Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 422 (2021GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Brammer, B.

Final action

House/ filed 3/5/2021

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• provides that a political subdivision is liable for injury or damage resulting from a riot or civil disturbance if the political subdivision's chief executive officer directed law enforcement officers not to protect private property or individuals during the riot or civil disturbance; and
• establishes an affirmative defense for political subdivision liability.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

This document includes House Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 4:55 PM by pflowers.
POLITICAL SUBDIVISION CIVIL LIABILITY
AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Brady Brammer
Senate Sponsor: 
 Kirk A. Cullimore
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions related to civil liability for political subdivisions.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ provides that a political subdivision is liable for injury or damage resulting from a
riot or civil disturbance if the political subdivision's chief executive officer directed
law enforcement officers not to protect private property or individuals during the
riot or civil disturbance; and
▸ establishes an affirmative defense for political subdivision liability.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63G-7-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 288, 338, and 365
ENACTS:
11-65-101
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
11-65-102
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
11-65-201
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
11-65-101
 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 65. POLITICAL SUBDIVISION RIOT LIABILITY ACT
Part 1. General Provisions
 11-65-101.
Title.
This chapter is known as "Political Subdivision Riot Liability Act."
Section 2. Section 
11-65-102
 is enacted to read:
 11-65-102.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Chief executive officer" means the same as that term is defined in Section
11-51-102
.
(2) "Political subdivision" means a county, city, town, or metro township.
Section 3. Section 
11-65-201
 is enacted to read:
Part 2. Political Subdivision Riot Liability
 11-65-201.
Political subdivision civil liability for injury or damage resulting from
riot -- Affirmative defense.
(1) A political subdivision is liable in a civil action for personal injury or property
damage resulting from a riot or civil disturbance that occurs within the boundaries of the
political subdivision if a plaintiff shows by clear and convincing evidence that:
(a) the chief executive officer of the political subdivision, acting within the scope of
chief executive officer's official duties, directed law enforcement officers not to protect private
property or individuals during the riot or civil disturbance; and
(b) the plaintiff suffered the injury or damages as a result of the riot or civil
disturbance
Ĥ→ 
and did not participate in the riot or civil disturbance
 ←Ĥ
.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to liability under Subsection (1) that the chief executive
officer directed law enforcement not to protect private property or individuals during the riot or
civil disturbance to prevent an imminent threat to the safety of law enforcement officers.
Section 4. Section 
63G-7-301
 is amended to read:
63G-7-301.
Waivers of immunity.
(1) (a) Immunity from suit of each governmental entity is waived as to any contractual
obligation.
(b) Actions arising out of contractual rights or obligations are not subject to the
requirements of Section 
63G-7-401
, 
63G-7-402
, 
63G-7-403
, or 
63G-7-601
.
(c) The Division of Water Resources is not liable for failure to deliver water from a
reservoir or associated facility authorized by Title 73, Chapter 26, Bear River Development
Act, if the failure to deliver the contractual amount of water is due to drought, other natural
condition, or safety condition that causes a deficiency in the amount of available water.
(2) Immunity from suit of each governmental entity is waived:
(a) as to any action brought to recover, obtain possession of, or quiet title to real or
personal property;
(b) as to any action brought to foreclose mortgages or other liens on real or personal
property, to determine any adverse claim on real or personal property, or to obtain an
adjudication about any mortgage or other lien that the governmental entity may have or claim
on real or personal property;
(c) as to any action based on the negligent destruction, damage, or loss of goods,
merchandise, or other property while it is in the possession of any governmental entity or
employee, if the property was seized for the purpose of forfeiture under any provision of state
law;
(d) subject to Subsection 
63G-7-302
(1), as to any action brought under the authority of
Utah Constitution, Article I, Section 22, for the recovery of compensation from the
governmental entity when the governmental entity has taken or damaged private property for
public uses without just compensation;
(e) subject to Subsection 
63G-7-302
(2), as to any action brought to recover attorney
fees under Sections 
63G-2-405
 and 
63G-2-802
;
(f) for actual damages under Title 67, Chapter 21, Utah Protection of Public Employees
Act;
(g) as to any action brought to obtain relief from a land use regulation that imposes a
substantial burden on the free exercise of religion under Title 63L, Chapter 5, Utah Religious
Land Use Act;
(h) except as provided in Subsection 
63G-7-201
(3), as to any injury caused by:
(i) a defective, unsafe, or dangerous condition of any highway, road, street, alley,
crosswalk, sidewalk, culvert, tunnel, bridge, viaduct, or other structure located on them; or
(ii) any defective or dangerous condition of a public building, structure, dam, reservoir,
or other public improvement;
(i) subject to Subsections 
63G-7-101
(4) and 
63G-7-201
(4), as to any injury
proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of an employee committed within the scope
of employment; [
and
]
(j) notwithstanding Subsection 
63G-7-101
(4), as to a claim for an injury resulting from
a sexual battery, as provided in Section 
76-9-702.1
, committed:
(i) against a student of a public elementary or secondary school, including a charter
school; and
(ii) by an employee of a public elementary or secondary school or charter school who:
(A) at the time of the sexual battery, held a position of special trust, as defined in
Section 
76-5-404.1
, with respect to the student;
(B) is criminally charged in connection with the sexual battery; and
(C) the public elementary or secondary school or charter school knew or in the exercise
of reasonable care should have known, at the time of the employee's hiring, to be a sex
offender, as defined in Section 
77-41-102
, required to register under Title 77, Chapter 41, Sex
and Kidnap Offender Registry, whose status as a sex offender would have been revealed in a
background check under Section 
53G-11-402
[
.
]
; and
(k) as to a claim against a political subdivision for personal injury or property damage
resulting from a riot or civil disturbance, as provided in Section 
11-65-201
.
(3) (a) As used in this Subsection (3):
(i) "Code of conduct" means a code of conduct that:
(A) is not less stringent than a model code of conduct, created by the State Board of
Education, establishing a professional standard of care for preventing the conduct described in
Subsection (3)(a)(i)(D);
(B) is adopted by the applicable local education governing body;
(C) regulates behavior of a school employee toward a student; and
(D) includes a prohibition against any sexual conduct between an employee and a
student and against the employee and student sharing any sexually explicit or lewd
communication, image, or photograph.
(ii) "Local education agency" means:
(A) a school district;
(B) a charter school; or
(C) the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(iii) "Local education governing board" means:
(A) for a school district, the local school board;
(B) for a charter school, the charter school governing board; or
(C) for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the state board.
(iv) "Public school" means a public elementary or secondary school.
(v) "Sexual abuse" means the offense described in Subsection 
76-5-404.1
(2).
(vi) "Sexual battery" means the offense described in Section 
76-9-702.1
, considering
the term "child" in that section to include an individual under age 18.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection 
63G-7-101
(4), immunity from suit is waived as to a
claim against a local education agency for an injury resulting from a sexual battery or sexual
abuse committed against a student of a public school by a paid employee of the public school
who is criminally charged in connection with the sexual battery or sexual abuse, unless:
(i) at the time of the sexual battery or sexual abuse, the public school was subject to a
code of conduct; and
(ii) before the sexual battery or sexual abuse occurred, the public school had:
(A) provided training on the code of conduct to the employee; and
(B) required the employee to sign a statement acknowledging that the employee has
read and understands the code of conduct.
(4) (a) As used in this Subsection (4):
(i) "Higher education institution" means an institution included within the state system
of higher education under Section 
53B-1-102
.
(ii) "Policy governing behavior" means a policy adopted by a higher education
institution or the Utah Board of Higher Education that:
(A) establishes a professional standard of care for preventing the conduct described in
Subsections (4)(a)(ii)(C) and (D);
(B) regulates behavior of a special trust employee toward a subordinate student;
(C) includes a prohibition against any sexual conduct between a special trust employee
and a subordinate student; and
(D) includes a prohibition against a special trust employee and subordinate student
sharing any sexually explicit or lewd communication, image, or photograph.
(iii) "Sexual battery" means the offense described in Section 
76-9-702.1
.
(iv) "Special trust employee" means an employee of a higher education institution who
is in a position of special trust, as defined in Section 
76-5-404.1
, with a higher education
student.
(v) "Subordinate student" means a student:
(A) of a higher education institution; and
(B) whose educational opportunities could be adversely impacted by a special trust
employee.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection 
63G-7-101
(4), immunity from suit is waived as to a
claim for an injury resulting from a sexual battery committed against a subordinate student by a
special trust employee, unless:
(i) the institution proves that the special trust employee's behavior that otherwise would
constitute a sexual battery was:
(A) with a subordinate student who was at least 18 years old at the time of the
behavior; and
(B) with the student's consent; or
(ii) (A) at the time of the sexual battery, the higher education institution was subject to
a policy governing behavior; and
(B) before the sexual battery occurred, the higher education institution had taken steps
to implement and enforce the policy governing behavior.