H.R. 6976 — Introduced in House

I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6976 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 22, 2020Mrs. Hartzler (for herself, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Banks, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Babin, Mr. Murphy of North Carolina, Mr. Flores, Mr. Conaway, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Allen, Mr. Budd, Mr. Norman, Mr. Walker, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Bishop of North Carolina, and Mr. Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide liability protection for nonprofit organizations during the COVID–19 outbreak, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Service Assurance Act of 2020. 2. Protection from liability for nonprofit organizations in certain civil actions relating to COVID–19 (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), a nonprofit organization shall not be liable under Federal or State law for any act or omission of the organization with respect to any harm arising from exposure to, or infection by, the virus that causes COVID–19 during a public health emergency with respect to COVID–19 declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). (b) Exception Subsection (a) does not apply if the harm was caused by an act or omission constituting willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the entity. (c) Preemption This section preempts the laws of a State or any political subdivision of a State to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with this section, unless such laws provide greater protection from liability. (d) Definition In this Act, the term nonprofit organization means an entity that is an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code (26 U.S.C. 501(a)).