,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dbdf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ac1 #bjad    
,mr4 ,reichert 7for himself1 ,mr4       
,matheson1 and ,mr4 ,gary ,g4 ,miller of
 ,california7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to provide construction1 architectural1
 and engineering entities with qualified
 immunity from liability for negligence 
when providing services or equipment on 
a volunteer basis in response to a      
declared emergency or disaster4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,good ,samaritan ,protection for    
,construction1 ,architectural1 and      
,engineering ,volunteers ,act4  #b4     
,findings ,the ,congress finds the      
following3  7#a7 ,the construction1     
architectural1 and engineering          
industries provide a valuable service in
 times of disasters and emergencies4    
7#b7 ,the construction1 architectural1  
and engineering industries answered the 

call on ,september #aa1 #bjja1 and the  
days afterwards to assist in the search1
 recovery1 and clean-up efforts in ,new 
,york ,city and ,arlington1 ,virginia1  
as well as in the aftermath of          
,hurricane ,katrina4  7#c7 ,the         
expertise and equipment brought forth   
for the search1 recovery1 and other     
efforts greatly advanced and improved   
the efficiency of these efforts4  7#d7  
,such efforts by the construction1      
architectural1 and engineering          
industries make it safer for police1    
firefighters1 and other rescue workers  
to work on search and recovery efforts4 
7#e7 ,the services provided by the      
construction1 architectural1 and        
engineering industries improve the      
safety of the public by the assessment1 
containment1 and mitigation of          
conditions that threaten life and       
property4  7#f7 ,construction companies 
and architectural and engineering       
entities were faced with lawsuits as a  
result of their voluntary efforts on    

behalf of their fellow citizens in ,new 
,york ,city and the ,gulf ,coast4  7#g7 
,providing construction contractors and 
architectural and engineering entities  
qualified immunity from liability when  
providing services in this type of      
volunteer activity helps to ensure that 
such services will be available in the  
future in times of need4  #c4 ,provision
 of qualified immunity from liability   
for negligence to construction1         
architectural1 and engineering entities 
when providing services or equipment on 
a volunteer basis in response to a      
declared emergency or disaster  7a7     
,liability protection ,when a           
construction entity provides emergency  
construction assistance1 or an          
architectural or engineering entity     
provides emergency architectural or     
engineering assistance1 on a voluntary  
basis1 in good faith1 and without       
expectation of compensation1 and the    
entity or an employee of such entity    
negligently causes harm1 the entity and 

the employee1 if applicable1 are not    
jointly1 severally1 or individually     
liable in damages for that harm4        
,nothing in this section shall be       
construed as providing immunity for     
gross negligence or willful misconduct4 
7b7 ,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7
 ,the term construction entity means a  
person1 sole proprietorship1            
partnership1 limited liability company1 
or corporation in the regular business  
of providing construction assistance4   
7#b7 ,the term architectural or         
engineering entity means a person1 sole 
proprietorship1 partnership1 limited    
liability company1 or corporation in the
 regular business of providing          
architectural or engineering assistance4
  7#c7 ,the term construction assistance
 means materials1 labor1 equipment1 or  
services for construction-related       
activities1 including construction1     
demolition1 repair1 clean-up1           
alteration1 and remediation4  7#d7 ,the 
term architectural or engineering       

assistance means professional services  
of an architectural or engineering      
nature1 as defined by ,state law1 if    
applicable1 that are required to be     
performed or approved by a licensed     
professional architect or engineer4     
7#e7 ,the terms emergency construction  
assistance and emergency architectural  
or engineering assistance mean          
construction assistance and             
architectural or engineering assistance1
 respectively1 provided--  7,a7 at the  
direction of a public official acting in
 an official capacity2 and  7,b7 in     
response to or arising out of a declared
 ,federal1 ,state1 or local emergency or
 disaster1 whether the assistance is    
provided before or after the formal     
declaration of emergency or disaster4   
7c7 ,relationship to ,state law  7#a7   
,preemption ,this section preempts the  
laws of any ,state to the extent that   
such laws are inconsistent with this    
section1 except that it does not        
preclude a ,state from providing a      

higher amount of protection from        
liability1 or from providing            
reimbursement for costs or expenses as  
authorized by ,state or local law4  7#b7
 ,workers compensation ,this section    
does not apply to liability under       
workers compensation laws4