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Rep. Gwynn introduces HB 79 to restore first-responder immunity after recent Supreme Court ruling
Summary
Representative Gwynn presented HB 79 to clarify government immunity for emergency responders, saying a recent Utah Supreme Court decision narrowed 40 years of precedent; the bill passed unanimously out of committee and aims to protect responders who follow agency policy while excluding gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
Representative Gwynn introduced House Bill 79 on government immunity, framing it as a legislative clarification after a recent Utah Supreme Court decision that, he said, narrowed decades of precedent involving emergency medical services and first responders. "If an emergency responder is going to a medical call because someone called 911, and they do what they're supposed to be doing, regardless of the outcome, they should be immune," Gwynn said.
Gwynn told reporters the decision disrupted long-standing understandings that protected firefighters, EMS and other first responders when they act within agency policies, state law and accepted practices. He said HB 79 would restore that scope of immunity so long as…
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