FL
Florida House Bill H1129

Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1129 Compare Versions

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1010 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to roller skating rink safety; 2
1616 creating s. 768.395, F.S.; providing legislative 3
1717 findings; providing definitions; providing that an 4
1818 operator of a roller skating rink is not liable for 5
1919 damages or personal injury resulting from inherent 6
2020 risks of roller skating; providing exceptions; 7
2121 providing that certain persons assume the inherent 8
2222 risk of roller skating; providing that an operator is 9
2323 not required to eliminate, alter, or control the 10
2424 inherent risks in roller skating; establishing the 11
2525 responsibilities of roller skaters; providing that 12
2626 failure to comply with such responsibilities 13
2727 constitutes negligence; providing an effective date. 14
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2929 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
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3131 Section 1. Section 768.395, Florida Statutes, is created 18
3232 to read: 19
3333 768.395 Roller skating rink safety. — 20
3434 (1) This section may be cited as the "Roller Skating Rink 21
3535 Safety Act." 22
3636 (2)(a) The Legislature finds that the recreational 23
3737 activity of roller skating is practiced by a large number of 24
3838 residents of the state, roller skating is a wholesome and 25
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4747 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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5151 healthy family activity that should be encouraged, and the 26
5252 allocation of risks and costs of roller ska ting is an important 27
5353 matter of public policy. 28
5454 (b) The Legislature further finds that owners of roller 29
5555 skating rinks face great difficulty in obtaining liability 30
5656 insurance coverage at an affordable cost and that the lack of 31
5757 affordable insurance coverage a ffects not only owners of roller 32
5858 skating rinks, but also persons who may suffer personal injuries 33
5959 or property damages as a result of accidents that occur on the 34
6060 premises of a roller skating rink. In order to make it more 35
6161 economically feasible for insurance companies to provide 36
6262 coverage to roller skating rinks at an affordable rate to the 37
6363 owners, occurrences resulting in liability to owners should be 38
6464 more predictable by limiting the liability that may be incurred 39
6565 by the owners and encouraging the development and implementation 40
6666 of risk reduction techniques. This section shall be liberally 41
6767 construed to carry out the purposes of this section. 42
6868 (3) As used in this section, the term: 43
6969 (a) "Inherent risk" means those dangers or conditions that 44
7070 are characteristic of, intrinsic to, or an integral part of the 45
7171 activity of roller skating. 46
7272 (b) "Operator" means a person or entity that owns, 47
7373 manages, controls, directs, or has operational responsibility 48
7474 for a roller skating rink. 49
7575 (c) "Roller skater" means a person who participates in the 50
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8484 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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8888 activity of roller skating while in a roller skating rink. 51
8989 (d) "Roller skating rink" means a building, facility, or 52
9090 premises that provides an area specifically designed to be used 53
9191 for roller skating. 54
9292 (e) "Spectator" means a person in a roller skating rink 55
9393 whose participation is limited to observing the activity of 56
9494 roller skating. 57
9595 (4) An operator is not liable to a roller skater or 58
9696 spectator for any damages or personal injury resulting from the 59
9797 inherent risks of roller skating. 60
9898 (5) This section does not limit liability that would 61
9999 otherwise exist if the operator fails to: 62
100100 (a) Conspicuously post in at least three areas on the 63
101101 premises, the responsibilities of roller skaters and spectators 64
102102 under subsection (6) and the duties of the operator under this 65
103103 subsection. 66
104104 (b) Maintain the stability and legibility of all signs, 67
105105 symbols, and posted notices required by this section. 68
106- (c) Have at least one roller skating rink supervisor or 69
106+ (c) Have as least one roller skating rink supervisor or 69
107107 manager on duty for every 200 skaters when the roller skating 70
108108 rink is open for business. 71
109109 (d) Maintain the skating surface in a reasonably safe 72
110110 condition and clean and inspect the skating surface before each 73
111111 skating session. 74
112112 (e) Maintain in good condition the rail ings, kickboards, 75
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121121 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125125 and walls surrounding the skating surface. 76
126126 (f) Ensure that all coverings on risers are securely 77
127127 fastened in roller skating rinks with step -up or step-down 78
128128 skating surfaces. 79
129129 (g) Install and regularly inspect fire extinguishers. 80
130130 (h) Inspect emergency lights at least quarterly to ensure 81
131131 the lights are in proper working order. 82
132132 (i) Keep exit lights and service area lights on when 83
133133 skating surface lights are turned off during a skating session. 84
134134 (j) Inspect and maintain in good mechanica l condition 85
135135 roller skating equipment that the operator leases or rents to 86
136136 roller skaters. 87
137137 (k) Comply with all applicable state and local safety 88
138138 codes. 89
139- (l) Take reasonable action to correct a dangerous 90
140-condition that is known or reasonably should have been known. 91
141- (6)(a) A roller skater or spectator a t a roller skating 92
142-rink assumes the inherent risks in the activity of roller 93
143-skating irrespective of age, and is legally responsible for all 94
144-damages and injury to himself or herself or other persons or 95
145-property which result from this activity. An operator is not 96
146-required to eliminate, alter, or control the inherent risks in 97
147-this activity. 98
148- (b) While engaging in the activity of roller skating at a 99
149-roller skating rink, a roller skater must: 100
139+ (6)(a) A roller skater or spectator at a roller skating 90
140+rink assumes the inherent risks in the activi ty of roller 91
141+skating irrespective of age, and is legally responsible for all 92
142+damages and injury to himself or herself or other persons or 93
143+property which result from this activity. An operator is not 94
144+required to eliminate, alter, or control the inherent ris ks in 95
145+this activity. 96
146+ (b) While engaging in the activity of roller skating at a 97
147+roller skating rink, a roller skater must: 98
148+ 1. Maintain reasonable control of his or her speed and 99
149+direction of travel at all times. 100
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158158 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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162- 1. Maintain reasonable control of his or her speed and 101
163-direction of travel at all times. 102
164- 2. Heed all posted signs and warnings. 103
165- 3. Maintain a proper awareness to avoid other roller 104
166-skaters and objects. 105
167- 4. Accept the responsibility for knowing the range of his 106
168-or her own ability to negotiate the intended direction o f travel 107
169-while roller skating and to skate within the limits of that 108
170-ability. 109
171- 5. Refrain from acting in a manner that may cause or 110
172-contribute to his or her own personal injury or the personal 111
173-injury of another person. 112
174- (7)(a) This section does not limit the liability of an 113
175-operator for personal injuries or damages caused by an act of 114
176-gross negligence by the operator or his or her employees. 115
177- (b) Failure to comply with subsection (5) or subsection 116
178-(6) constitutes negligence. 117
179- Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 118
162+ 2. Heed all posted signs and warnings. 101
163+ 3. Maintain a proper awareness to avoid other roller 102
164+skaters and objects. 103
165+ 4. Accept the responsibility for knowing the range of his 104
166+or her own ability to negotiate the intended direction of travel 105
167+while roller skating and to skate within the limits of that 106
168+ability. 107
169+ 5. Refrain from acting in a manner that may cause or 108
170+contribute to his or her own personal injury or the personal 109
171+injury of another person. 110
172+ (7)(a) This section does not limit the liability of an 111
173+operator for personal injuries or damages c aused by an act of 112
174+gross negligence by the operator or his or her employees. 113
175+ (b) Failure to comply with subsection (5) or subsection 114
176+(6) constitutes negligence. 115
177+ Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 116