The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Pennsylvania
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Proposed amendment of 42 Pa.C.S. (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure), adding Subchapter D.1, COVID-19-Related Liability, secs. 8368.41-8368.47
- Issued
- 2020-11-19 Nov. 19, 2020
- Effective
- Not enacted (read as 2020-11-19)
- End
- n/a (vetoed)
- In force
- Nov. 19, 2020 (no end date recorded; counted as in force for 120 days)
- Limitation types
- Other
- Addressees
- businesses and government services (proposed sec. 8368.44); covered providers (sec. 8368.45); PPE manufacturers, distributors, labelers and users (sec. 8368.43); school entities and child-care facilities (sec. 8368.42)
- Character
- not enacted
- Collection
- Standing duties: Pennsylvania DUT-PA
Operative words
(B) Compliance with public health directives.--An act or omission in compliance with, or in a good faith belief that the act or omission is in compliance with, public health directives shall not be considered gross negligence, recklessness, willful misconduct or intentional infliction of harm.
Penalty
n/a (proposed civil safe harbor; not enacted)
What it required
Would have made the safe harbor for businesses, providers, PPE users and school entities turn on an 'act or omission in compliance with... public health directives,' defined as 'orders or guidelines issued by the Federal or State Government regarding... steps necessary or recommended to prevent, limit or slow the spread of COVID-19'; the General Assembly thereby framed compliance with federal and State orders and guidelines as the legal standard of care. Not law: vetoed (Ex. DUT-PA-011). Character as recorded: not_enacted (vetoed bill; no legal effect).
Retrieval noteRecorded as a proposed, vetoed instrument. Its value for this thesis is that both branches framed the same standard: the legislature would have conditioned protection on compliance with federal and State 'orders or guidelines,' and the Governor vetoed the bill because it did not require 'rigorous' compliance with public health orders. Neither treated the health protocols as optional.