HB5652 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 15441 AJO 41433 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB5652

Introduced , by Rep. Keith P. Sommer

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Agritourism and Farm Animal Activity Liability Act. Makes legislative findings including that the use and exhibition of farm animals significantly contributes to the Illinois economy and these activities have inherent risks. Provides definitions for terms that include agritourism activity, agritourism and farm animal professional, and inherent risks of farm animal and agritourism activity. Provides that an agritourism and farm animal activity professional is not liable for injury to or death of a participant in an activity if the professional provided a specified written warning, did not engage in willful and wanton disregard for the participant's safety, and did not fail to warn of a known danger. Provides written warning requirements that are to be posted and included in written contracts. Provides that the failure to comply with the warning requirements prevents a professional from invoking the liability limits of the Act. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning agricultural activity liability.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Agritourism and Farm Animal Activity Liability Act.

Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds that activities involving the use and exhibition of farm animals including but not limited to agritourism activities are engaged in by a large number of citizens of Illinois, significantly contributing to the economy of Illinois. Since it is recognized that there are inherent risks in working with, exhibiting, and using farm animals which should be understood by participants in farm animal activities and agritourism and which are essentially impossible for owners of farm animals or sponsors of farm animal activities and agritourism professions to eliminate, it is the purpose of this statute is to define the areas of responsibility and affirmative acts for which activity sponsors, professionals, and participants shall be responsible, to specify risks of injury for which activity sponsors, professionals, and participants shall not be responsible, and to specify areas of responsibilities of farm animal participants. Therefore, the General Assembly determines that to preserve and promote activities involving farm animals and agritourism and the health and safety of the citizens of Illinois, these statutory provisions are necessary to instruct persons voluntarily engaging in farm animal activities and agritourism of the potential risks inherent in the activities.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

(a) "Agritourism activity" means any activity carried out on a farm that allows individuals, for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or participate in production agriculture as defined by Section 3-35 of the Use Tax Act or hunting, fishing, or trapping. An activity is an agritourism activity whether or not the participant paid to participate in the activity.

(b) "Agritourism and farm animal activity professional" means any person who is engaged in the business of providing one or more agritourism or farm animal activities, whether or not for compensation.

(c) "Farm animal activity" means any activity that allows individuals to participate in any manner in the leading, showing, exhibiting, riding, providing or assisting in providing medical treatment of, grooming, fixing or attending to farm animal equipment, driving, or being a passenger upon a farm animal, or a spectator at any of these activities. Any such activity is a farm animal activity whether carried out on or off-site of the agritourism and farm animal professional's business, such as at a clinic, parade, fair, exhibition, or other location of this sort, however informal or impromptu, that is sponsored by an agritourism and farm animal activity professional.

(d) "Farm animal" means an animal in one of the following categories: cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, hinnies, alpacas, llamas, ratites, (ostrich, rhea, emu), and poultry.

(e) "Inherent risks of farm animal and agritourism activity" means those dangers or conditions that are an integral part of an agritourism or farm animal activity including certain hazards, including surface and subsurface conditions, natural conditions of land, vegetation, and waters, the unpredictable behavior of wild or domestic animals, and the dangers of structures or equipment ordinarily used in farming operations. Inherent risks of agritourism and farm animal activity also include the potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant or others, including failing to follow instructions given by the agritourism professional or failing to exercise reasonable caution while engaging in the agritourism activity.

(f) "Participant" means any person, other than the agritourism and farm animal professional, who engages in an agritourism or farm animal activity.

(g) "Person" means an individual, fiduciary, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, unit of government, or any other group acting as a unit.

Section 15. Liability.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, an agritourism and farm animal activity professional is not liable for injury to or death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of farm animal and agritourism activity, so long as the warning contained in Section 20 is posted as required and, except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, no participant or participant's representative can maintain an action against or recover from an agritourism or farm animal activity professional for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant resulting from any of the inherent risks of agritourism or farm animal activities.

(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this Section prevents or limits the liability of an agritourism and farm animal activity professional if the agritourism and farm animal activity professional does any one or more of the following:

(1) Commits an act or omission that constitutes willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant, and that act or omission proximately causes injury, damage, or death to the participant.

(2) Has actual knowledge or reasonably should have known of a dangerous condition on the land, facilities, or equipment used in the activity and does not make the danger known to the participant, and the danger proximately causes injury, damage, or death to the participant.

(c) Any limitation on legal liability afforded by this Section to an agritourism and farm animal activity professional is in addition to any other limitations of legal liability otherwise provided by law.

(d) Liability may be limited under the terms of this Act regardless of whether the agritourism or farm animal activity is open to the public.

Section 20. Warning required.

(a) Every agritourism professional must post and maintain signs that contain the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this Section. The sign must be placed in a clearly visible location at the entrance to the agritourism and farm animal activity location and at the site of the agritourism activity or farm animal activity. The warning notice must consist of a sign in black letters, with each letter to be a minimum of one inch in height.

Every written contract entered into by an agritourism and farm animal professional for the providing of professional services, instruction, or the rental of equipment to a participant, whether or not the contract involves agritourism activities or farm animal activities on or off the location or at the site of the activity, must contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this Section.

(b) The signs and contracts described in subsection (a) of this Section must contain the following notice of warning:

"WARNING Under Illinois law, each participant who engages in an agritourism or farm animal activity expressly assumes the risks of engaging in and the legal responsibility for injury, loss, or damage to participant, person, or property resulting from the risk of agritourism or farm animal activity."

(c) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warnings signs and notices provided in this subsection will prevent an agritourism and farm animal professional from invoking the liability limitations provided by this Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.