Senate Bill No. 723
(By Senator Hunter)
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[Introduced February 18, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §19-25-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to defining "caving" as a
recreational purpose and activity for which a landowner's
liability for injury is limited.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-25-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 25. LIMITING LIABILITY OF LANDOWNERS.
§19-25-5. Definitions.
Unless the context used clearly requires a different meaning,
as used in this article:
(1) "Charge" means:
(A) For purposes of limiting liability for recreational or
wildlife propagation purposes set forth in section two of this
article, the amount of money asked in return for an invitation to enter or go upon the land, including a one-time fee for a
particular event, amusement, occurrence, adventure, incident,
experience or occasion which may not exceed fifty dollars a year
per recreational participant:
Provided, That the monetary cap on
charges imposed pursuant to this article does not apply to the
provisions of article fourteen, chapter twenty of this code
pertaining to the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreational authority or
activities sponsored on the Hatfield-McCoy recreation area;
(B) For purposes of limiting liability for military training
set forth in section six of this article, the amount of money asked
in return for an invitation to enter or go upon the land;
(2) "Land" includes, but shall not be limited to, roads,
water, watercourses, private ways and buildings, structures and
machinery or equipment thereon when attached to the realty;
(3) "Noncommercial recreational activity" shall not include
any activity for which there is any charge which exceeds fifty
dollars per year per participant;
(4) "Owner" includes, but shall not be limited to, tenant,
lessee, occupant or person in control of the premises;
(5) "Recreational purposes" includes, but shall not be limited
to, any one or any combination of the following noncommercial
recreational activities: Hunting, fishing, swimming, boating,
camping, picnicking, hiking, pleasure driving, motorcycle or
all-terrain vehicle riding, bicycling, horseback riding, nature study, water skiing, winter sports
, caving and visiting, viewing or
enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic or scientific sites or
otherwise using land for purposes of the user;
(6) "Wildlife propagation purposes" applies to and includes
all ponds, sediment control structures, permanent water
impoundments or any other similar or like structure created or
constructed as a result of or in connection with surface mining
activities as governed by article three, chapter twenty-two of this
code or from the use of surface in the conduct of underground coal
mining as governed by said article and rules promulgated
thereunder, which ponds, structures or impoundments are hereafter
designated and certified in writing by the Director of the Division
of Environmental Protection and the owner to be necessary and vital
to the growth and propagation of wildlife, animals, birds and fish
or other forms of aquatic life and finds and determines that the
premises have the potential of being actually used by the wildlife
for those purposes and that the premises are no longer used or
necessary for mining reclamation purposes. The certification shall
be in form satisfactory to the director and shall provide that the
designated ponds, structures or impoundments shall not be removed
without the joint consent of the director and the owner; and
(7) "Military training" includes, but is not limited to,
training, encampments, instruction, overflight by military
aircraft, parachute drops of personnel or equipment or other use of land by a member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard,
a member of a Reserve unit of the Armed Forces of the United States
or a person on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United
States, acting in that capacity.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to define "caving" as a
recreational purpose and activity for which a landowner's liability
for injury is limited.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.