The Colorado Senate this morning approved passage of SB 58 without debate. Passage of the bill is a key first step to potentially reopening closed 14ers and other important recreational destinations on private lands that have been closed or required access waivers due to landowner liability fears. The bill was developed by the Fix CRUS Coalition in consultation with the trial lawyers association. Rather than fight over the liability standard, which failed in two recent sessions, SB 58 more clearly outlines responsibilities of private landowners regarding notifying recreationists of known hazards on their property, determining authorized access points and defining what recreational activities are allowed and at what times. Addressing these issues is vital to providing landowners with clarity regarding their duty to "guard or warn" of potentially dangerous conditions, which in turn lessens their liability exposure under the Colorado Recreational Use Statute.
The bill now moves on to the Colorado House of Representatives, where it will be introduced and a hearing will be held. With luck we'll have another committee hearing in which testimony was overwhelmingly in support of the bill, it passed out of committee on a unanimous vote and was placed on the "consent calendar" for non-controversial bills.
Assuming the bill gets approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor Polis, we will then need to work with landowners regarding posting signage, alerting the public to the approved access points and conditions on accessing these private lands. It will take some time, but everything appears to be headed in a positive direction. Learn more at fixcrus.org.
Lloyd Athearn
Executive Director, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
Executive Committee Member, Fix CRUS Coalition
