US Congress Senate Bill 1684 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: Introduced on June 25 2015 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2015-06-25 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Pending: Senate Judiciary Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to expand liability protections to volunteer nonprofit organizations for harm caused by an act or omission of a volunteer on behalf of the organization. Prohibits such liability protections from applying if the organization: (1) would be liable under laws governing the direct or vicarious liability of organizations, and (2) expressly authorized the specific conduct constituting the act or omission. Bars such an organization from liability for harm caused by the organization, or a volunteer acting on its behalf, if the act or omission was at the request of, or pursuant to an authorization by, the federal government, a state government, or another governmental subdivision, provided that: (1) the requesting or authorizing governmental entity would have been immune from suit or from liability in damages if the entity had engaged in the act or omission itself or through an employee, agent, or independent contractor; or (2) any governmental employee, agent, or contractor who had engaged in the act or omission on behalf of the requesting or authorizing governmental entity would have been immune from suit or from liability in damages by virtue of immunity extended to individual governmental actors. Prohibits punitive damages from being awarded against a volunteer nonprofit organization for the actions of a volunteer within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities to the organization unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the organization itself expressly authorized the volunteer's action with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed. Sets forth factors to be considered to determine whether a nonprofit organization is presumed to be a volunteer nonprofit organization.

Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015

Sen. Mark Kirk [R-IL]

Sen. John Hoeven [R-ND]

Sen. Kelly Ayotte [R-NH]

Sen. Jerry Moran [R-KS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2015-06-25	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

HB2290 (Related) 2015-06-01 - Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1684/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s1684/BILLS-114s1684is.pdf