I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1300 To preclude absolute liability in any action against a property owner or contractor for projects receiving Federal financial assistance for infra- structure and transportation development, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. JACOBS of New York (for himself and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To preclude absolute liability in any action against a property owner or contractor for projects receiving Federal finan- cial assistance for infrastructure and transportation de- velopment, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Infrastructure Expan- 4 sion Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Mar 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IH H1300 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1300 IH SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSIST- 1 ANCE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANS- 2 PORTATION DEVELOPMENT. 3 (a) NO ABSOLUTE LIABILITY ON PROJECTS RECEIV- 4 ING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—For any project 5 for which Federal financial assistance is used, directly or 6 indirectly, no action on the basis of absolute liability may 7 be instituted by a covered person against a property owner 8 or a party to a contract relating to the property that is 9 the subject of the project for any injury associated with 10 an elevation or gravity related risk occurring on that 11 project. For any project for which Federal financial assist- 12 ance is used, a State shall, for any claim brought by a 13 covered person otherwise available against a property 14 owner or contractor for any injury associated with an ele- 15 vation or gravity related risk, apply a comparative neg- 16 ligence liability standard that considers the comparative 17 negligence of the injured person, when such negligence is 18 a proximate cause of an injury to a person. 19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 (1) The term ‘‘absolute liability’’ means liability 21 for a personal injury or death that is imposed with- 22 out consideration of the responsibility of the injured 23 person, including failure to follow safety instructions 24 or safe work practices in accordance with training 25 provided, failure to utilize provided safety equipment 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Mar 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IH H1300 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1300 IH or devices, impairment by the use of drugs or alco- 1 hol, or involvement in a criminal act, when such fail- 2 ure, impairment, or act is a proximate cause of an 3 injury to such person. 4 (2) The term ‘‘covered person’’ means any per- 5 son who supervises or performs any work on or who 6 is otherwise affiliated with a project. 7 (3) The term ‘‘elevation or gravity related risk’’ 8 means a hazard related to the effects of gravity ei- 9 ther due to the difference between the elevation level 10 of the required work and a lower level or a dif- 11 ference between the elevation level where the worker 12 is positioned and the higher level of the materials or 13 load being hoisted or secured. 14 (4) The term ‘‘project’’ means the erection, 15 demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or 16 pointing of a highway, bridge, tunnel, airport, rail- 17 way, bus or railroad station, depot, pier, building, or 18 any other structure owned or operated by the Fed- 19 eral Government or for which Federal financial as- 20 sistance is used. 21 (5) The term ‘‘State’’ includes a port authority, 22 transit agency, public toll authority, metropolitan 23 planning organization, or other political subdivision 24 of a State or local government. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Mar 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1300.IH H1300 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1300 IH (c) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAWS.—Nothing in 1 this section shall be construed to preempt any law of a 2 State providing for workers’ compensation. 3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies to 4 claims arising from projects in which a State or local gov- 5 ernment accepts Federal financial assistance on or after 6 January 1, 2021. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Mar 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1300.IH H1300 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS