1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to liability; providing an exclusion from 
  1.3             state liability and an exception to it; limiting 
  1.4             liability on certain municipal power agency land; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 3.736, 
  1.6             subdivision 3; 604A.20; 604A.21, subdivisions 3, 4, 
  1.7             and by adding a subdivision; 604A.24; and 604A.25. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 3.736, 
  1.10  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 3.  [EXCLUSIONS.] Without intent to preclude the 
  1.12  courts from finding additional cases where the state and its 
  1.13  employees should not, in equity and good conscience, pay 
  1.14  compensation for personal injuries or property losses, the 
  1.15  legislature declares that the state and its employees are not 
  1.16  liable for the following losses: 
  1.17     (a) a loss caused by an act or omission of a state employee 
  1.18  exercising due care in the execution of a valid or invalid 
  1.19  statute or rule; 
  1.20     (b) a loss caused by the performance or failure to perform 
  1.21  a discretionary duty, whether or not the discretion is abused; 
  1.22     (c) a loss in connection with the assessment and collection 
  1.23  of taxes; 
  1.24     (d) a loss caused by snow or ice conditions on a highway or 
  1.25  public sidewalk that does not abut a publicly owned building or 
  1.26  a publicly owned parking lot, except when the condition is 
  2.1   affirmatively caused by the negligent acts of a state employee; 
  2.2      (e) a loss caused by wild animals in their natural state, 
  2.3   except as provided in section 3.7371; 
  2.4      (f) a loss other than injury to or loss of property or 
  2.5   personal injury or death; 
  2.6      (g) a loss caused by the condition of unimproved real 
  2.7   property owned by the state, which means land that the state has 
  2.8   not improved, state land that contains idled or abandoned mine 
  2.9   pits or shafts, and appurtenances, fixtures, and attachments to 
  2.10  land that the state has neither affixed nor improved; 
  2.11     (h) a loss involving or arising out of the use or operation 
  2.12  of a recreational motor vehicle, as defined in section 84.90, 
  2.13  subdivision 1, within the right-of-way of a trunk highway, as 
  2.14  defined in section 160.02, except that the state is liable for 
  2.15  conduct that would entitle a trespasser to damages against a 
  2.16  private person; 
  2.17     (i) a loss incurred by a user arising from the 
  2.18  construction, operation, or maintenance of the outdoor 
  2.19  recreation system, as defined in section 86A.04, or for a loss 
  2.20  arising from the construction, operation, maintenance, or 
  2.21  administration of grants-in-aid trails as defined in section 
  2.22  85.018, or for a loss arising from the construction, operation, 
  2.23  or maintenance of a water access site created by the iron range 
  2.24  resources and rehabilitation board, except that the state is 
  2.25  liable for conduct that would entitle a trespasser to damages 
  2.26  against a private person.  For the purposes of this clause, a 
  2.27  water access site, as defined in section 86A.04 or created by 
  2.28  the iron range resources and rehabilitation board, that provides 
  2.29  access to an idled, water filled mine pit, also includes the 
  2.30  entire water filled area of the pit and, further, includes 
  2.31  losses caused by the caving or slumping of the mine pit walls; 
  2.32     (i) (j) a loss of benefits or compensation due under a 
  2.33  program of public assistance or public welfare, except if state 
  2.34  compensation for loss is expressly required by federal law in 
  2.35  order for the state to receive federal grants-in-aid; 
  2.36     (j) (k) a loss based on the failure of a person to meet the 
  3.1   standards needed for a license, permit, or other authorization 
  3.2   issued by the state or its agents; 
  3.3      (k) (l) a loss based on the usual care and treatment, or 
  3.4   lack of care and treatment, of a person at a state hospital or 
  3.5   state corrections facility where reasonable use of available 
  3.6   appropriations has been made to provide care; 
  3.7      (l) (m) loss, damage, or destruction of property of a 
  3.8   patient or inmate of a state institution; 
  3.9      (m) (n) a loss for which recovery is prohibited by section 
  3.10  169.121, subdivision 9; 
  3.11     (n) (o) a loss caused by an aeration, bubbler, water 
  3.12  circulation, or similar system used to increase dissolved oxygen 
  3.13  or maintain open water on the ice of public waters, that is 
  3.14  operated under a permit issued by the commissioner of natural 
  3.15  resources; 
  3.16     (o) (p) a loss incurred by a visitor to the Minnesota 
  3.17  zoological garden, except that the state is liable for conduct 
  3.18  that would entitle a trespasser to damages against a private 
  3.19  person; 
  3.20     (p) (q) a loss arising out of a person's use of a logging 
  3.21  road on public land that is maintained exclusively to provide 
  3.22  access to timber on that land by harvesters of the timber, and 
  3.23  is not signed or otherwise held out to the public as a public 
  3.24  highway; and 
  3.25     (q) (r) a loss incurred by a user of property owned, 
  3.26  leased, or otherwise controlled by the Minnesota National Guard 
  3.27  or the department of military affairs, except that the state is 
  3.28  liable for conduct that would entitle a trespasser to damages 
  3.29  against a private person. 
  3.30     The state will not pay punitive damages. 
  3.31     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 604A.20, is 
  3.32  amended to read: 
  3.33     604A.20 [POLICY.] 
  3.34     It is the policy of this state, in furtherance of the 
  3.35  public health and welfare, to encourage and promote the use 
  3.36  of land owned by a municipal power agency and privately owned 
  4.1   lands and waters by the public for beneficial recreational 
  4.2   purposes, and the provisions of sections 604A.20 to 604A.27 are 
  4.3   enacted to that end. 
  4.4      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 604A.21, is 
  4.5   amended by adding a subdivision to read:  
  4.6      Subd. 2a.  [DEDICATED.] "Dedicated" means made available by 
  4.7   easement, license, permit, or other authorization.  
  4.8      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 604A.21, 
  4.9   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  4.10     Subd. 3.  [LAND.] "Land" means privately owned or leased 
  4.11  any of the following which is privately owned or leased or in 
  4.12  which a municipal power agency has rights:  land, roads, water, 
  4.13  watercourses, private ways and buildings, structures, and other 
  4.14  improvements to land, and machinery or equipment when attached 
  4.15  to the land. 
  4.16     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 604A.21, 
  4.17  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.18     Subd. 4.  [OWNER.] "Owner" means the possessor of a fee 
  4.19  interest or a life estate, tenant, lessee, occupant, holder of a 
  4.20  utility easement, or person in control of the land. 
  4.21     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 604A.24, is 
  4.22  amended to read: 
  4.23     604A.24 [LIABILITY; LEASED LAND, WATER-FILLED MINE PITS; 
  4.24  MUNICIPAL POWER AGENCY LAND.] 
  4.25     Unless otherwise agreed in writing, sections 604A.22 and 
  4.26  604A.23 also apply to the duties and liability of an owner of 
  4.27  the following land: 
  4.28     (1) land leased to the state or any political subdivision 
  4.29  for recreational purpose; or 
  4.30     (2) idled or abandoned, water-filled mine pits whose pit 
  4.31  walls may slump or cave, and to which water the public has 
  4.32  access from a water access site operated by a public entity; or 
  4.33     (3) land of which a municipal power agency is an owner and 
  4.34  that is used for recreational trail purposes, and other land of 
  4.35  a municipal power agency which is within 300 feet of such land 
  4.36  if the entry onto such land was from land that is dedicated for 
  5.1   recreational purposes or recreational trail use.  
  5.2      Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 604A.25, is 
  5.3   amended to read: 
  5.4      604A.25 [OWNER'S LIABILITY; NOT LIMITED.] 
  5.5      Except as set forth in this section, nothing in sections 
  5.6   604A.20 to 604A.27 limits liability that otherwise exists: 
  5.7      (1) for conduct which, at law, entitles a trespasser to 
  5.8   maintain an action and obtain relief for the conduct complained 
  5.9   of; or 
  5.10     (2) for injury suffered in any case where the owner charges 
  5.11  the persons who enter or go on the land for the recreational 
  5.12  purpose, except that in the case of land leased or dedicated to 
  5.13  the state or a political subdivision, any consideration received 
  5.14  from the state or political subdivision by the owner for the 
  5.15  lease or dedication is not considered a charge within the 
  5.16  meaning of this section. 
  5.17     Except for conduct set forth in section 604A.22, clause 
  5.18  (3), a person may not maintain an action and obtain relief at 
  5.19  law for conduct referred to by clause (1) in this section if the 
  5.20  entry upon the land is incidental to or arises from access 
  5.21  granted for the recreational trail use of land dedicated, 
  5.22  leased, or permitted by the owners for recreational trail use.