Removes liability for the death of a person caused by any act of persons permitted to use certain premises; removes liability from the owner, lessee or occupant of premises adjacent to such premises.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6004
SPONSOR: Barrett TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general obligations law and the soil and water
conservation districts law, in relation to the use of certain premises
and the responsibility for acts of such users on the premises or on
adjacent premises
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
To encourage the creation of rails-with-trails and other recreational
trails by clarifying that property owners are not liable for certain
acts.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subdivision 1 of section 9-103 of the General Obli-
gations Law in the following manner:
* paragraph (a) is amended to add recreational trail use to the list of
activities for which a property owner has no duty to keep safe for use
by others.
* paragraph (b) is amended to state that property owners are not liable
for the death of a person using their property for recreational activ-
ities. Under current law, only injury is exempt from liability.
* a new paragraph (d) is added to state that property owners adjacent to
the recreational property are not liable for actions which are caused by
persons engaging in the activities listed in paragraph (a) when they are
trespassing on the adjacent property.
Section two amends subdivision 18 of section 3 of the Soil and Water
Conservation Districts Law to add "recreational trail use" to the defi-
nition of "Recreational use."
Section three sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation is intended to encourage the development of recreation-
al trails, especially on property like former and active railroad beds.
This legislation clarifies liability of property owners who allow the
public to access their land for recreational purposes. It ensures that
property owners who allow recreational access to their property are
protected from actions resulting in harm or death. This removes a poten-
tial barrier to trail creation and incentivizes use of the land. The
changes this legislation would make are based on recommendations from
the Federal Highway Administration
(https://wvvw.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational trails/overview!).
VK-1 /23
This bill supports the creation of Rails-with-Trails, a concept in trail
planning in which trails are built alongside active railroads, often
using railroad right-of-way. This concept makes use of otherwise underu-
tilized land and allows the public to enjoy the property. Many railroad
corridors experience issues with trespassing, but the rails-with-trails
model provides a safe and legal way to.access recreational opportunities
along the property.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A.2016/S.678;
2019-2020: A.4774-A/S.5934-A.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6004
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 30, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the general obligations law and the soil and water
conservation districts law, in relation to the use of certain premises
and the responsibility for acts of such users on the premises or on
adjacent premises
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs a and b of subdivision 1 of section 9-103 of the
2 general obligations law, paragraph a as separately amended by chapters
3 141 and 286 of the laws of 1984 and paragraph b as amended by chapter
4 408 of the laws of 1979, are amended and a new paragraph d is added to
5 read as follows:
6 a. an owner, lessee or occupant of premises, whether or not posted as
7 provided in section 11-2111 of the environmental conservation law, owes
8 no duty to keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for hunt-
9 ing, fishing, organized gleaning as defined in section seventy-one-y of
10 the agriculture and markets law, canoeing, boating, trapping, hiking,
11 cross-country skiing, tobogganing, sledding, speleological activities,
12 horseback riding, bicycle riding, hang gliding, motorized vehicle opera-
13 tion for recreational purposes, snowmobile operation, cutting or gather-
14 ing of wood for non-commercial purposes, recreational trail use or
15 training of dogs, or to give warning of any hazardous condition or use
16 of or structure or activity on such premises to persons entering for
17 such purposes[;].
18 b. an owner, lessee or occupant of premises who gives permission to
19 another to pursue any such activities upon such premises does not there-
20 by (1) extend any assurance that the premises are safe for such purpose,
21 or (2) constitute the person to whom permission is granted an invitee to
22 whom a duty of care is owed, or (3) assume responsibility for or incur
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01374-01-3
A. 6004 2
1 liability for any injury to person or property or for the death of any
2 person caused by any act of persons to whom the permission is granted.
3 d. an owner, lessee or occupant of premises adjoining premises being
4 used as permitted pursuant to paragraph b of this subdivision for recre-
5 ational trail use or any other activity stated in paragraph a of this
6 subdivision shall not be liable to any actions of any type resulting
7 from, or caused by, persons engaging in such activities trespassing on
8 such adjacent premises, and no owner, lessee or occupant of premises
9 adjoining premises being used as permitted pursuant to paragraph b of
10 this subdivision shall be liable for any actions of any type started on,
11 or taking place within, the boundaries of the premises being used pursu-
12 ant to paragraph b of this subdivision arising out of the activities of
13 other parties.
14 § 2. Subdivision 18 of section 3 of the soil and water conservation
15 districts law, as added by chapter 362 of the laws of 1996, is amended
16 to read as follows:
17 (18) "Recreational use" means any activity undertaken out of doors for
18 purposes of mental or physical enjoyment and relaxation and may include,
19 but shall not be limited to, hunting, fishing, canoeing, boating, trap-
20 ping, hiking, cross country skiing, tobogganing, sledding, speleological
21 activities, horseback riding, bicycle riding, hang gliding, motorized
22 vehicle operation for recreational purposes, snowmobile operation,
23 recreational trail use and training of dogs.
24 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
