Private Landowners, Utilities, Corporations and the State of Connecticut enjoy limited liability protection when they make their land accessible for the free use and enjoyment of the public. So should Municipalities!
Close the Liability Loophole, Not the CT Trails
After only 30 minutes of
debate, the Judiciary Committee placed HB 6557 on the consent calendar.
The bill restores towns and quasi public agencies such as the MDC
immunity protections from liability for the public’s use of open space.
Landowners who allow the public to use their open space lands were
shielded from liability by the 1971 Recreational Land Use Act, as long
as there was no “willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a
dangerous condition” and no fee was charged. Immunity for towns
was lost in a 1996 court decision (Conway vs Wilton) which held that
towns were not “landowners” for purposes of the bill.
The Trial Lawyers, who had blocked restoration of protection
since the Conway decision, ultimately agreed to the bill following
lengthy negotiations with Rep. David Baram, who championed the bill.
This year, 14 similar bills were filed to restore municipal
immunity. 4 separate public hearings were held in Environment, Planning
and Development, and Judiciary. Both ENV and P&D voted bills out.
59 legislators are signed on as sponsors of one or more of the 14 bills:
6 senate democrats, 26 house democrats, 8 senate republicans, 19 house
republicans. The bipartisan support for the issue was extraordinary and,
in my experience, unprecedented. It is expected that 6557 will be the
surviving bill.
This year, for the first time, the public interest advocates
took on the legislative challenge of restoring immunity for towns. Our
work started before the $2.9M decision last year against the MDC. That
decision brought significant attention to the issue, and galvanized the
public, with many fearing that highly valued open space lands would be
closed. Testimony in support of the bills from hundreds of people
was collected and filed for the public hearings by a number of
organizations promoting the issue.
The bill is intended to address natural open space lands,
such as hiking trails, which are not groomed, engineered, or
manicured spaces. It appropriately excludes playing fields, playgrounds,
swimming pools, buildings with electrical service, and through paved
roads intended for vehicular traffic.
This is a good bill which clearly accomplishes the goal of
the advocates. Towns will now feel confidant they can keep their open
space lands open to the public without fear of liability. Towns
should also save money on insurance premiums and the costs of defending
lawsuits, such as the one a woman who slipped on a pile of acorns on a
greenway intends to file against Middlebury. Under the language of the
statute, towns still have liability for dangerous conditions, so they
don’t get a free pass. We feel this is a good and appropriate balance.
This bill is clearly a victory for the public interest. As we
encourage people to get outside and enjoy the natural world, this bill
will ensure that those places will remain open.
List of Legislators that have signed on as sponsors of these 14 bills.
Rep. Matthew Ritter Bloomfield, Hartford
Rep. Dan Carter Bethel, Danbury, Redding
Rep. Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey Hartford
Rep. Henry Genga East Hartford
Rep. Timothy Larson East Hartford, South Windsor
Rep. William Aman South Windsor
Rep. David Baram Bloomfield, Windsor
Rep. Linda Schofield Simsbury
Rep. Roland Lemar Hamden, New Haven
Rep. Joe Verrengia West Hartford
Rep. William Wadsworth Farmington
Rep. Prasad Srinivasan Glastonbury
Rep. Christie Carpino Cromwell, Middletown, Portland
Rep. James Crawford Clinton, Killingworth, Westbrook
Rep. Ernest Hewett New London
Rep. Tom Reynolds Ledyard, Montville, Preston
Rep. Diana Urban North Stonington, Stonington
Rep. Christopher Coutu Canterbury, Norwich, Scotland,
Sprague
Rep. Susan Johnson Windham
Rep. Daniel Rovero Killingly, Putnam, Thompson
Rep. Bryan Hurlburt Ashford, Tolland, Willington
Rep. Pamela Sawyer Andover, Bolton, Hebron, Marlborough
Rep. Christopher Davis East Windsor, Ellington
Rep. Peggy Sayers Windsor, Windsor Locks
Rep. Elaine O'Brien East Granby, Suffield, Windsor
Rep. Bill Simanski Barkhamsted, East Granby, Granby, New
Hartford
Rep. Roberta Willis Cornwall, Goshen, Salisbury, Sharon,
Torrington
Rep. Craig Miner Bethlehem, Litchfield, Morris, Warren,
Woodbury
Rep. Anthony D'Amelio Middlebury, Waterbury
Rep. Larry Butler Waterbury
Rep. Jeffrey Berger Waterbury
Rep. Selim Noujaim Waterbury
Rep. David Aldarondo Waterbury
Rep. Frank Nicastro Bristol
Rep. Robert Sampson Southington, Wolcott
Rep. Emil Altobello Meriden
Rep. Mary Mushinsky Wallingford
Rep. Peter Villano Hamden
Rep. Patricia Widlitz Branford, Guilford
Rep. Noreen Kokoruda Guilford, Madison
Rep. Lonnie Reed Branford
Rep. Al Adinolfi Cheshire, Hamden, Wallingford
Rep. Leonard Greene Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Seymour
Rep. DebraLee Hovey Monroe, Newtown
Rep. Jason Perillo Shelton
Rep. Themis Klarides Derby, Orange, Woodbridge
Rep. Louis Esposito West Haven
Rep. Kim Rose Milford
Rep. Lawrence Miller Shelton, Stratford
Rep. Bruce Morris Norwalk
Rep. Gail Lavielle Norwalk, Wilton
Rep. Livvy Floren Greenwich, Stamford
Sen. Gary LeBeau East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington,
South Windsor
Sen. Beth Bye Bloomfield, Burlington, Farmington, West
Hartford
Sen. Terry Gerratana Berlin, Farmington, New Britain
Sen. Kevin Witkos Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook,
Granby, Hartland, Harwinton, New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury, Torrington
Sen. Toni Harp New Haven, West Haven
Sen. Edward Meyer Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth,
Madison, North Branford
Sen. Len Suzio Cheshire, Meriden, Middlefield, Middletown
Sen. Joan Hartley Naugatuck, Prospect, Waterbury
Sen. Joe Markley Cheshire, Southington, Waterbury, Wolcott
Sen. Edith Prague Andover, Bozrah, Columbia, Franklin,
Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Montville, Norwich, Sprague
Sen. Kevin Kelly Monroe, Seymour, Shelton, Stratford
Sen. Michael McLachlan Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield,
Sherman
Sen. Antonietta ""Toni"" Boucher" Bethel, New Canaan,
Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Wilton
Sen. Robert Kane Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Middlebury,
Oxford, Roxbury, Seymour, Southbury, Thomaston, Watertown, Woodbury
Sen. Leonard Fasano East Haven, North Haven, Wallingford
Sen. Anthony Guglielmo Ashford, Chaplin, Coventry, Eastford,
Ellington, Hampton, Pomfret, Stafford, Tolland, Union, Vernon,
Willington, Woodstock
Sen. L. Scott Frantz Greenwich, New Canaan, Stamford
Submitted by Martin Mador –
Sierra Club
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