LRB-3949/1
PJH:ahe&cjs
2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE
December 18, 2015 - Introduced by Senators Stroebel and Kapenga, cosponsored
by Representatives Jarchow, Novak, Ballweg, E. Brooks, Czaja, Gannon,
Horlacher, Kerkman, Krug, T. Larson, Tittl, Pope and Brandtjen. Referred
to Committee on Agriculture, Small Business, and Tourism.
SB463,2,2
1An Act to repeal 167.33 (1) (d), 167.33 (3) (g) 1. and 167.33 (3) (g) 2.;
to
2renumber 167.33 (1) (a);
to renumber and amend 167.33 (1) (c), 167.33 (1)
3(o), 167.33 (3) (b) and 167.33 (3) (g) (intro.);
to amend 15.347 (20) (b) 6., 167.33
4(title), 167.33 (1) (b), 167.33 (1) (f), 167.33 (1) (g), 167.33 (1) (h), 167.33 (1) (L),
5167.33 (1) (m), 167.33 (2) (title), 167.33 (2) (b) 1., 167.33 (2) (f), 167.33 (2) (h),
6167.33 (3) (a), 167.33 (3) (f) (intro.), 167.33 (3) (f) 5., 167.33 (3) (f) 6., 167.33 (3)
7(h), 167.33 (3) (j) 1., 167.33 (3) (j) 2., 167.33 (4) (a), 167.33 (4) (ag), 167.33 (4) (b)
82., 167.33 (5) (title), 167.33 (5) (a) 13., 167.33 (5) (b) 11., 895.525 (2) (b), 895.526
9(title), 895.526 (2) (title), 895.526 (2) (a), 895.526 (2) (b), 895.526 (2) (c), 895.526
10(2) (d), 895.526 (3) (intro.), 895.526 (3) (b) and 895.526 (4) (a); and
to create
11167.33 (1) (ar), 167.33 (1) (dm), 167.33 (3) (am), 167.33 (3) (b) 2., 167.33 (3) (em)
1and 167.33 (5) (c) of the statutes;
relating to: duties of ski area operators and
2persons who bike in a ski area, and liability of ski area operators.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill establishes duties for persons who bike in ski areas and for the
operators of ski areas.
Under current law, a participant in a recreational activity, including bicycling,
on a premises that is open to the public for such purposes is deemed to accept the risks
inherent in the activity of which an ordinary prudent person is or should be aware.
Current law also imposes certain responsibilities on participants in a recreational
activity, including the responsibility to act within the limits of his or her ability, heed
all warnings regarding participation in the recreational activity, maintain control of
himself or herself and the equipment he or she is using, and refrain from acting in
any manner that may cause or contribute to the death of or injury to himself or
herself or to other persons while participating in the recreational activity.
Under current law, if a participant in a recreational activity is injured or killed,
his or her own actions may be considered contributory negligence in a civil suit
brought against the owners of the premises if the participant failed to comply with
any of the responsibilities set forth for participants in the activity.
Under current law, the same rules of liability and negligence apply to skiing,
sledding, tubing, tobogganing, and other snow sports (snow sports) that take place
outside of a ski area, but there is a different scheme for determining whether the
operator of a ski area is liable for injuries sustained by a person who participates in
a snow sport at a ski area. This bill applies much of the same analysis that is applied
to a participant in a snow sport to a person who bikes in a ski area (biker).
Under the bill, a biker is deemed to know, and accept, certain risks inherent in
biking in a ski area, such as changes in weather or visibility, the presence of certain
conditions and difficulties with the terrain, and the risk of collisions and to accept
that the operator of a ski area may not mitigate certain risks by padding items or
obstacles within the ski area. Under the bill, a biker's responsibilities include
knowing and complying with all safety rules established by the ski area operator,
knowing the limits of his or her abilities, and being able to maintain control of himself
or herself and his or her equipment while biking.
The bill also sets forth several safety requirements for ski area operators and
requirements designed to inform participants of the dangers inherent in biking and
of the responsibilities each participant has for his or her own safety. The
requirements include placing warning signs and informational signs as to the level
of difficulty of ski trails, and recommending the use of helmets.
Under the bill, the operator of a ski area is immune from liability for any injury
sustained by a biker if the injury was a result of any of the risks accepted by the biker
and the operator of the ski area has complied with the requirements.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB463,1
1Section
1. 15.347 (20) (b) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,3,22
15.347
(20) (b) 6. Persons who engage in
snow alpine sports.
SB463,2
3Section
2. 167.33 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,3,4
4167.33 (title)
Snow Alpine sports.
SB463,3
5Section
3. 167.33 (1) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (1) (am).
SB463,4
6Section
4. 167.33 (1) (ar) of the statutes is created to read:
SB463,3,77
167.33
(1) (ar) "Biking" means riding a bicycle within a ski area.
SB463,5
8Section
5. 167.33 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,3,129
167.33
(1) (b) "Competition" means any event authorized by a ski area operator,
10or by an agent of a ski area operator, that involves a comparison of skills used in one
11or more
snow alpine sports. "Competition" includes training sessions for such an
12event.
SB463,6
13Section
6. 167.33 (1) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (1) (om) and
14amended to read:
SB463,3,1715
167.33
(1) (om) "
Freestyle Terrain features" means man-made features that
16include boxes, jumps, hits, jibs,
tabletops, spikes, take-off ramps, landings, banks, 17rails, rollers, half pipes, picnic tables, logs, and pipes.
SB463,7
18Section
7. 167.33 (1) (d) of the statutes is repealed.
SB463,8
19Section
8. 167.33 (1) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB463,4,4
1167.33
(1) (dm) "Freestyle terrain" means an area that includes half-pipes,
2terrain parks, terrain gardens, freestyle courses, or other terrain features. Freestyle
3terrain does not include an area groomed with natural and man-made surface
4variations to aid new skiers in learning to ski or natural or man-made mogul fields.
SB463,9
5Section
9. 167.33 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,4,86
167.33
(1) (f) "Lift" means any aerial tramway or lift, a surface lift, a tow, or
7a conveyor used by a ski area operator to transport participants in
snow alpine sports
8at a ski area.
SB463,10
9Section
10. 167.33 (1) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,4,1710
167.33
(1) (g) "Participant in
a snow an alpine sport" means an individual who
11has a pass or ticket to engage in an alpine sport and who is engaged in
a snow an
12alpine sport or
who is walking or otherwise traveling within a ski area for purposes
13of engaging in the sport. "Participant in
a snow
an alpine sport" also means an
14individual who is present at a ski area to observe others engaged in
a snow an alpine 15sport or who is a passenger on a lift. "Participant in
a snow an alpine sport" includes
16an individual that is an employee of a ski area operator when he or she is acting
17outside the scope of his or her employment.
SB463,11
18Section
11. 167.33 (1) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,4,2119
167.33
(1) (h) "Ski area" means trails, terrains, and other outdoor areas that
20are used by individuals engaged in
snow alpine sports and that is administered as
21a single enterprise by a ski area operator.
SB463,12
22Section
12. 167.33 (1) (L) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,4,2423
167.33
(1) (L) "Skiing" means downhill skiing, alpine skiing, nordic skiing,
24cross-country skiing,
ski biking, telemarking, snowshoeing, or snowboarding.
SB463,13
25Section
13. 167.33 (1) (m) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,5,2
1167.33
(1) (m) "Sledding" means sliding down a prepared course on sleds,
2toboggans,
ski bikes, or comparable devices. "Sledding" excludes tubing.
SB463,14
3Section
14. 167.33 (1) (o) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (1) (ag) and
4amended to read:
SB463,5,65
167.33
(1) (ag) "
Snow Alpine sport" means skiing, sledding,
biking, or tubing
,
6or freestyling.
SB463,15
7Section
15. 167.33 (2) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,5,88
167.33
(2) (title)
Conditions and risks of snow alpine sports.
SB463,16
9Section
16. 167.33 (2) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,5,1210
167.33
(2) (b) 1. Snow, ice, crust, slush, soft spots, holes, grooves, bare spots,
11mud, loose dirt, cuts, rocks, boulders,
water, puddles, creeks, streams, cliffs,
12drop-offs, or tracks from
foot traffic or ski area vehicles.
SB463,17
13Section
17. 167.33 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,5,1514
167.33
(2) (f) The risk of collision with other participants in
snow alpine sports,
15employees of a ski area operator, or ski area infrastructure.
SB463,18
16Section
18. 167.33 (2) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,5,1917
167.33
(2) (h) The greater risk of collision, injury, or death in treed areas, in
18areas where competitions are held, and in areas
where freestyling is allowed of
19freestyle terrain.
SB463,19
20Section
19. 167.33 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB463,5,2321
167.33
(3) (a)
Notice on tickets required. Each Except as provided in par. (am),
22each ski area operator shall print on each ticket or season pass that it issues to
23participants in
snow alpine sports the following warning:
SB463,6,5
24"WARNING: Under Wisconsin law, each participant in
a snow an alpine sport
25assumes the risk of injury or death to person or injury to property resulting from the
1conditions and risks that are considered to be inherent in
a snow an alpine sport, has
2a number of duties that must be met while engaging in
a snow an alpine sport, and
3is subject to limitations on the ability to recover damages from a ski area operator
4for injuries or death to a person or to property. A complete copy of this law is available
5for review at the main site where tickets to this ski area are sold."
SB463,20
6Section
20. 167.33 (3) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
SB463,6,157
167.33
(3) (am) A ski area operator may sell, distribute, and use tickets or
8season passes printed before the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts
9date], until its stock of those tickets or passes are exhausted. A ski area operator that
10sells, distributes, or uses such tickets or passes shall post a notice at each location
11where the tickets or passes are sold, distributed, or used that informs each recipient
12of the ticket or pass that he or she is engaging in an alpine sport, as defined in s.
13167.33 (1) (ag), and that the definition for snow sport, as used on the ticket or pass,
14has been amended. The notice shall indicate that a complete copy of s. 167.33 is
15available for review at the main site where the ski area operator sells tickets.
SB463,21
16Section
21. 167.33 (3) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (3) (b) (intro.)
17and amended to read: