[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1787 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1787

To remove civil liability barriers that discourage the donation of fire 
                 equipment to volunteer fire companies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2003

 Mr. Castle (for himself, Mr. Kennedy of Minnesota, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. 
    Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. McNulty, Ms. Harman, Mr. Smith of 
 Michigan, Mr. Goode, Mr. Cole, Mr. Fossella, Mr. McHugh, Mr. Duncan, 
Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Walsh, Mr. 
 Gilchrest, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Ney, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Ehlers, 
   Mr. Davis of Tennessee, Mr. Reynolds, Mr. McGovern, and Ms. Ginny 
   Brown-Waite of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To remove civil liability barriers that discourage the donation of 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 2003''.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF CIVIL LIABILITY BARRIERS THAT DISCOURAGE THE 
              DONATION OF FIRE EQUIPMENT TO VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES.

    (a) Liability Protection.--A person who donates 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 loss, or death proximately caused by the equipment 
after the donation.
    (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply to a person if--
            (1) the person's act or omission proximately causing the 
        injury, damage, loss, or death constitutes gross negligence or 
        intentional misconduct; or
            (2) the person is the manufacturer of the fire control or 
        fire rescue equipment.
    (c) Preemption.--This Act preempts the laws of any State to the 
extent that such laws are inconsistent with this Act, except that 
notwithstanding subsection (b) this Act shall not preempt any State law 
that provides additional protection from liability for a person who 
donates fire control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer fire 
company.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Person.--The term ``person'' includes any governmental 
        or other entity.
            (2) Fire control or rescue equipment.--The term ``fire 
        control or fire rescue equipment'' includes any fire vehicle, 
        fire fighting tool, protective gear, fire hose, or breathing 
        apparatus.
            (3) Gross negligence.--The term ``gross negligence'' means 
        voluntary and conscious conduct harmful to the health or well-
        being of another person by a person who, at the time of the 
        conduct, knew that the conduct was likely to be harmful to the 
        health or well-being of another person.
            (4) Intentional misconduct.--The term ``intentional 
        misconduct'' means voluntary and conscious conduct harmful to 
        the health or well-being of another person by a person who, at 
        the time of the conduct, knew that the conduct was harmful to 
        the health or well-being of another person.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' includes the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, 
        Guam, the Virgin Islands, any other territory or possession of 
        the United States, and any political subdivision of any such 
        State, territory, or possession.
            (6) Volunteer fire company.--The term ``volunteer fire 
        company'' means an association of individuals who provide fire 
        protection and other emergency services, where at least 30 
        percent of the individuals receive little or no compensation 
        compared with an entry level full-time paid individual in that 
        association or in the nearest such association with an entry 
        level full-time paid individual.
    (e) Effective Date.--This Act applies only to liability for injury, 
damage, loss, or death caused by equipment that, for purposes of 
subsection (a), is donated on or after the date that is 30 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>