I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3369

To provide immunity for nonprofit athletic organizations in lawsuits arising 

from claims of ordinary negligence relating to the passage or adoption 

of rules for athletic competitions and practices. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 21, 2003

Mr. SOUDER (for himself, Mr. WYNN, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. KELLER, and Mrs. MUSGRAVE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To provide immunity for nonprofit athletic organizations in 

lawsuits arising from claims of ordinary negligence relating to the passage or adoption of rules for athletic competitions and practices.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nonprofit Athletic Or5 ganization Protection Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 
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1 (1) ECONOMIC LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic 

2 loss’’ means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm 

3 (including the loss of earnings or other benefits re4 lated to employment, medical expense loss, replace5 ment services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, 

6 and loss of business or employment opportunities) to 

7 the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under ap8 plicable State law. 

9 (2) HARM.—The term ‘‘harm’’ includes phys10 ical, nonphysical, economic, and noneconomic losses. 

11 (3) NONECONOMIC LOSS.—The term ‘‘non12 economic loss’’ means any loss resulting from phys13 ical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, 

14 physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, 

15 loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and compan16 ionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of do17 mestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputa18 tion, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind 

19 or nature. 

20 (4) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

21 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means—

22 (A) any organization which is described in 

23 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

25 501(a) of such Code; or 
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1 (B) any not-for-profit organization which 

2 is organized and conducted for public benefit 

3 and operated primarily for charitable, civic, 

4 educational, religious, welfare, or health pur5 poses. 

6 (5) NONPROFIT ATHLETIC ORGANIZATION.—

7 The term ‘‘nonprofit athletic organization’’ means a 

8 nonprofit organization that has as one of its primary 

9 functions the adoption of rules for sanctioned or ap10 proved athletic competitions and practices. The term 

11 includes the employees, agents, and volunteers of 

12 such organization, provided such individuals are act13 ing within the scope of their duties with the non14 profit athletic organization. 

15 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

16 District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, terri17 tory, or possession of the United States. 

18 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR NONPROFIT ATH19 LETIC ORGANIZATIONS. 

20 (a) LIABILITY PROTECTION FOR NONPROFIT ATH21 LETIC ORGANIZATIONS.—Except as provided in sub22 sections (b) and (c), a nonprofit athletic organization shall 

23 not be liable for harm caused by an act or omission of 

24 the nonprofit athletic organization in the adoption of rules 
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1 for sanctioned or approved athletic competitions or prac2 tices if—

3 (1) the nonprofit athletic organization was act4 ing within the scope of the organization’s duties at 

5 the time of the adoption of the rules at issue; 

6 (2) the nonprofit athletic organization was, if 

7 required, properly licensed, certified, or authorized 

8 by the appropriate authorities for the competition or 

9 practice in the State in which the harm occurred or 

10 where the competition or practice was undertaken; 

11 and 

12 (3) the harm was not caused by willful or crimi13 nal misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless mis14 conduct on the part of the nonprofit athletic organi15 zation. 

16 (b) RESPONSIBILITY OF EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND

17 VOLUNTEERS TO NONPROFIT ATHLETIC ORGANIZA18 TIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to af19 fect any civil action brought by any nonprofit athletic or20 ganization against any employee, agent, or volunteer of 

21 such organization. 

22 (c) EXCEPTIONS TO NONPROFIT ATHLETIC ORGANI23 ZATION LIABILITY PROTECTION.—If the laws of a State 

24 limit nonprofit athletic organization liability subject to one 
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1 or more of the following conditions, such conditions shall 

2 not be construed as inconsistent with this section: 

3 (1) A State law that requires a nonprofit ath4 letic organization to adhere to risk management pro5 cedures, including mandatory training of its employ6 ees, agents, or volunteers. 

7 (2) A State law that makes the nonprofit ath8 letic organization liable for the acts or omissions of 

9 its employees, agents, and volunteers to the same ex10 tent as an employer is liable for the acts or omis11 sions of its employees. 

12 (3) A State law that makes a limitation of li13 ability inapplicable if the civil action was brought by 

14 an officer of a State or local government pursuant 

15 to State or local law. 

16 SEC. 4. PREEMPTION. 

17 This Act preempts the laws of any State to the extent 

18 that such laws are inconsistent with this Act, except that 

19 this Act shall not preempt any State law that provides 

20 additional protection from liability relating to the rule21 making activities of nonprofit athletic organizations. 

22 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall take effect on the 

24 date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 (b) APPLICATION.—This Act applies to any claim for 

2 harm caused by an act or omission of a nonprofit athletic 

3 organization that is filed on or after the effective date of 

4 this Act but only if the harm that is the subject of the 

5 claim or the conduct that caused the harm occurred on 

6 or after such effective date.

Æ