Bill Text: NJ S2420 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Grants immunity from personal liability to certain athletic coaches, managers, and sports officials and establishes insurance requirements for certain organizations and entities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-07 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee [S2420 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S2420-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator PAUL A. SARLO
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Grants immunity from personal liability to certain athletic coaches, managers, and sports officials and establishes insurance requirements for certain organizations and entities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act granting immunity from personal liability to certain athletic coaches, managers, and officials and amending various sections of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1986, c.13 (C.2A:62A-6) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, no person who provides services or assistance [free of charge, except for reimbursement of expenses] , whether or not compensated for those services, as an athletic coach, manager, or official, other than a sports official accredited by a voluntary association as provided by P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3) and exempted from liability pursuant to P.L.1987, c.239 (C.2A:62A-6.1), for a sports team which is organized or performing pursuant to a nonprofit or similar charter [or] , which is a member team in a league organized by or affiliated with a county or municipal recreation department, or which is a member team of a voluntary association as provided by section 1 of P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3), shall be personally liable in any civil action for damages to a player, participant or spectator as a result of his acts of commission or omission arising out of and in the course of his rendering that service or assistance.
b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall apply not only to organized sports competitions, but shall also apply to practice and instruction in that sport.
c. (1) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to grant immunity to any person causing damage by his willful, wanton, or grossly negligent act of commission or omission, nor to any coach, manager, or official who has not participated in a safety orientation and training skills program which program shall include but not be limited to injury prevention and first aid procedures and general coaching concepts.
(2) A coach, manager, or official shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of this subsection if the safety orientation and skills training program attended by the person has met the minimum standards established by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in consultation with the Bureau of Recreation within the Department of Community Affairs, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
d. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to grant immunity to any person causing damage as the result of his negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
e. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to grant immunity to any person for any damage caused by that person permitting a sports competition or practice to be conducted without supervision.
f. [Nothing in this act] This section shall apply to an [athletic coach, manager, or official] individual who provides services or assistance [as part of a public or private educational institution's athletic program] as an athletic coach, manager, or official for a public or nonpublic school in the State or a public or independent institution of higher education in the State.
g. Any insurance policy held by any organization or entity identified in subsections a. or f. of this section shall include liability coverage for any claim for damages to a player, participant, or spectator that results from an act of commission or omission arising out of and in the normal course of an athletic coach, manager, or official's duties.
(cf: P.L.1988, c.87, s.1)
2. Section 1 of P.L.1987, c.239 (C.2A:62A-6.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, a person who is accredited as a sports official by a voluntary association as provided by P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3) and who serves that association, a conference under the jurisdiction of the association, or a public entity as defined in Title 59 of the New Jersey Statutes in the capacity of a sports official, whether or not compensated for his services, shall not be liable in any action for damages as a result of his acts of commission or omission arising out of and in the course of his rendering the services. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to grant immunity to any person causing damage by his willful, wanton, or grossly negligent act of commission or omission, nor to any person causing damage as the result of his negligent operation of a motor vehicle.
Any insurance policy held by a voluntary association as provided by P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3), a conference under the jurisdiction of the association, or a public entity as defined in Title 59 of the New Jersey Statutes shall include liability coverage for any claim for damages to a player, participant, or spectator that results from an act of commission or omission arising out of and in the normal course of an accredited sports official's duties.
(cf: P.L.1987, c.239, s.1)
3. Section 3 of P.L.1987, c.324 (C.18A:11-6) is amended to read as follows:
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of P.L.1952, c.335 (C.2A:53A-1 et seq.), P.L.1973, c.146 (C.2A:15-5.1 et seq.) or any other law to the contrary, in any case where a voluntary association as provided by P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3), any athletic conference operating under the jurisdiction of that association or any employee of the association or conference acting within the scope of his employment is determined to be a tortfeasor in any cause of action along with one or more other tortfeasors, the association, conference or employee shall be liable for no more than that percentage share of the damages which is equal to the percentage of the negligence attributable to that association, conference or employee. In any case where the voluntary association, conference or employee is determined to be a joint tortfeasor, the voluntary association, conference or employee shall be required to contribute to a joint tortfeasor only to the extent of the recovery provided for under this section.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit the immunity provided to an athletic coach, manager, or official under section 1 of P.L.1986, c.13 (C.2A:62A-6) or an accredited sports official under section 1 of P.L.1987, c.239 (C.2A:62A-6.1).
(cf: P.L.1987, c.324, s.3)
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current law, section 1 of P.L.1986, c.13 (C.2A:62A-6), an individual who provides services or assistance free of charge as an athletic coach, manager, or official, other than an accredited sports official exempted from liability pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1987, c.239 (C.2A:62A-6.1), for a sports team which is organized or performing pursuant to a nonprofit or similar charter or which is a member team in a league organized by or affiliated with a county or municipal recreation department is immune from liability in any civil action for damages to a player, participant, or spectator as a result of the acts of commission or omission arising out of and in the course of the athletic coach, manager, or official's rendering of those services or assistance. Under this bill, these individuals would be provided the immunity whether or not they are compensated. The bill also provides the immunity to individuals providing services or assistance to teams which are members of a voluntary association as provided by section 1 of P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3).
This bill would provide immunity from personal liability to an athletic coach, manager, or official who provides services or assistance to a public or nonpublic school or a public or independent institution of higher education in the State. Section 1 of P.L.1986, c.13 (C.2A:62A-6) currently states that an athletic coach, manager, or official who provides services to a public or private educational institution's athletic program is not entitled to immunity from the liability provided under the section.
This bill would require that the insurance policy held by an organization, entity, or voluntary association that utilizes the services or assistance of an athletic coach, manager, official, or accredited sports official include liability coverage for any claim for damages to a player, participant, or spectator that results from an act of commission or omission arising out of and in the normal course of an athletic coach, manager, official, or accredited sport official's duties. Under current law, section 3 of P.L.1987, c.324 (C.18A:11-6), a voluntary association as provided by section 1 of P.L.1979, c.172 (C.18A:11-3), any athletic conference operating under the jurisdiction of that association, or any employee of the association or conference acting within the scope of his employment that is determined to be a tortfeasor or joint tortfeasor can be liable for a percentage of damages equal to, but not more than, the percentage of negligence attributable to the association, conference, or employee. This bill clarifies that nothing in section 3 of P.L.1987, c.324 (C.18A:11-6) is intended to limit the immunity provided to an athletic coach, manager or official under section 1 of P.L.1986, c.13 (C.2A:62A-6) or an accredited sports official under section 1 of P.L.1987, c.239 (C.2A:62A-6.1).
