Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/29/2003 01:37 PM Senate L&C
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 176-CIVIL LIABILITY FOR LIVESTOCK ACTIVITIES
CHAIR BUNDE announced SB 176 to be up for consideration.
MR. BRIAN HOVE, staff to Senator Seekins, said that SB 176 is
largely a reincarnation of HB 111, introduced in the 22nd
Legislature. It is intended to give livestock owners and others
associated with livestock activities a certain measure of
protection from frivolous lawsuits. It recognizes that people
assume some degree of risk when placing themselves in the
vicinity of livestock. The livestock owner, with the best of
intentions, cannot completely prevent accidents from happening.
SB 176 will not protect the livestock owner who acts in an
unreasonable manner, but by reducing some of the liability, the
expectation is that this legislation will create an atmosphere
that will encourage more livestock activity. This bill is the
work of 4H members statewide and 44 other states currently have
similar legislation.
MS. GABI DOMINGUEZ, a livestock owner, supported SB 176.
MR. TED FRANKE, Camp Director, Camp Leila, supported SB 176. He
said Camp Leila is a non-profit organization and has about 450
kids each summer and additional kids who come up to visit.
MS. LAUREN WILFER, Tanana Whirlwinds 4H Club, supported SB 176.
She has fiends who have horses and other animals. SB 176 would
help her friend who is a riding instructor at the University
with liability if one of her students was killed or injured
accidentally. Anyone who accepts any payment is not considered a
volunteer and isn't eligible for the University's insurance.
MS. KATE SANDERS said she is thinking about becoming a
veterinarian and supported SB 176. Right now, if an owner helps
her hold or restrain their animal and gets hurt, they can sue
her. That is unfair. She also thought it was a good idea for the
person who owns an animal to do the restraining, because the
animal is more familiar with that person.
MS. BEVERLY NESTER, Associate Coordinator, Cowboy Mounted Action
Shooters, said she is also the founder of the Alaska Trail
Riders Association. She has worked with horses, horsemen and
private landowners for over four decades. She supported SB 176
because it would add much needed common sense to the lawsuit
crazed society we live in today.
MS. SHIRLEY SCHOLLENBERG, Secretary, Kenai Peninsula Farm
Bureau, said she had been a 4H leader for 26 years and gives
riding lessons and does tours on her farm. She said the bureau
voted to support the bill. She is also treasurer for the
Ninilchik Fair Association and this bill would definitely
benefit fairs, since they are continually dealing with liability
issues.
MR. STEVE CONN, AKPIRG, said there are parts of this bill that
AKPIRG very much supports.
TAPE 03-26, SIDE B
MR. CONN continued to say AKPIRG doesn't support some parts of
it, for example the part that lists rabbits, hamsters, guinea
pigs, turkeys, chickens, pheasants, peafowls, pigeons and ducks
as inherently dangerous and unpredictable livestock.
He said this immunizing bill stretches the definition of
livestock and the reach of individuals pretty far. He pointed
out that the conclusion on page 3, lines 16 - 20, does not
affect a civil action resulting from what may be the core
problem, which is when a participant who provides livestock
makes a reasonable and prudent effort to determine the ability
of someone to safely manage the livestock activity. He thought
this bill might not be as strong as the 4H folks think it is.
MR. MATT ROBUS, Acting Director, Division of Wildlife
Conservation, pointed out the definition of livestock on page 4,
line 19, includes caribou and they are, by definition elsewhere
in statute, a game animal and not a domestic animal. Caribou
cannot be owned by a person and can only be possessed under a
permit from the department. Therefore, a caribou is not an
appropriate animal for the list. The domestic form of that
species is reindeer, which is on the list. Furthermore, there
are three species that can legally be owned under some
circumstances that would otherwise be game animals. Those are
bison, musk ox and elk. Wild populations are managed as game
animals, but if a person has a bill of sale that is proof that
they are owned as domestic animals. He suggested that for the
purposes of this definition of livestock, it be clearly
indicated that the bill only addresses the domestic forms of
those species.
Finally, Mr. Robus suggested regarding the word "duck" that
there are other water fowl that are owned and shown as livestock
under these conditions. He suggested removing "duck" and, at the
end of the list, after "alpaca," inserting "waterfowl for which
a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not
required".
SENATOR SEEKINS said he would work on language with Mr. Robus to
make sure the bill protects the people they intend to protect.
MR. JIM DOUGLAS, Cooperative Extension Service, UAF, said this
bill is an attempt by the Cooperative Extension Service and the
4H program to try to get kids to understand the process of law
by choosing a pertinent issue and finding out what happens to a
bill. They do not have litigious folks in their group, but they
certainly have litigious insurance companies that tend to look
at the University and property owners as deep pockets. He said
an excellent example is an incident that occurred last year when
four new horses were in a judging activity and someone slapped
one of them and was seriously stepped on. In that situation, one
might question whether the person should have been that close to
the horses in the first place, even though he was just trying to
help out. The bill is designed for people to use common sense.
SENATOR FRENCH said that kids like to pet attractive furry
animals. He questioned why an owner wouldn't put a screen around
such an animal so that a child doesn't get his fingers bit.
MR. DOUGLAS replied that the fair provides the cages, but it's
difficult to find a screen with holes that small. Domestic cages
have about a half-inch space and it does take some amount of
force to get a child's fingers through them, but some kids still
try - even with warning signs and moving the cages back.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if anyone he knew had been sued under these
circumstances aside from the owner of the horse who was slapped.
MR. DOUGLAS replied no, he has not seen a lot of suits in
Alaska, but fellow extension agents around the West are starting
to see them. He thought Alaskans had a little tougher mentality.
SENATOR FRENCH had some hesitance about this bill because
individual responsibility could go both ways.
MR. DOUGLAS responded that the bill says gross negligence as
opposed to just negligence.
MS. JAN HANSCOM, 4H leader in the Tanana Valley, favored keeping
small animals like chickens and guinea pigs in the bill. She
said they are very well behaved, but they do bite because kids
pull their hair and ears.
SENATOR SEEKINS moved to pass SB 176 from committee with
individual recommendations.
The roll was called. SENATORS STEVENS, FRENCH, SEEKINS and BUNDE
voted yea and SB 176 moved from committee.
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