SB 259 – AS INTRODUCED
2006 SESSION
10/04
SENATE BILL 259
AN ACT relative to the duty of care of occupants of land constructing or maintaining snowmobile trails.
COMMITTEE: Environment and Wildlife
This bill defines occupant for the purpose of establishing the duty of care for persons constructing or maintaining snowmobile trails.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
06-2687
10/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to the duty of care of occupants of land constructing or maintaining snowmobile trails.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Trails; Duty Of Care. Amend RSA 212:34 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. For purposes of this section, occupant shall include, but not be limited to, an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity that constructs or maintains trails or other improvements for snowmobile use.
2 Snowmobiles; Liability of Occupant. Amend RSA 215-C:55, II to read as follows:
II. It is recognized that snowmobile operation may be hazardous. Therefore, each person who drives or rides a snowmobile accepts, as a matter of law, the dangers inherent in the sport, and shall not maintain an action against an owner, occupant, or lessee of land for any injuries which result from such inherent risks, dangers, or hazards. For purposes of this paragraph, occupant shall include, but not be limited to, an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity that constructs or maintains trails or other improvements for snowmobile use. The categories of such risks, hazards, or dangers which the snowmobile user assumes as a matter of law include, but are not limited to, the following: variations in terrain, trails, paths or roads, surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions, bare spots, rocks, trees, stumps, and other forms of forest growth or debris, structures on the land, equipment not in use, pole lines, fences, and collisions with other operators or persons.
3 Landowner Liability Limited. Amend RSA 508:14, I to read as follows:
I. An owner, occupant, or lessee of land, including the state or any political subdivision, who without charge permits any person to use land for recreational purposes or as a spectator of recreational activity, shall not be liable for personal injury or property damage in the absence of intentionally caused injury or damage. For purposes of this paragraph, occupant shall include, but not be limited to, an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity that constructs or maintains trails or other improvements for snowmobile use.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007.