Utah Senate weighs broad volunteer immunity bill amid debate about litigation and insurance

Senators spent a large portion of the Feb. 20 floor session debating two measures intended to protect volunteers from civil liability while balancing injured parties’ access to remedies.

Senator Michael Taylor, sponsor of Senate Bill 54, described the bill as a way to encourage volunteerism and to provide limited immunity for volunteers and for donors who give food directly to needy people. Taylor said the bill protects only against simple negligence, excludes gross negligence and willful misconduct, and lowers nonprofit insurance thresholds so more organizations can qualify for immunity. He also proposed a market-assisted program (MAP) to provide a last-resort insurance layer for independent volunteers.

Why it matters: Supporters said rising insurance costs have deterred some nonprofits from obtaining volunteers’ coverage and that a practical insurance solution is needed to preserve volunteer services statewide. Opponents, including Senator Hilliard, warned the changes could attract litigation and questioned whether the bill’s legislative findings are supported by evidence. Hilliard said, “We are making it harder and harder and harder for people to just plain be good Samaritans and good neighbors,” arguing the current statutory posture and court precedent merit caution.

Key debate and evidence: Senators raised constitutional and practical questions. Hilliard and other skeptics noted a constitutional risk tied to the Utah Supreme Court’s Condemarren line of cases and questioned whether the bill’s legislative findings are adequately supported. Senator Taylor responded that actuarial surveys of state and charitable organizations showed potential volunteer losses and estimated replacement costs for lost volunteer labor, and said modest insurance pools could be created to cover the small number of likely claims.

Vote and outcome: The Senate advanced the proposals. The clerk announced that the second substitute for SB 54 was set for the third-reading calendar after recorded roll-call results (clerk’s announcement recorded the tally as 18 aye, 9 nay, 4 absent). A narrower companion, SB 157, which focuses on nonprofit-corporation volunteers and has no fiscal note, passed to third reading with 25 aye votes and no recorded nays.

Next steps: Both bills were placed on the third-reading calendar for final consideration. Sponsors and critics signaled intent to continue refining insurance thresholds and to consider amendments narrowing or clarifying coverage for independent volunteers.

Attribution: Quotations and attributions in this article come from floor remarks by Senator Michael Taylor and Senator Hilliard during the Feb. 20, 1998 Senate floor session.

Ending: The Senate recessed after its morning business; both volunteer-immunity measures remained on the calendar for further action later in the session.