BILL NUMBER: AB 2243 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Knight
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Section 11154 of the Government Code
add Article 5 (commencing with Section 2210) to
Chapter 5 of Title 7 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code
, relating to state government space flight
.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2243, as amended, Knight. State government: state
departments. Space flight: Space Flight Liability and
Immunity Act.
Existing state law governs common carriers, including contracts
for the conveyance of property, persons, or messages from one place
to another.
Federal law specifically governs commercial space flight
activities. Among other provisions, federal law requires that space
flight providers obtain the written consent of space flight
participants and liability insurance.
This bill would require a space flight entity, as defined, to
collect a signed warning statement, as specified, from each
participant in space flight activities, as defined. In addition to
the disclosures required by federal law, the bill would require the
warning statement to, at a minimum, inform the participant that the
space flight entity is not liable for bodily injury sustained as a
result of the risks associated with space flight activities. The bill
would limit the liability of a space flight entity that complies
with these provisions, except as provided. The bill would state
findings and declarations of the Legislature regarding the nature of
the space flight industry.
Existing law, with a specified exception, authorizes the head of
each department, with the approval of the Governor, to appoint
officers and employees as are necessary, prescribe their duties, and
fix their salaries in accordance with classifications made by the
State Personnel Board.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be
cited as the Space Flight Liability and Immunity Act
.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of
the following:
(a) California has a long tradition of pioneering aviation over
the last century, and human space flight since the Apollo era.
(b) California was the site of the first private human space
flight event. This achievement resulted in the winning of the Ansari
X Prize in Mojave, California, in 2004.
(c) Over the past few decades, California has lost much of its
human space flight industry to other states, such as Alabama,
Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas.
(d) The human space flight business in California continues to
struggle due to the poor business climate in general.
(e) Human space flight is a young industry reminiscent of other
industries in which the hazards were understood, but which would not
have thrived in an inappropriately litigious environment.
(f) The States of Florida, Texas, and Virginia have acted to
relieve the business risks associated with new and well-financed
companies that provide human space flight by passing legislation
limiting the liability of such providers, and the States of Colorado
and New Mexico are in the process of passing similar legislation.
Consequently, these states will become a magnet for human space
flight companies currently doing business in California.
SEC. 3. Article 5 (commencing with Section 2210)
is added to Chapter 5 of Title 7 of Part 4 of Division 3
of the Civil Code , to read:
Article 5. Space Flight Liability and Immunity
2210. For purposes of this article:
(a) "Participant" means a space flight participant as defined in
Section 70102 of Title 49 of the United States Code.
(b) "Participant injury" means a bodily injury, including death,
emotional injury, or property damage, sustained by the participant.
(c) "Space flight activities" means launch services or reentry
services as defined in Section 70102 of Title 49 of the United States
Code.
(d) "Space flight entity" means any public or private entity that
holds, either directly or through a corporate subsidiary or parent, a
license, permit, or other authorization issued by the United States
Federal Aviation Administration pursuant to the federal Commercial
Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 (49 U.S.C. Sec. 70101 et seq.),
including, but not limited to, a safety approval and a payload
determination. "Space flight entity" shall also include a
manufacturer or supplier of components, services, or vehicles that
have been reviewed by the United States Federal Aviation
Administration as part of issuing a license, permit, or authorization
pursuant to the federal Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of
2004.
2211. (a) A space flight entity providing space flight activities
to a participant shall have each participant sign a warning
statement that shall contain, at a minimum, and in addition to any
language required by federal law, the following notice:
"WARNING AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT: I understand and acknowledge that,
under California law, there is no civil liability for bodily injury,
including death, emotional injury, or property damage, sustained by a
participant as a result of the risks associated with space flight
activities provided by a space flight entity. I have given my
informed consent to participate in space flight activities after
receiving a description of the risks associated with space flight
activities, as required by federal law pursuant to Section 70105 of
Title 49 of the United States Code and Section 460.45 of Title 14 of
the Code of Federal Regulations. The consent that I have given
acknowledges that the risks associated with space flight activities
include, but are not limited to, risk of bodily injury, including
death, emotional injury, and property damage. I understand and
acknowledge that I am participating in space flight activities at my
own risk. I have been given the opportunity to consult with an
attorney before signing this statement."
(b) Failure to comply with the requirements provided in this
section shall prevent a space flight entity from invoking the
privileges of immunity provided by Section 2212.
2212. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a space flight
entity shall not be liable for participant injury arising out of
space flight activities if both of the following apply:
(1) The participant has been informed of the risks associated with
space flight activities as required by federal law and Section 2211.
(2) The participant has given his or her informed consent that he
or she is voluntarily participating in space flight activities after
having been informed of the risks associated with those activities,
as required by federal law and this section.
(b) If informed consent is given pursuant to subdivision (a), a
participant, his or her representative, including the heirs,
administrators, executors, assignees, next of kin, and estate of the
participant, or any person who attempts to bring a claim on behalf of
the participant for a participant injury, shall not be authorized to
maintain an action against, or recover from, a space flight entity
for a participant injury that resulted from the risks associated with
space flight activities, except as provided in subdivision (c).
(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent or limit the liability
of a space flight entity if it does either of the following:
(1) Commits an act or omission that constitutes gross negligence
evidencing willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the
participant, and that act or omission proximately causes a
participant injury.
(2) Intentionally causes a participant injury.
(d) Any limitation on legal liability afforded by this section to
a space flight entity is in addition to any other limitations of
legal liability otherwise provided by law.
SECTION 1. Section 11154 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
11154. Except as otherwise provided by law, the head of each
department may, with the approval of the Governor, appoint officers
and employees as are necessary, prescribe their duties, and fix their
salaries in accordance with classifications made by the State
Personnel Board.