RES 86454 - Laserfiche WebLink

ASSEMBLY BILL NO. Introduced by: , 1986 An act to amend Section 831.9 to the Government Code relating to immunity of public entities and employees for parks and recreational programs. The People of the State of California do enact as fol- lows: Section 1. Section 831.9 is added to the Government Code to read: 831.9 In addition to other immunities afforded by this Chapter, neither a public entity nor a public employee is liable for any injury or program if a public entity has posted notice that use of the recreational facility .or program is at the user's own'risk. For the purposes of this section, use of a public recrea- tional facility or program includes, but is not limited to, unsupervised use of public recreational facilities and participation in organized recreational activities such as public school extracurricular programs or services provided by local parks departments. However, nothing in this section shall limit the lia- bility of an independent concessionaire, or any person or organization other than the public entity, whether or not the person or entity has a contractual relationship with the public .entity to use public property. STATEMENT OF REASONS Under existing law, public entities may be liable for injuries occurring in public parks or in connection with public recreational facilities. Rather than risk possible liability some public entities have closed parks. Closure of parks and recreational facilities denies the public the opportunity to utilize open space and recreational areas and eliminates public access to vital public resources. This bill would immunize public entities from liability for use of public parks and recreational programs if signage is erected stating that the parks and programs are used at the user's own risk.