Passed by the Senate March 1, 2011 YEAS 48   BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House April 1, 2011 YEAS 92   FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 5388 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. THOMAS HOEMANN ________________________________________ Secretary | |
Approved April 13, 2011, 2:30 p.m. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | April 13, 2011 Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/24/11. Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Marine Waters.
AN ACT Relating to the liability of owners of recreational land and water areas; and amending RCW 4.24.210.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 4.24.210 and 2006 c 212 s 6 are each 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, 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; and
(b) 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
((46.09.020)) 46.09.310, or other public facility accessed by a
highway, street, or nonhighway road for the purposes of off-road
vehicle use.