Passed by the House February 9, 2012 Yeas 94   ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate February 27, 2012 Yeas 48   ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 2244 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/10/12. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to aircraft and ultra-light operations on public or private airstrips; and reenacting and amending RCW 4.24.210.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 4.24.210 and 2011 c 320 s 11, 2011 c 171 s 2, and 2011
c 53 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or (4) of this
section, any public or private landowners, hydroelectric project
owners, 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
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))
aviation activities including, but not limited to, the operation of
airplanes, ultra-light airplanes, hanggliders, parachutes, and
paragliders, rock climbing, the riding of horses or other animals, clam
digging, pleasure driving of off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and other
vehicles, boating, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, nature study, winter or
water sports, 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) or (4) of this
section, any public or private landowner 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 not be liable for unintentional injuries to
any volunteer group or to any other users.
(3) Any public or private landowner, 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)(a) Nothing in this section shall prevent the liability of 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.
(i) A fixed anchor used in rock climbing and put in place by
someone other than a landowner is not a known dangerous artificial
latent condition and a landowner under subsection (1) of this section
shall not be liable for unintentional injuries resulting from the
condition or use of such an anchor.
(ii) Releasing water or flows and making waterways or channels
available for kayaking, canoeing, or rafting purposes pursuant to and
in substantial compliance with a hydroelectric license issued by the
federal energy regulatory commission, and making adjacent lands
available for purposes of allowing viewing of such activities, does not
create a known dangerous artificial latent condition and hydroelectric
project owners under subsection (1) of this section shall not be liable
for unintentional injuries to the recreational users and observers
resulting from such releases and activities.
(b) Nothing in RCW 4.24.200 and this section limits or expands in
any way the doctrine of attractive nuisance.
(c) Usage by members of the public, volunteer groups, or other
users is permissive and does not support any claim of adverse
possession.
(5) For purposes of this section, the following are not fees:
(a) A license or permit issued for statewide use under authority of
chapter 79A.05 RCW or Title 77 RCW;
(b) A pass or permit issued under RCW 79A.80.020, 79A.80.030, or
79A.80.040; and
(c) A daily charge not to exceed twenty dollars per person, per
day, for access to a publicly owned ORV sports park, as defined in RCW
46.09.310, or other public facility accessed by a highway, street, or
nonhighway road for the purposes of off-road vehicle use.