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Subcommittee advances 'Dolly Parton' bill limiting celebrity name liability
Summary
House Bill 22-72, described by its sponsor as a bill to allow celebrities to license their names without assuming liability for businesses that use them, was advanced to full judiciary after members clarified the measure does not shield owners who also operate venues where injuries occur.
Chairman Crawford described HB 22-72 (referred to in the hearing as the "Dolly Parton bill") as addressing how celebrities can license their name for products or businesses without being liable for operations they do not run. "This bill would take the liability off of them since they'd have nothing to do with the brewing or any of that kind of stuff," the sponsor said, explaining the legislation is similar to NIL arrangements.
Representative Johnson asked if the measure creates an unfair carve-out for celebrities and whether liability would remain if the celebrity owned the business and acted negligently; Crawford said the liability remains for owners who control the property, and the bill is intended to allow a name licensing arrangement without imposing operational liability on the named celebrity. The subcommittee adopted an amendment and voted 7–0 to send HB 22-72 to full judiciary.
