Senate Bill sb1764c2

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 1764

    By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    Comprehensive Planning; and Senators Lynn and Bullard




    302-2222-04

  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, or an officer,

  7         employee, or agent thereof, is not liable for

  8         civil damages resulting from personal injuries,

  9         property damage, or death proximately caused by

10         defective fire control or fire rescue equipment

11         donated to a volunteer fire department;

12         providing certain exceptions to the limitation

13         on liability; providing an effective 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  subdivision administering the distribution of the fire control

29  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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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 1764
    302-2222-04




 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 subdivision to a volunteer fire

 4  department.

 5         (c)  "State agency or subdivision" shall have the

 6  meaning provided in s. 768.28(2).

 7         (3)  LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.--A state agency or

 8  subdivision, including an officer, employee, or agent thereof,

 9  who is acting within the scope of his or her employment or

10  function, which donates qualified fire control or fire rescue

11  equipment to a volunteer fire department is not liable for

12  civil damages under any state law for personal injury,

13  property damage, or death proximately caused after the

14  donation by a defect in the equipment.

15         (4)  EXCEPTIONS TO LIABILITY PROTECTION.--Subsection

16  (3) does not apply to a state agency or subdivision, or an

17  officer, employee, or agent thereof, if:

18         (a)  The defect that proximately caused the personal

19  injury, property damage, or death resulted from:

20         1.  An act or omission of an officer, employee, or

21  agent of the state agency or subdivision which constitutes

22  malice, gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional

23  misconduct; or

24         2.  A modification or alteration of the qualified fire

25  control or fire rescue equipment by the state agency or

26  subdivision, or by an officer, employee, or agent thereof,

27  after the equipment was recertified by an authorized

28  technician as meeting the manufacturer's specifications.

29         (b)  The state agency or subdivision is the

30  manufacturer of the qualified fire control or fire rescue

31  equipment.

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    Florida Senate - 2004                    CS for CS for SB 1764
    302-2222-04




 1  

 2  Nothing in this section shall be construed as a waiver of

 3  sovereign immunity.

 4         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004,

 5  and applies to any cause of action that accrues on or after

 6  that date.

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 8          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
 9                     CS for Senate Bill 1764

10                                 

11  Defines the phrase "state agency and subdivision." Limits
    immunity given to officers, employees, and agents to when they
12  are acting within the scope of their employment or function.
    Clarifies when immunity from liability does not apply.
13  Clarifies that nothing in the section shall be construed as a
    waiver of sovereign immunity.
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