II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1994

To assist States in providing individuals a credit against State income taxes

or a comparable benefit for contributions to charitable organizations

working to prevent or reduce poverty and to protect and encourage

donations to charitable organizations.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 28, 1998

Mr. COATS (for himself, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. COVERDELL,

and Mr. SANTORUM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To assist States in providing individuals a credit against

State income taxes or a comparable benefit for contributions to charitable organizations working to prevent or

reduce poverty and to protect and encourage donations

to charitable organizations.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘REAL Life Community Renewal Act of 1998’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO STATES IN PROVIDING CHARITY TAX

CREDITS

Sec. 101. Authority to use certain Federal grant funds for State charity tax

credit.

Sec. 102. Definitions.

Sec. 103. Study and report.

Sec. 104. Effective date.

TITLE II—BUDGET OFFSET

Sec. 201. Reduction of earned income credit for individuals without children.

TITLE III—BANKRUPTCY PROTECTIONS FOR CHARITABLE

DONATIONS

Sec. 301. Definitions.

Sec. 302. Treatment of prepetition qualified charitable contributions.

Sec. 303. Treatment of post-petition charitable contributions.

Sec. 304. Applicability.

Sec. 305. Rule of construction.

TITLE IV—TORT REFORMS RELATING TO CHARITABLE

CONTRIBUTIONS

Sec. 401. Definitions.

Sec. 402. Liability.

Sec. 403. Exceptions.

Sec. 404. Superseding provision.

Sec. 405. Election of State regarding nonapplicablity.

Sec. 406. Effective date.

1 TITLE I—ASSISTANCE TO

2 STATES IN PROVIDING CHAR3 ITY TAX CREDITS

4 SEC. 101. AUTHORITY TO USE CERTAIN FEDERAL GRANT

5 FUNDS FOR STATE CHARITY TAX CREDIT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi7 sion of law, if there is in effect under State law a charity

8 tax credit, then the State may use for any purpose—

9 (1) not more than 50 percent of the total

10 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year
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1 under the provisions of law specified in subsection

2 (d)(1);

3 (2) not more than 50 percent of the total

4 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year

5 under the provisions of law specified in subsection

6 (d)(2);

7 (3) not more than 50 percent of the total

8 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year

9 under the provisions of law specified in subsection

10 (d)(3);

11 (4) not more than 50 percent of the total

12 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year

13 under the law specified in subsection (d)(4);

14 (5) not more than 50 percent of the total

15 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year

16 under the law specified in subsection (d)(5);

17 (6) not more than 50 percent of the total

18 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year

19 under the law specified in subsection (d)(6); and

20 (7) not more than 50 percent of the total

21 amount paid to the State during the fiscal year

22 under the law specified in subsection (d)(7).

23 (b) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount a State

24 may use under subsection (a) during a fiscal year shall

25 not exceed 100 percent of the revenue loss of the State
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1 during the fiscal year that is attributable to the charity

2 tax credit, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury

3 without regard to any such revenue loss occurring before

4 January 1, 1999.

5 (c) CERTAIN CREDIT AMOUNTS TREATED AS STATE

6 PAYMENT FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY

7 FAMILIES.—For purposes of title IV of the Social Security

8 Act, an amount equal to the excess (if any) of—

9 (1) the amount of the revenue loss of a State

10 (not to exceed 100 percent) during a fiscal year that

11 is attributable to the charity tax credit, as deter12 mined under subsection (b), over

13 (2) the aggregate amount used by the State

14 under subsection (a) during the fiscal year,

15 shall be treated as an amount used during the fiscal year

16 by the State to carry out a State program funded under

17 part A of such title.

18 (d) PROVISIONS OF LAW.—The provisions of law re19 ferred to in this subsection are the following:

20 (1) Paragraphs (1) through (4) of section

21 403(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

22 603(a)).

23 (2) The Child Care and Development Block

24 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858–9858q), and
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1 section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

2 618).

3 (3) Sections 2002 and 2007 of the Social Secu4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397a and 1397f).

5 (4) The Community Services Block Grant Act

6 (42 U.S.C. 9901–9912).

7 (5) The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance

8 Act of 1981.

9 (6) The Job Training Partnership Act (29

10 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).

11 (7) Title I of the Housing and Community De12 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).

13 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

14 (a) CHARITY TAX CREDIT.—For purposes of this

15 title, the term ‘‘charity tax credit’’ means a nonrefundable

16 credit against State income tax (or, in the case of a State

17 which does not impose an income tax, a comparable bene18 fit)—

19 (1) which is allowable only to individuals for

20 cash contributions to qualified charities,

21 (2) the maximum amount of which for each

22 taxable year does not exceed $250 ($500 in the case

23 of a joint or combined return of individuals who are

24 married to each other), and
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1 (3) under which the annual amount of the cred2 it allowed per taxpayer is not more than $50 ($100

3 in the case of a joint or combined return of individ4 uals who are married to each other) in the first year

5 and increased by not more than $50 ($100 in the

6 case of a joint or combined return of individuals who

7 are married to each other) for each subsequent year.

8 (b) QUALIFIED CHARITY.—For purposes of this

9 title—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified charity’’

11 means any organization—

12 (A) which is described in section 501(c)(3)

13 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and ex14 empt from tax under section 501(a) of such

15 Code,

16 (B) which is certified by the appropriate

17 State authority as meeting the requirements of

18 paragraphs (3) and (4), and

19 (C) if such organization is otherwise re20 quired to file a return under section 6033 of

21 such Code, which elects to treat the information

22 required to be furnished by paragraph (5) as

23 being specified in section 6033(b) of such Code.
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1 (2) CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS TO COLLECTION

2 ORGANIZATIONS TREATED AS CONTRIBUTIONS TO

3 QUALIFIED CHARITY.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A contribution to a col5 lection organization shall be treated as a con6 tribution to a qualified charity if the donor des7 ignates in writing that the contribution is for

8 the qualified charity.

9 (B) COLLECTION ORGANIZATION.—The

10 term ‘‘collection organization’’ means an organi11 zation described in section 501(c)(3) of such

12 Code and exempt from tax under section 501(a)

13 of such Code—

14 (i) which solicits and collects gifts and

15 grants which, by agreement, are distrib16 uted to qualified charities described in

17 paragraph (1),

18 (ii) which distributes to qualified

19 charities described in paragraph (1) at

20 least 90 percent of the gifts and grants it

21 receives that are designated for such quali22 fied charities, and

23 (iii) which meets the requirements of

24 paragraph (6).
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1 (3) CHARITY MUST PRIMARILY ASSIST POOR IN2 DIVIDUALS.—

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—An organization meets

4 the requirements of this paragraph only if the

5 appropriate State authority reasonably expects

6 that the predominant activity of such organiza7 tion will be the provision of direct services with8 in the United States to individuals and families

9 whose annual incomes generally do not exceed

10 185 percent of the official poverty line (as de11 fined by the Office of Management and Budget)

12 in order to prevent or alleviate poverty among

13 such individuals and families.

14 (B) NO RECORDKEEPING IN CERTAIN

15 CASES.—An organization shall not be required

16 to establish or maintain records with respect to

17 the incomes of individuals and families for pur18 poses of subparagraph (A) if such individuals or

19 families are members of groups which are gen20 erally recognized as including substantially only

21 individuals and families described in subpara22 graph (A).

23 (C) FOOD AID AND HOMELESS SHEL24 TERS.—Except as otherwise provided by the ap25 propriate State authority, for purposes of sub-
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1 paragraph (A), services to individuals in the

2 form of—

3 (i) donations of food or meals, or

4 (ii) temporary shelter to homeless in5 dividuals,

6 shall be treated as provided to individuals de7 scribed in subparagraph (A) if the location and

8 operation of such services are such that the

9 service provider may reasonably conclude that

10 the beneficiaries of such services are predomi11 nantly individuals described in subparagraph

12 (A).

13 (4) MINIMUM EXPENSE REQUIREMENT.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—An organization meets

15 the requirements of this paragraph only if the

16 appropriate State authority reasonably expects

17 that the annual poverty program expenses of

18 such organization will not be less than 75 per19 cent of the annual aggregate expenses of such

20 organization.

21 (B) POVERTY PROGRAM EXPENSE.—For

22 purposes of subparagraph (A)—

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘poverty

24 program expense’’ means any expense in
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1 providing program services referred to in

2 paragraph (3).

3 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Such term shall

4 not include—

5 (I) any management or general

6 expense,

7 (II) any expense for the purpose

8 of influencing legislation (as defined

9 in section 4911(d) of the Internal

10 Revenue Code of 1986),

11 (III) any expense for the purpose

12 of fundraising,

13 (IV) any expense for a legal serv14 ice provided on behalf of any individ15 ual referred to in paragraph (3), and

16 (V) any expense which consists of

17 a payment to an affiliate of the orga18 nization.

19 (5) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The informa20 tion required to be furnished under this paragraph

21 is—

22 (A) the percentages determined by dividing

23 the following categories of the organization’s ex24 penses for the year by its total expenses for the

25 year: program services, management expenses,
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1 general expenses, fundraising expenses, and

2 payments to affiliates, and

3 (B) the category or categories (including

4 food, shelter, education, substance abuse, job

5 training, or otherwise) of services which con6 stitute its predominant activities.

7 (6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SOLICITA8 TION ORGANIZATIONS.—The requirements of this

9 paragraph are met if the organization—

10 (A) maintains separate accounting for rev11 enues and expenses, and

12 (B) makes available to the public its ad13 ministrative and fundraising costs and informa14 tion as to the organizations receiving funds

15 from it and the amount of such funds.

16 (7) RECOMMENDATIONS.—It is recommended,

17 but not required, that—

18 (A) the definition of ‘‘qualified charity’’ be

19 further limited under State law to organiza20 tions—

21 (i) which have been operating for at

22 least 1 year or are controlled by, or oper23 ated under the auspices of, organizations

24 which have been operating for at least one

25 year, and
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1 (ii) with expenses of less than 5 per2 cent of total expenses for the purpose of

3 influencing legislation, litigation on behalf

4 of any individual referred to in paragraph

5 (3), voter registration, political organizing,

6 public policy advocacy, or public policy re7 search,

8 (B) subject to subsection (a)(2), the

9 amount of the credit be at least 50 percent and

10 not more than 90 percent of the amount of the

11 cash contributions to qualified charities, and

12 (C) contributions made not later than the

13 time prescribed by law for filing the return of

14 the State income tax for a taxable year (not in15 cluding extensions thereof) be treated as made

16 (at the taxpayer’s election) on the last day of

17 such year.

18 (8) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES REQUIRING TAX

19 UNIFORMITY.—In the case of a State—

20 (A) which has a constitutional requirement

21 of tax uniformity, and

22 (B) which, as of December 31, 1997, im23 posed a tax on personal income with—

24 (i) a single flat rate applicable to all

25 earned and unearned income (except inso-
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1 far as any amount is not taxed pursuant to

2 tax forgiveness provisions), and

3 (ii) no generally available exemptions

4 or deductions to individuals,

5 the requirement of subsection (a)(2) shall be treated

6 as met if the amount of the credit is limited to a

7 uniform percentage (but not greater than 25 per8 cent) of State personal income tax liability (deter9 mined without regard to credits).

10 (9) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL CHARI11 TABLE CONTRIBUTION DEDUCTION.—The amount of

12 the deduction allowed under the Internal Revenue

13 Code of 1986 for contributions which are taken into

14 account in determining any charity tax credit shall

15 be reduced by the amount of such credit which is al16 lowed.

17 (c) STATE.—For purposes of this title, the term

18 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of

19 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin

20 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana

21 Islands, any other territory or possession of the United

22 States.
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1 SEC. 103. STUDY AND REPORT.

2 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

3 States shall conduct a study of the effects of the charity

4 tax credit under this title, including—

5 (1) the types of organizations which receive

6 contributions during the first year to which the cred7 it applies, and

8 (2) the types of services provided to the poor by

9 such organizations.

10 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall report

11 to the Congress the results of such study, including—

12 (1) the geographical distribution of funding

13 from charity tax credit contributions, and an analy14 sis of Internal Revenue Service Form 990’s of quali15 fied charities to determine if the broad categories of

16 services provided to the poor (including food, shelter,

17 education, substance abuse, job training, or other18 wise) match the services that would otherwise be

19 provided by Federal welfare program funds without

20 the enactment of the reductions in the programs

21 permitted by this legislation, and

22 (2) any recommendations for legislative

23 changes.

24 SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE.

25 This title shall take effect on January 1, 1999.
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1 TITLE II—BUDGET OFFSET

2 SEC. 201. REDUCTION OF EARNED INCOME CREDIT FOR IN3 DIVIDUALS WITHOUT CHILDREN.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The table in subparagraph (A) of

5 section 32(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is

6 amended by striking the item relating to no qualifying

7 children and inserting the following:

‘‘No qualifying children ......................................................... 3.825 7.651.’’.

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

9 subsection (a) shall apply to taxable years beginning after

10 December 31, 2000.

11 TITLE III—BANKRUPTCY PRO12 TECTIONS FOR CHARITABLE

13 DONATIONS

14 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS.

15 Section 548(d) of title 11, United States Code, is

16 amended by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(3) In this section, the term ‘charitable contribution’

18 means a charitable contribution, as that term is defined

19 in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

20 if that contribution—

21 ‘‘(A) is made by a natural person; and

22 ‘‘(B) consists of—
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1 ‘‘(i) a financial instrument (as that term is

2 defined in section 731(c)(2)(C) of the Internal

3 Revenue Code of 1986); or

4 ‘‘(ii) cash.

5 ‘‘(4) In this section, the term ‘qualified religious or

6 charitable entity or organization’ means—

7 ‘‘(A) an entity described in section 170(c)(1) of

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or

9 ‘‘(B) an entity or organization described in sec10 tion 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of

11 1986.’’.

12 SEC. 302. TREATMENT OF PREPETITION QUALIFIED CHARI13 TABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 548(a) of title 11, United

15 States Code, is amended—

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’;

17 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) made’’ and inserting ‘‘(A)

18 made’’;

19 (3) by striking ‘‘(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)(i)’’;

20 (4) by striking ‘‘(B)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(ii)(I)’’;

21 (5) by striking ‘‘(ii) was’’ and inserting ‘‘(II)

22 was’’;

23 (6) by striking ‘‘(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(III)’’;

24 and

25 (7) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) A transfer of a charitable contribution to a

2 qualified religious or charitable entity or organization shall

3 not be considered to be a transfer covered under para4 graph (1)(B) in any case in which—

5 ‘‘(A) the amount of that contribution does not

6 exceed 15 percent of the gross annual income of the

7 debtor for the year in which the transfer of the con8 tribution is made; or

9 ‘‘(B) the contribution made by a debtor exceed10 ed the percentage amount of gross annual income

11 specified in subparagraph (A), if the transfer was

12 consistent with the practices of the debtor in making

13 charitable contributions.’’.

14 (b) TRUSTEE AS LIEN CREDITOR AND AS SUCCESSOR

15 TO CERTAIN CREDITORS AND PURCHASERS.—Section

16 544(b) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) The trustee’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the

19 trustee’’; and

20 (2) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a transfer of

22 a charitable contribution (as that term is defined in sec23 tion 548(d)(3)) that is not covered under section

24 548(a)(1)(B), by reason of section 548(a)(2).’’.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 546 of

2 title 11, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) in subsection (e)—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘548(a)(2)’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘548(a)(1)(B)’’; and

6 (B) by striking ‘‘548(a)(1)’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘548(a)(1)(A)’’;

8 (2) in subsection (f)—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘548(a)(2)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘548(a)(1)(B)’’; and

11 (B) by striking ‘‘548(a)(1)’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘548(a)(1)(A)’’; and

13 (3) in subsection (g)—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘section 548(a)(1)’’ each

15 place it appears and inserting ‘‘section

16 548(a)(1)(A)’’; and

17 (B) by striking ‘‘548(a)(2)’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘548(a)(1)(B)’’.

19 SEC. 303. TREATMENT OF POST-PETITION CHARITABLE

20 CONTRIBUTIONS.

21 (a) CONFIRMATION OF PLAN.—Section

22 1325(b)(2)(A) of title 11, United States Code, is amended

23 by inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘, includ24 ing charitable contributions (that meet the definition of

25 ‘charitable contribution’ under section 548(d)(3)) to a
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1 qualified religious or charitable entity or organization (as

2 that term is defined in section 548(d)(4)) in an amount

3 not to exceed 15 percent of the gross income of the debtor

4 for the year in which the contributions are made’’.

5 (b) DISMISSAL.—Section 707(b) of title 11, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing: ‘‘In making a determination whether to dismiss a case

8 under this section, the court may not take into consider9 ation whether a debtor has made, or continues to make,

10 charitable contributions (that meet the definition of ‘chari11 table contribution’ under section 548(d)(3)) to any quali12 fied religious or charitable entity or organization (as that

13 term is defined in section 548(d)(4)).’’.

14 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY.

15 This title and the amendments made by this title

16 shall apply to any case brought under an applicable provi17 sion of title 11, United States Code, that is pending or

18 commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act.

19 SEC. 305. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

20 Nothing in the amendments made by this title is in21 tended to limit the applicability of the Religious Freedom

22 Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2002bb et seq.).
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1 TITLE IV—TORT REFORMS RE2 LATING TO CHARITABLE CON3 TRIBUTIONS

4 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this title:

6 (1) AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘‘aircraft’’ has the

7 meaning provided that term in section 40102(6) of

8 title 49, United States Code.

9 (2) BUSINESS ENTITY.—The term ‘‘business

10 entity’’ means a firm, corporation, association, part11 nership, consortium, joint venture, or other form of

12 enterprise.

13 (3) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘equipment’’ in14 cludes mechanical equipment, electronic equipment,

15 and office equipment.

16 (4) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’ means any

17 real property, including any building, improvement,

18 or appurtenance.

19 (5) GROSS NEGLIGENCE.—the term ‘‘gross neg20 ligence’’ means voluntary and conscious conduct by

21 a person with knowledge (at the time of the conduct)

22 that the conduct is likely to be harmful to the health

23 or well-being of another person.

24 (6) INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT.—The term

25 ‘‘intentional misconduct’’ means conduct by a person
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1 with knowledge (at the time of the conduct) that the

2 conduct is harmful to the health or well-being of an3 other person.

4 (7) MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘motor vehi5 cle’’ has the meaning provided that term in section

6 30102(6) of title 49, United States Code.

7 (8) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term

8 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means—

9 (A) any organization described in section

10 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

11 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of

12 such Code; or

13 (B) any not-for-profit organization orga14 nized and conducted for public benefit and op15 erated primarily for charitable, civic, edu16 cational, religious, welfare, or health purposes.

17 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

18 the several States, the District of Columbia, the

19 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands,

20 Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Is21 lands, any other territory or possession of the

22 United States, or any political subdivision of any

23 such State, territory, or possession.
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1 SEC. 402. LIABILITY.

2 (a) LIABILITY OF BUSINESS ENTITIES THAT DO3 NATE EQUIPMENT TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 403, a

5 business entity shall not be subject to civil liability

6 relating to any injury or death that results from the

7 use of equipment donated by a business entity to a

8 nonprofit organization.

9 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall apply

10 with respect to civil liability under Federal and State

11 law.

12 (b) LIABILITY OF BUSINESS ENTITIES PROVIDING

13 USE OF FACILITIES TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 403, a

15 business entity shall not be subject to civil liability

16 relating to any injury or death occurring at a facility

17 of the business entity in connection with a use of

18 such facility by a nonprofit organization if—

19 (A) the use occurs outside of the scope of

20 business of the business entity;

21 (B) such injury or death occurs during a

22 period that such facility is used by the non23 profit organization; and

24 (C) the business entity authorized the use

25 of such facility by the nonprofit organization.
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1 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall

2 apply—

3 (A) with respect to civil liability under

4 Federal and State law; and

5 (B) regardless of whether a nonprofit orga6 nization pays for the use of a facility.

7 (c) LIABILITY OF BUSINESS ENTITIES PROVIDING

8 USE OF A MOTOR VEHICLE OR AIRCRAFT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 403, a

10 business entity shall not be subject to civil liability

11 relating to any injury or death occurring as a result

12 of the operation of aircraft or a motor vehicle of a

13 business entity loaned to a nonprofit organization

14 for use outside of the scope of business of the busi15 ness entity if—

16 (A) such injury or death occurs during a

17 period that such motor vehicle or aircraft is

18 used by a nonprofit organization; and

19 (B) the business entity authorized the use

20 by the nonprofit organization of motor vehicle

21 or aircraft that resulted in the injury or death.

22 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall

23 apply—

24 (A) with respect to civil liability under

25 Federal and State law; and
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1 (B) regardless of whether a nonprofit orga2 nization pays for the use of the aircraft or

3 motor vehicle.

4 (d) LIABILITY OF BUSINESS ENTITIES PROVIDING

5 TOURS OF FACILITIES.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 403, a

7 business entity shall not be subject to civil liability

8 relating to any injury to, or death of an individual

9 occurring at a facility of the business entity if—

10 (A) such injury or death occurs during a

11 tour of the facility in an area of the facility that

12 is not otherwise accessible to the general public;

13 and

14 (B) the business entity authorized the

15 tour.

16 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall

17 apply—

18 (A) with respect to civil liability under

19 Federal and State law; and

20 (B) regardless of whether an individual

21 pays for the tour.

22 SEC. 403. EXCEPTIONS.

23 Section 402 shall not apply to an injury or death that

24 results from an act or omission of a business entity that
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1 constitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct, in2 cluding any misconduct that—

3 (1) constitutes a crime of violence (as that term

4 is defined in section 16 of title 18, United States

5 Code) or act of international terrorism (as that term

6 is defined in section 2331 of title 18) for which the

7 defendant has been convicted in any court;

8 (2) constitutes a hate crime (as that term is

9 used in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C.

10 534 note));

11 (3) involves a sexual offense, as defined by ap12 plicable State law, for which the defendant has been

13 convicted in any court; or

14 (4) involves misconduct for which the defendant

15 has been found to have violated a Federal or State

16 civil rights law.

17 SEC. 404. SUPERSEDING PROVISION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b) and sec19 tion 405, this title preempts the laws of any State to the

20 extent that such laws are inconsistent with this title, ex21 cept that this title shall not preempt any State law that

22 provides additional protection for a business entity for an

23 injury or death described in a subsection of section 402

24 with respect to which the conditions specified in such sub25 section apply.
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this title shall be con2 strued to supersede any Federal or State health or safety

3 law.

4 SEC. 405. ELECTION OF STATE REGARDING NON5 APPLICABILITY.

6 (a) ELECTION OF STATE REGARDING NON7 APPLICABILITY.—A provision of this title shall not apply

8 to any civil action in a State court against a business en9 tity in which all parties are citizens of the State if such

10 State enacts a statute—

11 (1) citing the authority of this section;

12 (2) declaring the election of such State that

13 such provision shall not apply to such civil action in

14 the State; and

15 (3) containing no other provisions.

16 SEC. 406. EFFECTIVE DATE.

17 This title shall apply to injuries (and deaths resulting

18 therefrom) occurring after the date of the enactment of

19 this Act.

Æ