By: Paddie (Senate Sponsor - Hancock) H.B. No. 1040
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2015;
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 12, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 12, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the liability of certain sports officials and
organizations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 94 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 94. LIABILITY OF SPORTS OFFICIALS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Sec. 94.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Athletic competition" means any competitive
group or solo sporting activity and includes:
(A) football, baseball, soccer, basketball,
hockey, swimming, track, wrestling, bike or foot races, triathlon,
equestrian competitions, golf, marksmanship competitions, darts,
billiards, Frisbee golf, fishing tournaments, car racing, and any
similar activity that involves any aspect of physical competition,
coordination, endurance, or stamina; and
(B) a rodeo, livestock show, or related event or
competition.
(2) "Sponsoring organization" means the individual,
club, association, or entity that undertakes to organize,
underwrite, sanction, or promote:
(A) an interscholastic, intercollegiate, or
other organized amateur athletic competition; or
(B) any rodeo, livestock show, or related event
or competition.
(3) "Sports official" means a person who officiates,
judges, or in any manner enforces contest rules in any official
capacity with respect to:
(A) an interscholastic, intercollegiate, or
other organized amateur athletic competition and includes a
referee, umpire, linesman, side judge, track or field marshal,
timekeeper, or scorekeeper or any other person involved in
supervising competitive play; or
(B) any rodeo, livestock show, or related event
or competition.
Sec. 94.002. LIABILITY OF SPORTS OFFICIAL. (a) A sports
official who is engaged in an athletic competition is not liable for
civil damages, including personal injury, wrongful death, property
damage, or other loss related to any act, error, or omission that
results from a risk inherent in the nature of the competitive
activity in which the claimant chose to participate unless the act,
error, or omission constitutes:
(1) gross negligence; or
(2) wanton, wilful, or intentional misconduct.
(b) Whether a risk is inherent in the nature of a
competitive activity is dependent upon:
(1) the nature of the sport in question;
(2) the conduct that is generally accepted in the
sport; and
(3) whether the harm occurred during the pursuit of
the purposes of the competition.
(c) A mere violation of the rules of play of an athletic
competition or failing to call a penalty, missing a call, or failing
to enforce competition rules cannot in itself form the basis for
liability under this chapter.
Sec. 94.003. LIABILITY OF SPONSORING ORGANIZATION. A
sponsoring organization cannot be held liable for an act, error, or
omission of a sports official absent any new, independent, and
separate act, error, or omission of the sponsoring organization
that gave rise to the harm.
SECTION 2. Chapter 94, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to an act, error, or omission that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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