HB 146: "An Act relating to civil liability for commercial recreational activities; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 146 01 "An Act relating to civil liability for commercial recreational activities; and 02 providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this Act to establish the responsibilities of 05 persons who operate commercial recreational activities and persons who participate in those 06 recreational activities and to decrease uncertainty regarding the legal responsibility for injuries 07 that result from participation in commercial recreational activities. It is also the purpose of 08 this Act to encourage the continued availability of businesses that offer commercial 09 recreational activities to the public. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 05 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 11 Chapter 50. Civil Liability for Commercial 12 Recreational Activities. 13 Sec. 05.50.010. Acceptance of inherent risks. Participation in a commercial 14 recreational activity constitutes acceptance of the inherent risks of the commercial
01 recreational activity that are or should be apparent to an ordinarily prudent person. 02 Sec. 05.50.020. Contributory negligence. (a) A person who accepts an 03 inherent risk of a commercial recreational activity as described in AS 05.50.010 is 04 contributorily negligent to the extent that the inherent risk causes injury, death, or 05 property damage. 06 (b) In an action seeking to recover damages for injury or death to a person or 07 harm to property resulting from an inherent risk of a commercial recreational activity, 08 compensatory damages shall be reduced for contributory negligence as provided under 09 AS 09.17.060. 10 Sec. 05.50.030. Responsibilities of participants. A participant in a 11 commercial recreational activity has the responsibility to 12 (1) learn about and expressly accept the risks of the activities; 13 (2) act within the limits of the person's abilities; 14 (3) heed all warnings regarding participation in the commercial 15 recreational activity; 16 (4) maintain control of the participant's person, the participant's 17 children, and any equipment, devices, or animals the participant is using; 18 (5) refrain from acting in a manner that may cause or contribute to 19 injury of the participant or another person. 20 Sec. 05.50.040. Responsibilities of operators of commercial recreational 21 activities. A person who operates a business that offers a commercial recreational 22 activity shall 23 (1) explain to a participant 24 (A) the fundamental inherent risks of the commercial 25 recreational activity; and 26 (B) the skills or equipment required to participate in the 27 commercial recreational activity that are not apparent to an inexperienced 28 participant; 29 (2) require that employees who are responsible for assisting participants 30 in the actual performance of a commercial recreational activity have training in basic 31 first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation and explain to those employees how to use
01 emergency medical services available in the area; 02 (3) maintain recreational equipment and facilities in good repair; 03 (4) provide trained and competent personnel; and 04 (5) act in a reasonably safe and competent manner. 05 Sec. 05.50.050. Interaction with other laws. This chapter does not affect the 06 immunity of an owner of unimproved land under AS 09.65.200 or of a ski area 07 operator under AS 05.45. 08 Sec. 05.50.100. Definitions. In this chapter, 09 (1) "children" means persons under 18 years of age; 10 (2) "commercial recreational activity" means a recreational activity for 11 which the participants pay compensation; 12 (3) "recreational activity" means an outdoor activity undertaken for the 13 purpose of exercise, education, relaxation, pleasure, sport, or as a hobby. 14 * Sec. 3. This Act applies to acts or omissions that occur on or after the effective date of 15 this Act. 16 * Sec. 4. This Act takes effect July 1, 1999.