Committee Substitute
House Bill 2178 History
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COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2178
(By Delegate D. Miller)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 29, 1993]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections one, three, five and six,
article twenty-five, chapter nineteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
all relating to permitting landowners to charge up to
twenty-five dollars for the use of land without incurring
liability for other than willful or malicious failure to
guard or warn against a dangerous or hazardous condition,
use, structure or activity; defining terms; and limiting the
liability of landowners who allow their property to be used
for military training purposes.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, three, five and six, article twenty-five,
chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 25. LIMITING LIABILITY OF LANDOWNERS.
§19-25-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to encourage owners of landto make available to the public land and water areas for military
training or recreational or wildlife propagation purposes by
limiting their liability toward persons entering thereon and
toward persons who may be injured or otherwise damaged by the
acts or omissions of persons entering thereon.
§19-25-3. Limiting duty of landowner who leases land to state,
counties, municipalities or agencies.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, an owner of land leased
to the state or any agency thereof, or any county or municipality
or agency thereof, for military training or recreational or
wildlife propagation purposes owes no duty of care to keep that
land safe for entry or use by others or to give warning to
persons entering or going upon such the land of any dangerous or
hazardous conditions, uses, structures or activities thereon.
An owner who leases land to the state or any agency thereof, or
any county or municipality or agency thereof, for military
training or recreational or wildlife propagation purposes shall
not by giving such a lease (a) extend any assurance to any person
using the land that the premises are safe for any purpose, or (b)
confer upon such those persons the legal status of an invitee or
licensee to whom a duty of care is owed, or (c) assume
responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to person or
property caused by an act or omission of a person who enters upon
the leased land. The provisions of this section apply whether
the person entering upon the leased land is an invitee, licensee,
trespasser or otherwise.
§19-25-5. Definitions.
For purposes of this article: (a) The term "land" shallinclude, but not be limited to, roads, water, watercourses,
private ways and buildings, structures and machinery or equipment
thereon when attached to the realty; (b) the term "owner" shall
include, but not be limited to, tenant, lessee, occupant or
person in control of the premises; (c) the term "recreational
purposes" shall include, but not be limited to, any one or any
combination of the following: Hunting, fishing, swimming,
boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, pleasure driving, nature
study, water skiing, winter sports and visiting, viewing or
enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic or scientific sites,
or otherwise using land for purposes of the user; (d) the term
"wildlife propagation purposes" shall apply to and include 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 six, chapter twenty of this code, or from the
use of surface in the conduct of underground coal mining as
governed by articles one and two, chapter twenty- two of this
code, and regulations promulgated thereunder, which ponds,
structures or impoundments are hereafter designated and certified
in writing by the director of the department of natural resources
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 such premises has
the potential of being actually used by such wildlife for such
purposes and that such premises are no longer used or necessary
for mining reclamation purposes. Such certification shall be in
form satisfactory to the director and shall provide that suchdesignated ponds, structures or impoundments shall not be removed
without the joint consent of the director and the owner; and (e)
the term "charge" shall mean the amount of money asked in return
for an invitation to enter or go upon the land.
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 propogation 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 but not including an amount of money not
to exceed fifty dollars a year for an individual for the annual
use of land;
(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) "Owner" includes, but shall not be limited to, tenant,
lessee, occupant or person in control of the premises;
(4) "Recreational purposes" includes, but shall not be
limited to, any one or any combination of the following
noncommercial recreational purposes: Hunting, fishing, swimming,
boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, pleasure driving,
motorcycle or all-terrain vehicle riding, nature study, waterskiing, winter sports and visiting, viewing or enjoying
historical, archaeological, scenic or scientific sites, or
otherwise using land for purposes of the user;
(5) "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-a of
this code, or from the use of surface in the conduct of
underground coal mining as governed by articles one, two and
three, chapter twenty-two-a of this code, and rules promulgated
thereunder, which ponds, structures or impoundments are hereafter
designated and certified in writing by the director of the
department of natural resources 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 has 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
(6) "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 theUnited States, or a person on active duty in the armed forces of
the United States, acting in that capacity.
§19-25-6. Severability Limiting duty of landowner for use of
land for military purposes.
The provisions of this article are severable. If any
section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this
article is held invalid, the remainder of the article shall not
be affected.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section four of this
article to the contrary, an owner of land owes no duty of care to
keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for military
training purposes, regardless of whether any charge is made
therefore, or to give any warning of a dangerous or hazardous
condition, use, structure, or activity on the premises to persons
entering for those purposes.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section four of this
article to the contrary, an owner of land who either directly or
indirectly invites or permits, either with or without charge, any
person to use the property for military training purposes does
not thereby (a) extend any assurance that the premises are safe
for any purpose, or (b) confer upon those persons the legal
status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed,
or (c) assume responsibility for or incur liability for any
injury to person or property caused by an act or omission of
those persons.