SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Volunteer Protection Act of 1997'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) FINDINGS-- The Congress finds and declares that--

(1) the willingness of volunteers to offer their services is deterred
by the potential for liability actions against them;

(2) as a result, many nonprofit public and private organizations and
governmental entities, including voluntary associations, social
service agencies, educational institutions, and other civic programs,
have been adversely affected by the withdrawal of volunteers from
boards of directors and service in other capacities;

(3) the contribution of these programs to their communities is thereby
diminished, resulting in fewer and higher cost programs than would be
obtainable if volunteers were participating;

(4) because Federal funds are expended on useful and cost-effective
social service programs, many of which are national in scope, depend
heavily on volunteer participation, and represent some of the most
successful public-private partnerships, protection of volunteerism
through clarification and limitation of the personal liability risks
assumed by the volunteer in connection with such participation is an
appropriate subject for Federal legislation;

(5) services and goods provided by volunteers and nonprofit
organizations would often otherwise be provided by private entities
that operate in interstate commerce;

(6) due to high liability costs and unwarranted litigation costs,
volunteers and nonprofit organizations face higher costs in purchasing
insurance, through interstate insurance markets, to cover their
activities; and

(7) clarifying and limiting the liability risk assumed by volunteers
is an appropriate subject for Federal legislation because--

(A) of the national scope of the problems created by the
legitimate fears of volunteers about frivolous, arbitrary, or
capricious lawsuits;

(B) the citizens of the United States depend on, and the Federal
Government expends funds on, and provides tax exemptions and
other consideration to, numerous social programs that depend on
the services of volunteers;

(C) it is in the interest of the Federal Government to encourage
the continued operation of volunteer service organizations and
contributions of volunteers because the Federal Government lacks
the capacity to carry out all of the services provided by such
organizations and volunteers; and

(D)(i) liability reform for volunteers, will promote the free
flow of goods and services, lessen burdens on interstate commerce
and uphold constitutionally protected due process rights; and

(ii) therefore, liability reform is an appropriate use of the
powers contained in article 1, section 8, clause 3 of the United
States Constitution, and the fourteenth amendment to the United
States Constitution.

(b) PURPOSE- The purpose of this Act is to promote the interests of social
service program beneficiaries and taxpayers and to sustain the availability
of programs, nonprofit organizations, and governmental entities that depend
on volunteer contributions by reforming the laws to provide certain
protections from liability abuses related to volunteers serving nonprofit
organizations and governmental entities.

SEC. 3. PREEMPTION AND ELECTION OF STATE NONAPPLICABILITY.

(a) PREEMPTION-- This Act preempts the laws of any State to the extent that
such laws are inconsistent with this Act, except that this Act shall not
preempt any State law that provides additional protection from liability
relating to volunteers or to any category of volunteers in the performance
of services for a nonprofit organization or governmental entity.

(b) ELECTION OF STATE REGARDING NONAPPLICABILITY- This Act shall not apply
to any civil action in a State court against a volunteer in which all
parties are citizens of the State if such State enacts a statute in
accordance with State requirements for enacting legislation--

(1) citing the authority of this subsection;

(2) declaring the election of such State that this Act shall not
apply, as of a date certain, to such civil action in the State; and

(3) containing no other provisions.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTEERS.

(a) LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR VOLUNTEERS- Except as provided in subsections
(b) and (d), no volunteer of a nonprofit organization or governmental
entity shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of the
volunteer on behalf of the organization or entity if--

(1) the volunteer was acting within the scope of the volunteer's
responsibilities in the nonprofit organization or governmental entity
at the time of the act or omission;

(2) if appropriate or required, the volunteer was properly licensed,
certified, or authorized by the appropriate authorities for the
activities or practice in the State in which the harm occurred, where
the activities were or practice was undertaken within the scope of the
volunteer's responsibilities in the nonprofit organization or
governmental entity;

(3) the harm was not caused by willful or criminal missconduct, gross
negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference
to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer; and

(4) the harm was not caused by the volunteer operating a motor
vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other vehicle for which the State
requires the operator or the owner of the vehicle, craft, or vessel
to--

(A) possess an operator's license; or

(B) maintain insurance.

(b) CONCERNING RESPONSIBILITY OF VOLUNTEERS TO ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES-
Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any civil action
brought by any nonprofit organization or any governmental entity against
any volunteer of such organization or entity.

(c) NO EFFECT ON LIABILITY OF ORGANIZATION OR ENTITY- Nothing in this
section shall be construed to affect the liability of any nonprofit
organization or governmental entity with respect to harm caused to any
person.

(d) EXCEPTIONS TO VOLUNTEER LIABILITY PROTECTION- If the laws of a State
limit volunteer liability subject to one or more of the following
conditions, such conditions shall not be construed as inconsistent with
this section:

(1) A State law that requires a nonprofit organization or governmental
entity to adhere to risk management procedures, including mandatory
training of volunteers.

(2) A State law that makes the organization or entity liable for the
acts or omissions of its volunteers to the same extent as an employer
is liable for the acts or omissions of its employees.

(3) A State law that makes a limitation of liability inapplicable if
the civil action was brought by an officer of a State or local
government pursuant to State or local law.

(4) A State law that makes a limitation of liability applicable only
if the nonprofit organization or governmental entity provides a
financially secure source of recovery for individuals who suffer harm
as a result of actions taken by a volunteer on behalf of the
organization or entity. A financially secure source of recovery may be
an insurance policy within specified limits, comparable coverage from
a risk pooling mechanism, equivalent assets, or alternative
arrangements that satisfy the State that the organization or entity
will be able to pay for losses up to a specified amount. Separate
standards for different types of liability exposure may be specified.

(e) LIMITATION ON PUNITIVE DAMAGES BASED ON THE ACTIONS OF VOLUNTEERS-

(1) GENERAL RULE-- Punitive damages may not be awarded against a
volunteer in an action brought for harm based on the action of a
volunteer acting within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities
to a nonprofit organization or governmental entity unless the claimant
establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm was
proximately caused by an action of such volunteer which constitutes
willful or criminal misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference
to the rights or safety of the individual harmed.

(2) CONSTRUCTION- Paragraph (1) does not create a cause of action for
punitive damages and does not preempt or supersede any Federal or
State law to the extent that such law would further limit the award of
punitive damages.

(f) EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY--

(1) IN GENERAL- The limitations on the liability of a volunteer under
this Act shall not apply to any misconduct that--

(A) constitutes a crime of violence (as that term is defined in
section 16 of title 18, United States Code) or act of
international terrorism (as that term is defined in section 2331
of title 18) for which the defendant has been convicted in any
court;

(B) constitutes a hate crime (as that term is used in the Hate
Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note));

(C) involves a sexual offense, as defined by applicable State
law, for which the defendant has been convicted in any court;

(D) involves misconduct for which the defendant has been found to
have violated a Federal or State civil rights law; or

(E) where the defendant was under the influence (as determined
pursuant to applicable State law) of intoxicating alcohol or any
drug at the time of the misconduct.

(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to effect subsection (a)(3) or (e).

SEC. 5. LIABILITY FOR NONECONOMIC LOSS.

(a) GENERAL RULE- In any civil action against a volunteer, based on an
action of a volunteer acting within the scope of the volunteer's
responsibilities to a nonprofit organization or governmental entity, the
liability of the volunteer for noneconomic loss shall be determined in
accordance with subsection (b).

(b) AMOUNT OF LIABILITY-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each defendant who is a volunteer, shall be liable
only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in
direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that
defendant (determined in accordance with paragraph (2)) for the harm
to the claimant with respect to which that defendant is liable. The
court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant in an
amount determined pursuant to the preceding sentence.

(2) PERCENTAGE OF RESPONSIBILITY- For purposes of determining the
amount of noneconomic loss allocated to a defendant who is a volunteer
under this section, the trier of fact shall determine the percentage
of responsibility of that defendant for the claimant's harm.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of this Act:

(1) ECONOMIC LOSS- The term `economic loss' means any pecuniary loss
resulting from harm (including the loss of earnings or other benefits
related to employment, medical expense loss, replacement services
loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or
employment opportunities) to the extent recovery for such loss is
allowed under applicable State law.

(2) HARM- The term `harm' includes physical, nonphysical, economic,
and noneconomic losses.

(3) NONECONOMIC LOSSES- The term `noneconomic losses' means losses for
physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical
impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life,
loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium (other than loss
of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation and all
other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature.

(4) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION- The term `nonprofit organization' means--

(A) any organization which is described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under
section 501(a) of such Code and which does not practice any
action which constitutes a hate crime referred to in subsection
(b)(1) of the first section of the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28
U.S.C. 534 note); or

(B) any not-for-profit organization which is organized and
conducted for public benefit and operated primarily for
charitable, civic, educational, religious, welfare, or health
purposes and which does not practice any action which constitutes
a hate crime referred to in subsection (b)(1) of the first
section of the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note).

(5) STATE- The term `State' means each of the several States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, any other
territory or possession of the United States, or any political
subdivision of any such State, territory, or possession.

(6) VOLUNTEER- The term `volunteer' means an individual performing
services for a nonprofit organization or a governmental entity who
does not receive--

(A) compensation (other than reasonable reimbursement or
allowance for expenses actually incurred); or

(B) any other thing of value in lieu of compensation, in excess
of $500 per year, and such term includes a volunteer serving as a
director, officer, trustee, or direct service volunteer.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

(a) IN GENERAL- This Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.

(b) APPLICATION- This Act applies to any claim for harm caused by an act or
omission of a volunteer where that claim is filed on or after the effective
date of this Act but only if the harm that is the subject of the claim or
the conduct that caused such harm occurred after such effective date.

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