performance of rescue services or duties and
responsibilities of lifeguards other than the duty to warn as set forth in this
section."
SECTION 3. Section 663-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:
"[[]§663-52[]]
Conclusive presumptions relating to duty
of public entities to warn of dangers on improved public lands. (a) A
sign or signs warning of dangerous natural conditions on improved public lands
shall be conclusively presumed to be legally adequate warning of the dangerous
natural conditions of which the sign or signs warn, if the State or a county
posts a sign or signs warning of the dangerous natural conditions and the
design and placement of the warning sign or signs are approved by the [board. The board shall consult the risk assessment
working group established by chapter 171, prior to approving the design and
placement of a warning sign pursuant to this section.] chairperson of
the board for state beach parks and the mayor of the county in which the sign
or signs shall be placed for county beach parks.
[(b) The State or a county may submit to the board
a comprehensive plan for warning of dangerous natural conditions at a
particular area of improved public lands. The board shall review the plan for adequacy
of the warning as well as the design and placement of the warning signs,
devices, or systems. The board shall
consult with the risk assessment working group before approving the plan. The risk assessment working group shall seek
public comment on the plan. In the event
that the board after consulting with the risk assessment working group approves
the plan for a particular area of improved public lands, and the State or a
county posts the warnings provided for in the approved plan, then the warning
signs, devices, or systems shall be conclusively presumed to be legally
adequate warning of all dangerous natural conditions on the improved public
lands.]
[(c)] (b) The State or a
county shall have no duty to warn of dangerous natural conditions on unimproved
public lands.
[(d)] (c) If a warning sign,
device, or system is posted or established in accordance with this section on
unimproved lands, the posting or establishment of the warning sign, device, or
system shall not create a duty on the part of the State or county to warn of
other dangerous natural conditions on unimproved lands or to place or establish
an additional warning sign, device, or system in other locations on the
unimproved lands.
[(e)] (d) The State and the
counties shall implement and maintain a sign inspection program in which a park
caretaker or other authorized person conducts documented inspections of all
signs in the park or trail area on a quarterly or more frequent basis.
Records shall be kept
under the sign inspection program which document the date of each sign
inspection and whether the particular sign inspected was in place, free of
vandalism, and legible. [The State
and the counties shall annually provide the board with a copy of the
documentation of all sign inspections under the sign inspection program.]
The conclusive
presumption provided by this section shall continue for any sign posted
pursuant to this section for a period of one hundred twenty days after the last
inspection that documented that the sign was in place and legible, after which
the presumption shall lapse until the time at which the sign is subsequently
inspected and documented to be in place and in legible condition.
In any circumstance in
which the conclusive presumption lapses because of the lack of a documented
inspection, the presumption shall be reestablished if the State or county, as
the case may be, proves by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of
the incident at issue, the sign was in place and in legible condition.
[(f) The board shall adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 establishing standards to guide the department of land and natural
resources and the risk assessment working group in the general design and
placement of warning signs; provided that chapter 91 shall not apply to any
other process or action undertaken pursuant to this part.
(g) The State and the counties shall implement an
accident reporting and recordkeeping program whereby all known accidents in
park and trail areas are documented on an accident report form, and all such
accident reports are kept on a permanent basis.
The risk assessment working group shall review and use accident reports
kept as part of this program as part of its consultation to the board under
this section.]"
SECTION 4. Act 190, Session Laws of Hawaii 1996, as amended by Act 101, Session Laws of Hawaii 1999, as amended by Act 170, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, as amended by Act 152, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, is amended by amending section 3 to read as follows:
"SECTION 3. [There is established the task force on
beach and water safety which shall be administratively attached to the
department of land and natural resources.
The task force shall provide consultation to the chairperson of the
board of land and natural resources regarding the design and placement of
warning signs, devices, or systems at public beach parks including any
comprehensive plan submitted by the State or county operating a public beach
park to the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources for
approval. The task force shall consist
of the following members, who shall serve without compensation:
(1) The
chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, or a designated
representative;
(2) The
director of business, economic development, and tourism, or a designated
representative;
(3) The
chairperson of the department of oceanography at the University of Hawaii at
Manoa, or a designated representative; and
(4) Four
persons appointed by the governor, each of whom shall be publicly employed
water safety personnel; provided that the governor shall appoint one person
from each of the respective counties.
The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources shall
serve as chairperson of the task force.
The task force shall submit a report of its recommendations to the
legislature and the governor no later than twenty days prior to the convening
of the 1997, 1998, and 1999 Regular Session.] Repealed."
SECTION 5. Section 171-8.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.
["[§171-8.6] Risk assessment working group. (a) There
is established a risk assessment working group that shall be administratively
attached to the department. The risk assessment
working group shall provide consultation to the board regarding the design and
placement of warning signs, devices, or systems on improved public lands as
defined in section 663-51, including any comprehensive plan submitted by the
State, a county, or managing entity, to the board for approval. The risk assessment working group shall
consist of the following members, who shall serve without compensation:
(1) The
chairperson of the board, or designee;
(2) The
mayor of each county, or designee;
(3) The
administrators of the department's division of forestry and wildlife and
the division of state parks, or their designees;
(4) The
attorney general, or designee; and
(5) A
person appointed by the chairperson of the board knowledgeable in warning sign
design.
[(b)] The risk assessment working group shall submit
a report of its recommendations and of the consultation provided to the board
of land and natural resources under [Act 82, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003],
including a listing of warning signs, devices, and systems on improved and
unimproved public lands subsequently approved or disapproved by the board, to
the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each
regular session."]
SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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BY REQUEST |
Report Title:
Beach and Water Safety Task Force; Risk Assessment Working Group
Description:
Abolishes the Task Force on Beach and Water Safety
and the Risk Assessment Working Group. Requires
the design and placement of warning signs, devices, and systems to be approved
by the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources for state beach
parks and the county mayors for county beach parks.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.