Test Drive Our New Site! We have some improvements in the works that we're excited for you to experience. Click here to try our new, faster, mobile friendly beta site. We will be maintaining our current version of the site thru the end of 2024, so you can switch back as our improvements continue.
Legislation Quick Search
Advanced Search
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/19/2024 01:14 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=39524
Share:
Home / House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 26, 2023 08:44 AM
From: Representative James B. Struzzi, II and Rep. Martina A. White, Rep. Perry S. Warren, Rep. Robert Freeman
To: All House members
Subject: Amending the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act for Limited Liability Protections for Volunteers and Volunteer Organizations
 
In the near future, we plan to introduce legislation that will amend the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act to provide protections for volunteers, volunteer organizations, and those that landowners invite onto their property in order to improve the property for recreational use.

RULWA was created to encourage landowners to make land and water areas available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting liability to the landowners. Our amendment will extend that limited liability protection to volunteers, volunteer organizations, and those who the landowner invites onto their property who “without compensation, provide services to care for, enhance, preserve, restore or maintain land for recreational purposes.”

Several organizations in Pennsylvania  have been swept up in lawsuits filed against landowners where they volunteer, but that have nothing to do with the volunteers and volunteer organizations themselves, or their volunteer work. Situations of this type make it impossible, or nearly impossible, for these non-profit volunteer organizations to obtain reasonable liability insurance, putting their beneficial volunteer operations at risk. The increasing costs of liability insurance has become a burden for friends’ groups and others who give so much to our communities.

This bill will be identical to the version of House Bill 1694 that unanimously passed the House of Representatives last session. The bill has the support of over 80 organizations around the Commonwealth including the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, Trout Unlimited, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen and Conservationists, Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society, and the Fairmount Park Conservancy.
 
Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation.
 


Introduced as HB33