[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1919 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1919

To remove civil liability barriers surrounding donating fire equipment 
                      to volunteer fire companies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2001

  Mr. Castle introduced the following bill; which was 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 2001''.

SEC. 2. 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 under any State or Federal 
        law for personal injuries, property damage, or death 
        proximately caused after the donation by a defect in the 
        equipment.
            (2) State or local rule.--A State or local agency, 
        including a person acting as an agent of such an agency, that 
        administers the distribution of qualified fire control or fire 
        rescue equipment to a volunteer fire company shall not be 
        liable for civil damages under any State or Federal law for 
        personal injuries, property damage, or death proximately caused 
        after the distribution by a defect in the equipment.
    (b) Exceptions to Liability Protection.--Subsection (a) does not 
apply to a person or agency if--
            (1) the defect that proximately causes the injury, damage, 
        or loss resulted from an act or omission of the person or 
        agency, that constitutes malice, gross negligence, 
        recklessness, or intentional misconduct; or
            (2) the person or agency is the manufacturer of the 
        qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Person.--The term ``person'' includes any individual 
        and any governmental or other 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 of fire control or fire rescue equipment to 
        inspect such 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. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICATION.

    This Act--
            (1) shall take effect 30 days after the date of its 
        enactment; and
            (2) applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or 
        after that date.
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