An Act To Provide Architects, Engineers and Certain Other Professionals Immunity from Civil Liability When Volunteering for Evaluating Damage from Disasters
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0506
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: RYKERSON, BABBIDGE, CAIAZZO, DOORE, HARNETT, HUBBELL, JORGENSEN, KESSLER, CARPENTER
Amends: 14 MRSA §172

Legislative Document
No. 506
H.P. 363
House of Representatives, January 31, 2019
An Act To Provide Architects, Engineers and Certain Other 
Professionals Immunity from Civil Liability When Volunteering for 
Evaluating Damage from Disasters
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative RYKERSON of Kittery.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BABBIDGE of Kennebunk, CAIAZZO of Scarborough, 
DOORE of Augusta, HARNETT of Gardiner, HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, JORGENSEN of 
Portland, KESSLER of South Portland, Senator: CARPENTER of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  14 MRSA §172 is enacted to read:
§172.  Liability related to professional services for natural disaster or catastrophe
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Architect" means a person licensed as an architect under Title 32, chapter 3-A.
B.  "Building inspection official" means a public official with executive responsibility 
to coordinate building inspection in the jurisdiction in which a natural disaster or 
catastrophe has occurred.
C.  "Contractor" means a person engaged in the business of designing, developing, 
constructing, altering, adding to or repairing new or existing structures, buildings, 
facilities, project utilities, equipment, machines, processes, piping or other engineered 
systems or infrastructure or their appurtenances.
D.  "Engineer" means a person licensed as a professional engineer under Title 32, 
chapter 19.
E.  "Environmental official" means a public official with executive responsibility for 
coordinating an environmental response in the jurisdiction in which a natural disaster 
or catastrophe has occurred.
F.  "Environmental professional" means a person engaged in the business of 
providing hazardous waste site clean-up services.  "Environmental professional" 
includes a hazardous waste transporter licensed according to Title 38, section 
1319-O.
G.  "Land surveyor" means a person licensed as a professional land surveyor 
according to Title 32, chapter 141.
H.  "Landscape architect" means a person licensed as a landscape architect under 
Title 32, chapter 3-A.
I.  "Law enforcement official" means a public official with executive responsibility to 
coordinate law enforcement in the jurisdiction in which a natural disaster or 
catastrophe has occurred.
J.  "Natural disaster or catastrophe" means an event, whether natural or human-made, 
that is declared an emergency by the President of the United States or by the 
Governor or that results in the deployment of emergency response personnel or the 
displacement of persons from the area of the event.
K.  "Planner" means a person certified by the American Institute of Certified 
Planners, or successor organization, as a certified planner.
L.  "Public official" means a federal, state or local appointed or elected official with 
executive responsibility in the jurisdiction in which a natural disaster or catastrophe 
has occurred.
M.  "Public safety official" means a public official with executive responsibility to 
coordinate public safety in the jurisdiction in which a natural disaster or catastrophe 
has occurred.
2.  Immunity.  An architect, contractor, environmental professional, land surveyor, 
landscape architect, planner or engineer who voluntarily, without compensation other 
than expense reimbursement, and acting in good faith provides, under the applicable 
license or certification, architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical or other 
engineering, planning, land surveying, hazardous waste site clean-up, contracting or other 
professional design services related to a natural disaster or catastrophe at the request of or 
with the approval of a public official, law enforcement official, public safety official, 
building inspection official or environmental official believed by the architect, contractor, 
environmental professional, land surveyor, landscape architect, planner or engineer to be 
acting in an official capacity is not liable for any personal injury, wrongful death, 
property damage or other loss of any nature related to the architect's, contractor's, 
environmental professional's, land surveyor's, landscape architect's, planner's or 
engineer's acts, errors or omissions in the performance of engineering, architectural, 
planning, land surveying, hazardous waste site clean-up or contracting services for a site, 
a structure, a building, a facility, a project utility, equipment, a machine, a process, piping 
or some other engineered system, either publicly or privately owned.
3.  Voluntary services.  The immunity provided in this section applies to only 
voluntary architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical or other engineering, planning, 
land surveying, hazardous waste site clean-up, contracting or other professional design 
services related to a natural disaster or catastrophe that are provided during the natural 
disaster or catastrophe or within 90 days following the end of the natural disaster or 
catastrophe, unless the period of emergency is extended by an executive order issued by 
the President of the United States or the Governor under the President's or Governor's 
emergency executive powers.
4.  Reckless or intentional misconduct.  Nothing in this section provides immunity 
for reckless or intentional misconduct.
5.  State and local liability not affected.  When an architect, contractor, 
environmental professional, land surveyor, landscape architect, planner or engineer 
voluntarily renders services at the request of or with the approval of a state or local 
official and when such services fall within the immunity of this section, the liability of the 
state or locality, if any, that requested the services is not affected by this section.  The 
immunity provided in this section is in addition to immunity provided in Title 37-B, 
section 784-A.
SUMMARY
This bill provides civil immunity for architects, contractors, environmental 
professionals, land surveyors, landscape architects, planners and professional engineers 
who provide voluntary professional services during or within 90 days of a natural disaster 
or catastrophe when the services are provided under the applicable license or 
certification, are related to the natural disaster or catastrophe and are provided at the 
request of a federal, state or local public official, law enforcement official, public safety 
official or building inspection official.  No immunity is provided for reckless or 
intentional misconduct.
The bill is based on a similar Massachusetts law.