Bill Text: HI SB2429 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: County Lifeguards; Immunity
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-21 - Referred to PSM/JDL, WAM. [SB2429 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2014-SB2429-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2429 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO COUNTY LIFEGUARDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Act 170, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, provides immunity for county lifeguards and for the State and county that employs them from liability against damages arising from the acts or omissions of lifeguards while performing rescue, resuscitative, and other lifeguard duties. Conference Committee Report No. 66-02, Regular Session of 2002, on S.B. No. 796, C.D. 2, states in pertinent part: "The C.D. 2 is intended to provide the State and counties with qualified immunity so that lifeguards can be stationed at dangerous beaches, while appropriately limiting such immunity to acts or omissions committed while providing rescue or resuscitative actions or other emergency lifeguard services on the beach."
S.C.R. No. 256, H.D. 1, regular session of 1997, requested the Hawaii tort law study group to conduct a study of Hawaii's tort system to identify and make recommendations regarding certain tort issues. Regarding immunity, the study group reported that "immunity is afforded to classes of persons or entities because it is in the public's best interests to do so". The study group found that conferring immunity upon a particular class of persons is often based upon whether or not the social values attached to encouraging the behavior of that group are of such great importance as to merit extraordinary protection from suit.
Among the criteria established by the study group for the legislature in reviewing measures to grant immunity were considerations that individuals who are engaged in inherently dangerous activities need to accept personal responsibility for their actions, and that the legislature, in determining whether or not to grant immunity, should weigh the costs or not granting immunity to the public in public dollar costs.
The legislature finds that sufficient experience has been obtained to allow a determination that the current exemption of liability for the actions of lifeguards should be made permanent.
The purpose of this Act is to make permanent Act 170, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, as amended.
SECTION 2. Act 170, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, section 5, as amended by Act 152, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, section 4, as amended by Act 81, Session Laws of Hawaii 2009, section 2, is amended to read as follows:
"SECTION 5.
This Act shall take effect upon its approval[; provided that section 1 of
this Act shall be repealed on June 30, 2014]."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
SECTION 4. This Act, upon its approval, shall take effect on June 29, 2014.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
County Lifeguards; Immunity
Description:
Makes permanent Act 170, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, as amended, relating to providing immunity from damages for county lifeguards.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
