SB3334 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18595 JRC 32038 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3334

Introduced 2/4/2026, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Immunity for Private Campgrounds Act. Provides that a private campground owner or an employee or officer of a private campground owner is not be liable for acts or omissions related to camping at a private campground if a person is injured or killed or property is damaged as a result of an inherent risk of camping with exceptions. Provides that "private campground" means any parcel or tract of land, including buildings and other structures, that is owned or operated by a private property owner where 5 or more campsites are made available for use as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. Provides that private campground also includes recreational vehicle parks. Exempts employer-employee relationships.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Immunity for Private Campgrounds Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Camping" means all aspects of visiting, staying at, using, and leaving a private campground, including lodging of all types.

"Inherent risks of camping" means those dangers, hazards, or conditions that are an integral part of camping including, but not limited to, the following:

(1) features of the natural world, such as trees, tree stumps, naturally occurring infectious agents, roots, brush, rocks, mud, sand, standing and moving water, and soil;

(2) uneven and unpredictable terrain;

(3) natural bodies of water and accessories permitting the use of natural bodies of water, including piers, docks, swimming and aquatic sports, or recreation facilities or areas;

(4) a lack of lighting, including lighting at campsites;

(5) campfires contained in or outside a fire pit or an enclosure provided by the private campground, bonfires, grass or brush fires, wildfires, and forest fires;

(6) weather and weather-related events;

(7) insects, birds, and other wildlife;

(8) animals of other campers or visitors that cause injury, unless the private campground owner or an employee or officer of the private campground owner has accepted responsibility for care of the animal;

(9) a violation of safety rules or a disregard for signs or other methods of communicating warnings;

(10) another camper or visitor at the private campground acting in a negligent manner, if the private campground owner, an employee, or officer of the private campground owner is not involved in the negligence;

(11) actions by a camper or visitor that exceed the camper's or visitor's physical limitations or abilities;

(12) actions by a camper or visitor involving climbing, rappelling, caving, mountaineering, or any other related activity;

(13) damage caused by fireworks from a camper, visitor, or offsite entity not authorized by the private campground owner, employee, or officer of a private campground owner; and

(14) any person coming onto the campsite not reported to the private campground owner, an employee, or officer of the private campground owner.

"Private campground" means any parcel or tract of land, including buildings and other structures that is owned or operated by a private property owner where 5 or more campsites are made available for use as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use. "Private campground" includes recreational vehicle parks.

Section 10. Liability. A private campground owner or an employee or officer of a private campground owner is not liable for acts or omissions related to camping at a private campground if a person is injured, killed, or the person's property is damaged as a result of an inherent risk of camping with these exceptions:

(1) Any employer-employee relationship.

(2) The provisions of this Act do not prevent or limit liability of a private campground owner or an employee or officer of a private campground owner who:

(A) intentionally causes the injury, death, or property damage;

(B) acts with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the person or property damaged. As used in this subdivision, "willful and wanton" means conduct committed with an intentional or reckless disregard for the safety of others;

(C) fails to use that degree of care that an ordinarily careful and prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances;

(D) fails to conspicuously post warning signs of a dangerous, inconspicuous condition known to the owner of the private campground, employees, or officers on the property that the owner owns, leases, rents, or is otherwise in lawful control of or in possession of if the owner, employee, or officer is aware of the condition by reason of a prior injury involving the same location or the same mechanism of injury. The warning signs must appear in black letters on a white background with each letter to be a minimum of one inch in height; and

(E) failure to include into the written contract entered into by or on behalf of a private campground owner, in clearly readable print, the warning notice specified in this subdivision (D).