Florida Senate - 2021                             CS for SB 1060
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Bradley
       
       
       
       
       
       590-02339-21                                          20211060c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to limitation of liability for
    3         voluntary engineering or architectural services;
    4         creating s. 768.38, F.S.; defining the term
    5         “structures specialist”; exempting engineers,
    6         architects, and structures specialists from liability
    7         for certain voluntary engineering or architectural
    8         services under certain circumstances; providing
    9         applicability; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 768.38, Florida Statutes, is created to
   14  read:
   15         768.38 Limitation of liability for certain voluntary
   16  engineering or architectural services.—
   17         (1) For the purposes of this section, the term “structures
   18  specialist” means a person who has been trained by, and holds a
   19  current certification from, the United States Army Corps of
   20  Engineers as a structures specialist.
   21         (2) An engineer as defined in s. 471.005, an architect as
   22  defined in s. 481.203, or a structures specialist, and any
   23  qualified business organization of such person, who voluntarily
   24  provides engineering or architectural services related to a
   25  declared federal, state, or local emergency may not be held
   26  liable for any personal injury, wrongful death, property damage,
   27  or other economic loss related to his or her acts or omissions
   28  in the performance of his or her services, unless the act or
   29  omission constituted gross negligence or willful misconduct.
   30         (3) The immunity from liability under this section also
   31  applies to any person who is licensed or registered as an
   32  engineer or architect in any other jurisdiction and who is
   33  rendering aid in this state as a member of a mobile support unit
   34  of another state.
   35         (4) The immunity from liability under this section applies
   36  only to services provided during, or within 90 calendar days
   37  after the end of, a declared federal, state, or local emergency.
   38         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.