Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 125 First Substitute (2018GS)

Sponsor

Rep. King, Brian S.

Final action

House/ filed 3/8/2018

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• makes it a class B misdemeanor to fail to provide assistance in the event of a crime or another emergency;
• amends provisions of the Good Samaritan Act to provide immunity from liability to a person who provides assistance in accordance with the requirements of this bill; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

DUTY TO ASSIST IN AN EMERGENCY
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Brian S. King
Senate Sponsor: 
____________
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill relates to the duty to assist in an emergency.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ makes it a class B misdemeanor to fail to provide assistance in the event of a crime
or another emergency;
▸ amends provisions of the Good Samaritan Act to provide immunity from liability to
a person who provides assistance in accordance with the requirements of this bill;
and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
78B-4-501
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 3
ENACTS:
76-9-1101
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Part 11. Failure to Provide Assistance
Section 1. Section 
76-9-1101
 is enacted to read:
 76-9-1101.
Failure to provide assistance.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) (i) "Assistance" means action that is reasonably likely to reduce the likelihood of an
individual suffering serious bodily injury, reduce the extent to which an individual suffers
serious bodily injury, or treat an individual who has suffered serious bodily injury.
(ii) "Assistance" includes contacting paramedics, fire protection, law enforcement, or
other appropriate emergency services.
(iii) "Assistance" does not include action that places the individual taking the action, or
another individual, in danger.
(b) "Emergency" means:
(i) that an individual is suffering from serious bodily injury and is in need of
assistance; or
(ii) an unexpected occurrence that is likely to result in serious bodily injury.
(c) "Serious bodily injury" means injury that involves a substantial risk of death,
unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted
loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
(2) An individual is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if the individual:
(a) knows that a crime is about to be committed, is being committed, or has been
committed, or knows that an emergency is occurring or has occurred;
(b) knows that another individual has suffered serious bodily injury or is about to suffer
serious bodily injury resulting from the crime or emergency;
(c) is able to provide reasonable assistance to the individual described in Subsection
(2)(b); and
(d) fails to provide reasonable assistance to the individual described in Subsection
(2)(b).
(3) An individual is not guilty of violating Subsection (2) if another individual has
already provided or is providing reasonable assistance to the individual described in Subsection
(2)(b).
Section 2. Section 
78B-4-501
 is amended to read:
78B-4-501.
Good Samaritan Act.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Emergency" means an unexpected occurrence involving injury, threat of injury, or
illness to a person or the public, including motor vehicle accidents, disasters, actual or
threatened discharges, removal, or disposal of hazardous materials, and other accidents or
events of a similar nature.
(b) "Emergency care" includes actual assistance or advice offered to avoid, mitigate, or
attempt to mitigate the effects of an emergency.
[
(1)
] 
(2)
 A person who renders emergency care at or near the scene of, or during
,
 an
emergency, gratuitously and in good faith
, or as required under Section 
76-9-1101
, is not liable
for any civil damages or penalties as a result of any act or omission by the person rendering the
emergency care, unless the person is grossly negligent or caused the emergency. [
As used in
this section, "emergency" means an unexpected occurrence involving injury, threat of injury, or
illness to a person or the public, including motor vehicle accidents, disasters, actual or
threatened discharges, removal, or disposal of hazardous materials, and other accidents or
events of a similar nature. "Emergency care" includes actual assistance or advice offered to
avoid, mitigate, or attempt to mitigate the effects of an emergency.
]
[
(2)
] 
(3)
 A person who gratuitously, and in good faith, assists governmental agencies or
political subdivisions in the activities described in Subsections [
(2)
] 
(3)
(a) through (c) is not
liable for any civil damages or penalties as a result of any act or omission unless the person
rendering assistance is grossly negligent in:
(a) implementing measures to control the causes of epidemic and communicable
diseases and other conditions significantly affecting the public health, or necessary to protect
the public health as set out in Title 26A, Chapter 1, Local Health Departments;
(b) investigating and controlling suspected bioterrorism and disease as set out in Title
26, Chapter 23b, Detection of Public Health Emergencies Act; and
(c) responding to a national, state, or local emergency, a public health emergency as
defined in Section 
26-23b-102
, or a declaration by the President of the United States or other
federal official requesting public health-related activities.
[
(3)
] 
(4)
 The immunity in Subsection [
(2)
] 
(3)
 is in addition to any immunity or
protection in state or federal law that may apply.
Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel