H-1663.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2048

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Parlette, Kastama, Mastin, Pflug, B. Chandler, Alexander, Mulliken, Delvin, Clements, McDonald, Hankins, G. Chandler, Anderson, Schoesler and Campbell

Read first time 02/15/1999.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Limiting liability of owners of land adjacent to public trails.

    AN ACT Relating to the limitation of liability for injuries to users of public trails; and amending RCW 4.24.200 and 4.24.210.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 4.24.200 and 1969 ex.s. c 24 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The purpose of ((RCW 4.24.200)) this section and RCW 4.24.210 is to encourage owners or others in lawful possession and control of land and water areas or channels to make them available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting their liability toward persons entering thereon and toward persons who may be injured or otherwise damaged by the acts or omissions of persons entering thereon.

(2) The legislature also recognizes that use of public trails may result in increased exposure to liability for landowners and others in lawful possession and control of land that is adjacent to public trails.  It is therefore also the purpose of this section and RCW 4.24.210 to limit the liability of such landowners and others in less urbanized areas toward persons who may be injured or otherwise damaged while using public trails.

    Sec. 2.  RCW 4.24.210 and 1997 c 26 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (((3))) (4) of this section, ((any)) public or private landowners or others in lawful possession and control of any lands whether designated resource, rural, or urban, or water areas or channels and lands adjacent to such areas or channels, who allow members of the public to use them for the purposes of outdoor recreation, ((which term)) without charging a fee of any kind therefor, are not liable for unintentional injuries to such users.  For the purposes of this section, "outdoor recreation" includes, but is not limited to, the cutting, gathering, and removing of firewood by private persons for their personal use without purchasing the firewood from the landowner, hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking, bicycling, skateboarding or other nonmotorized wheel-based activities, hanggliding, paragliding, the riding of horses or other animals, clam digging, pleasure driving of off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and other vehicles, boating, nature study, winter or water sports, and viewing or enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic, or scientific sites((, without charging a fee of any kind therefor, shall not be liable for unintentional injuries to such users)).

    (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (((3))) (4) of this section, ((any)) public or private landowners or others in lawful possession and control of any lands whether rural or urban, or water areas or channels and lands adjacent to such areas or channels, who offer or allow such land to be used for purposes of a fish or wildlife cooperative project, or allow access to such land for cleanup of litter or other solid waste, ((shall)) are not ((be)) liable for unintentional injuries to any volunteer group or to any other users.

    (3) ((Any)) Public or private landowners, or others in lawful possession and control of the land, may charge an administrative fee of up to twenty-five dollars for the cutting, gathering, and removing of firewood from the land.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the liability of such a landowner or others in lawful possession and control for injuries sustained to users by reason of a known dangerous artificial latent condition for which warning signs have not been conspicuously posted.  Nothing in RCW 4.24.200 and 4.24.210 limits or expands in any way the doctrine of attractive nuisance.  Usage by members of the public, volunteer groups, or other users is permissive and does not support any claim of adverse possession.

    (((4))) (5) For purposes of this section, a license or permit issued for state-wide use under authority of chapter 43.51 RCW, Title 75, or Title 77 RCW is not a fee.

(6) Public or private landowners or others in lawful possession and control of land adjacent to a public trail and not within the corporate limits of a city or town are not liable for unintentional injury or damage to a user of the trail caused by activity on the adjacent land.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

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