LEGISLATION

Hawaii House Bill 548: Holding Publishers and Guidebooks Accountable if Readers Trespass

Hawaii Senate Bill 1207 and House Bill 548 are companion bills would hold publishers and authors of visitor guides and websites that "invite, attract, or encourage" readers to trespass on private property liable if those readers trespass and suffer injury or death while doing so. The bill would also impose a duty to warn readers of dangerous conditions on the author or publisher of a guide book.

Most Recent News: H.B. 548 died in committee in early April. Hawaii has a two-year legislative session, so while the bill failed to pass this year, it could come back next year.

History: Media Coalition on February 28 sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee warning them of H.B. 548's constitutional problems and suggesting that they follow the Senate's lead in amending the bill.

On February 16, the Senate passed an amendment to S.B. 1207 that would establish a task force to study the issue of injuries that result from tourists' trespassing. The Senate bill later died in committee.

On February 14, the House Committee on Water, Land and Ocean Resources voted to approve H.B. 548 with amendments. Media Coalition submitted a memo in opposition to the Committee raising our objections to the amended version of the legislation.

The House bill was originally heard by the Tourism Committee on January 31. Media Coalition on February 7 submitted to the Tourism Committee a memo in opposition to raise our constitutional objections to the legislation. H.B. 548 was passed out of the committee, which amended the proposal without addressing our concerns. On February 7, the Senate bill was first heard in the Senate Economic Development and Technology Committee. Media Coalition submitted a memo in opposition to the committee raising our objections to the bill.

 H.B. 548 passed the House on March 8. Media Coalition sent a letter to all Hawaii House members outlining the bill's constitutional problems, with a focus on the amendments added to the bill in the House Judiciary Committee prior to the hearing. At a hearing on March 1, Hawaii's House Judiciary Committee passed H.B. 548 with an amendment establishing a task force to study the problem of trespassing-related injuries. The committee also added a requirement that the author or publisher of a guidebook warn readers of dangerous conditions "typical to the area." The amended bill did not remove the third party liability language.

 At a hearing on March 22, the Senate Committee on Tourism amended H.B. 548, establishing a task force to study the issue of trespassing-related injuries and deaths and removing the third party liability language. Media Coalition submitted testimony in opposition to the bill on March 21 in advance of the hearing. For more information about the hearing and the legislative history, see Media Coalition's press release on the hearing.