| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to informed consent for spaceflight; |
| 3 | creating pt. III of ch. 331, F.S.; providing definitions; |
| 4 | providing immunity from liability for injury to or death |
| 5 | of certain suborbital flight participants if specified |
| 6 | informed consent requirements are complied with; providing |
| 7 | exceptions; requiring each participant to sign a warning |
| 8 | statement; providing minimum requirements for a warning |
| 9 | statement; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Part III of chapter 331, Florida Statutes, |
| 14 | consisting of section 331.501, is created to read: |
| 15 | PART III |
| 16 | SPACEFLIGHT |
| 17 | 331.501 Suborbital spaceflight; informed consent.-- |
| 18 | (1) For purposes of this section, the term: |
| 19 | (a) "Participant" means any person, passenger, or crew |
| 20 | member participating in spaceflight activities. |
| 21 | (b) "Spaceflight activities" means any activities |
| 22 | necessary or antecedent to preparing, launching, carrying, or |
| 23 | landing a participant on a suborbital flight. |
| 24 | (c) "Spaceflight entity" means any public or private |
| 25 | entity holding a United States Federal Aviation Administration |
| 26 | launch, reentry, operator, or launch site license for suborbital |
| 27 | flight. |
| 28 | (d) "Suborbital flight" means a flight that is not |
| 29 | intended to complete an orbit around the earth and that has any |
| 30 | portion of its intended flight path at altitude equal to or |
| 31 | greater than 62.5 miles above the earth's mean sea level. |
| 32 | (2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a spaceflight |
| 33 | entity is not liable for injury to or death of a participant |
| 34 | resulting from the inherent risks of spaceflight launch |
| 35 | activities, so long as the warning contained in subsection (3) |
| 36 | is distributed and signed as required. Except as provided in |
| 37 | paragraph (b), no participant or participant's representative |
| 38 | may maintain an action against or recover from a spaceflight |
| 39 | entity for the loss, damage, or death of the participant |
| 40 | resulting exclusively from any of the inherent risks of |
| 41 | spaceflight activities; provided that, in any action for damages |
| 42 | against a spaceflight entity for spaceflight activities, the |
| 43 | spaceflight entity shall plead the affirmative defense of |
| 44 | assumption of the risk of spaceflight activities by the |
| 45 | participant. |
| 46 | (b) Nothing in paragraph (a) shall prevent or limit the |
| 47 | liability of a spaceflight entity if the spaceflight entity does |
| 48 | any one or more of the following: |
| 49 | 1. Commits an act or omission that constitutes gross |
| 50 | negligence or willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the |
| 51 | participant and that act or omission proximately causes injury, |
| 52 | damage, or death to the participant; |
| 53 | 2. Has actual knowledge or reasonably should have known of |
| 54 | a dangerous condition on the land or in the facilities or |
| 55 | equipment used in the spaceflight activities and the danger |
| 56 | proximately causes injury, damage, or death to the participant; |
| 57 | or |
| 58 | 3. Intentionally injures the participant. |
| 59 | (c) Any limitation on legal liability afforded by this |
| 60 | subsection to a spaceflight entity is in addition to any other |
| 61 | limitation of legal liability otherwise provided by law. |
| 62 | (3)(a) Every spaceflight entity providing spaceflight |
| 63 | activities to a participant, whether such activities occur on or |
| 64 | off a facility capable of launching a suborbital flight, shall |
| 65 | have each participant sign the warning statement specified in |
| 66 | paragraph (b). |
| 67 | (b) The warning statement described in paragraph (a) shall |
| 68 | contain, at a minimum, the following statement: |
| 69 | |
| 70 | "WARNING: Under Florida law, there is no liability for an |
| 71 | injury to or death of a participant in a spaceflight |
| 72 | activity provided by a spaceflight entity if such injury or |
| 73 | death results from the inherent risks of the spaceflight |
| 74 | activity. Inherent risks of spaceflight activities include, |
| 75 | among others, risks of injury to land, equipment, persons, |
| 76 | and animals, as well as the potential for you to act in a |
| 77 | negligent manner that may contribute to your injury or |
| 78 | death. You are assuming the risk of participating in this |
| 79 | spaceflight activity." |
| 80 |
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| 81 | (c) Failure to comply with the warning statement |
| 82 | requirements in this section shall prevent a spaceflight entity |
| 83 | from invoking the privileges of immunity provided by this |
| 84 | section. |
| 85 | Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2008. |