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Committee advances bill to extend winter-sports liability limits to Olympic venues
Summary
The Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee voted unanimously to recommend HB 541, which would apply liability limits like those for ski resorts to Utah Olympic Legacy venues, citing rising insurance costs and depleted endowment funds.
The House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to give a favorable recommendation to HB 541, the Olympic legacy liability amendments, which would expand the state—s winter-sports liability framework to include Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation venues.
Representative Hawkins, the bill sponsor, told the committee the bill creates a new section under the Olympic and Paralympic Games Act to "establish limits on liability to the same amount that our local ski resorts have under state law." He said the change is intended to protect venues that host national and international events and year-round athlete training.
Colin Hilton, president and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, described the financial pressures driving the proposal. He said the foundation—s endowment, created after the 2002 Winter Olympics, had fallen from about $75.76 million to roughly $40.41 million and that liability insurance costs for the foundation—s three venues had risen from about $300,000 a year to about $1.2 million. "Although accidents are rare, the ever increasing liability insurance costs associated with the operation of these venues has become prohibitively expensive," Hilton said.
Supporters told the committee the bill is narrowly tailored to apply only to venues that were financed or built with significant state support and that it adopts liability caps already in state law for ski resorts, extending them to ice and sliding sports and other Olympic winter sports operated at the Utah Olympic Park, the Olympic Oval in Kearns and the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Heber Valley.
Committee members asked how the proposal balances participant risk and venue responsibility; the sponsor and Hilton said participants assume inherent risks when they purchase tickets or train, and operators must continue to maintain safe conditions. Representative Schallenberger described the measure as a response to a litigious environment and said it aligns with practices in other countries where participants accept more personal risk.
Representative Jack moved approval of HB 541 out of committee with a favorable recommendation; the motion carried unanimously.
If enacted, the bill would not change venue safety obligations, sponsors said; it would align the venues— liability exposure with existing statutory caps that apply to ski resorts.
