Senate Bill sb1764c1
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Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 1764
By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning; and Senator Lynn
316-2088-04
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to a limitation of liability
3 for donated firefighting equipment; creating s.
4 768.1315, F.S.; providing a short title;
5 providing definitions; providing that a state
6 agency or political subdivision is not liable
7 for civil damages resulting from personal
8 injuries, property damage, or death proximately
9 caused by defective fire control or fire rescue
10 equipment donated to a volunteer fire
11 department; providing certain exceptions to the
12 limitation on liability; providing an effective
13 date.
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15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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17 Section 1. Section 768.1315, Florida Statutes, is
18 created to read:
19 768.1315 Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighters'
20 Assistance Act; immunity from civil liability.--
21 (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the
22 "Good Samaritan Volunteer Firefighters' Assistance Act."
23 (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
24 (a) "Authorized technician" means a technician who is
25 certified by the manufacturer of fire control or fire rescue
26 equipment as qualified to inspect that equipment. The
27 technician need not be employed by the state agency or
28 political subdivision administering the distribution of the
29 fire control or fire rescue equipment.
30 (b) "Qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment"
31 means equipment used for fire control or fire rescue which has
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 1764
316-2088-04
1 been recertified by an authorized technician as meeting the
2 manufacturer's specifications and which is distributed by or
3 through a state agency or political subdivision to a volunteer
4 fire department.
5 (3) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.--A state agency or
6 political subdivision, including a person acting as an
7 employee or agent thereof, which acts reasonably in donating
8 qualified fire control or fire rescue equipment to a volunteer
9 fire department is not liable for civil damages under any
10 state law for personal injury, property damage, or death
11 proximately caused, after the donation, by a defect in the
12 equipment.
13 (4) EXCEPTIONS TO LIABILITY PROTECTION.--Subsection
14 (3) does not apply to a state agency or political subdivision
15 if:
16 (a) The defect that proximately caused the injury,
17 damage, or death resulted from an act or omission of an
18 employee or agent of the state agency or political subdivision
19 which constitutes malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or
20 intentional misconduct;
21 (b) The state agency or political subdivision is the
22 manufacturer of the qualified fire control or fire rescue
23 equipment; or
24 (c) The state agency or political subdivision modified
25 or altered the equipment after it had been recertified by an
26 authorized technician as meeting the manufacturer's
27 specifications.
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29 This section does not waive the limits of sovereign immunity
30 set forth in s. 768.28.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2004 CS for SB 1764
316-2088-04
1 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004,
2 and applies to any cause of action that accrues on or after
3 that date.
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5 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
6 Senate Bill 1764
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8 The CS makes technical changes and clarifies that this new
section of law does not waive the limits of sovereign immunity
9 set forth in s. 768.28.
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