[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3006 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3006
To remove civil liability barriers surrounding donating fire equipment
to volunteer fire companies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 6, 2000
Mr. Ashcroft introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To remove civil liability barriers surrounding donating fire equipment
to volunteer fire companies.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighter
Assistance Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) heavy industry is constantly improving and updating its
fire protection equipment to take advantage of new state-of-
the-art innovation and surplus equipment may be almost new or
never used to put out a single fire;
(2) under current law, if donated fire-fighting equipment
malfunctions, the threat of civil liability extends to both the
original manufacturer and the entity that donates the
equipment;
(3) this threat of civil liability causes many heavy
industry organizations to destroy, rather than donate, millions
of dollars of quality fire equipment;
(4) according to some estimates, the generosity of over
800,000 volunteer firefighters nationwide save State and local
governments $36,800,000,000 a year;
(5) many volunteer fire companies, particularly in rural
areas, lack the resources to purchase new fire equipment;
(6) taxpayers spend millions of dollars purchasing new
equipment for volunteer fire companies;
(7) volunteer firefighters spend a large amount of time
raising money for new equipment and that time could be better
spent training to respond to emergencies;
(8) volunteer fire companies have received millions of
dollars in quality fire fighting equipment in States that have
removed liability barriers that obstruct the generosity and
good will of private entities that wish to donate surplus,
quality fire equipment to volunteer fire companies;
(9) donated fire equipment should be recertified to meet
manufacturer's specifications in order to mitigate the risk
that firefighters and the public will receive defective
equipment; and
(10) the Congress should respond to the needs of volunteer
fire companies by encouraging States to remove civil liability
barriers that obstruct donations to volunteer fire companies.
SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF CIVIL LIABILITY BARRIERS.
(a) Liability Protection.--
(1) Individual rule.--A person who donates qualified fire
control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer fire company
shall not be liable in civil damages in any State or Federal
Court for personal injuries, property damage, or death
proximately caused by a defect in the equipment.
(2) State or local rule.--A State or local agency or its
agents that administer the distribution of qualified fire
control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer fire company
shall not be liable in civil damages in any State or Federal
Court for personal injuries, property damage, or death
proximately caused by a defect in the equipment.
(b) Exceptions to Liability Protection.--The liability protection
in subsection (a) does not cover a person or agency if--
(1) the person's act or omission proximately causing the
injury, damage, or loss constitutes malice, gross negligence,
recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or
(2) the person is the manufacturer of the qualified fire
control or fire rescue equipment.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Person.--The term ``person'' means any individual,
corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society,
joint stock company, or any other entity (including any
governmental entity).
(2) Fire control or rescue equipment.--The term ``fire
control or fire rescue equipment'' includes fire vehicles, fire
fighting tools, protective gear, fire hose, and breathing
apparatus.
(3) Qualified fire control or rescue equipment.--The term
``qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment'' means fire
control or fire rescue equipment that has been recertified by
an authorized technician as meeting the manufacturer's
specifications and has been distributed through a State or
local agency to the volunteer fire company.
(4) Authorized technician.--The term ``authorized
technician'' means a technician that has been certified by the
manufacturer to inspect fire control or fire rescue equipment.
The technician need not be employed by the State or local
agency administering the distribution of the fire control or
fire rescue equipment.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect 30 days from the date of its enactment
and only applies to a cause of action that accrues on or after that
date.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8105-8106)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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