Kansas governor signs anti-rail trail legislation

The Kansas legislature recently passed a law that harms the trail building effort in Kansas.

The bill was conceived as a law to remove liability from property owners adjoining trails. This is a good thing, because it removes one serious objection adjoining land owners have to the creation of trails. Missouri passed similar legislation two years ago.

However, at the last minute legislators added a "poison pill" to this legislation. A second provision gives adjoining property owners the right to sue the trail owner with little or no basis. The result is bound to be numerous frivolous lawsuits against trail organizations--many of which are small, community based organizations.

Trail and bicycling advocates in Kansas asked the governor to veto this bill. However, she signed it and issued this statement:

"I have signed House Bill 2432 because it will protect citizens whose land is adjacent to recreational trails from unexpected and undeserved liability to trespassers. I am concerned, however, that allowing these same nearby landowners to sue the keepers of recreational trails could result in needless, expensive litigation. Therefore, I intend to monitor this issue closely over the next year, and will propose revisions to this new law if it interferes with the upkeep of these trails."

In less than two minutes you can send Governor Sebelius a message in support of trails. It's too late for this bill, but messages you send now still help in showing support for future efforts.

According to reports from the governor's office, the governor received more messages in support of this bill than from trail supporters.

This shows the need for more effective statewide bicycle and trail advocacy in Kansas.