Measure Would Help Encourage Pro-Bono Work from Architects, Engineers in Wake of Disasters in New Jersey
(TRENTON) — Assembly Majority Leader Louis D. Greenwald (D-Camden/Burlington) issued a multimedia package Monday of a news conference he held on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy’s landfall to promote his Good Samaritan legislation that would help bolster the state’s disaster response capabilities in the future.
Greenwald’s bill (A-3694) would shield licensed architects and professional engineers from certain types of liability when they volunteer their services following a major disaster. By providing this type of Good Samaritan legal protection, Greenwald’s measure would encourage these licensed professionals to donate their expertise following a disaster, bolstering state, county or local damage assessment and safety inspection capabilities, thereby speeding recovery efforts.
To qualify for Good Samaritan immunity under the legislation, licensed architects or professional engineers would be required to provide their professional services in the following ways:
- Voluntarily and without compensation;
- At the request of a federal, state or local public safety official acting in his or her official capacity;
- At the scene of a declared national, state or local emergency caused by natural disasters; and
- During a specific period of time (90 days) following the disaster.
Under the bill, licensed architects and professional engineers would remain liable for the full extent of damages caused by their own acts or omissions that are wonton, willfully or grossly negligent.
The multimedia package consists of a video of Majority Leader Greenwald’s news conference and audio of same.
The video can be accessed directly via our website — www.assemblydems.com — or by clicking here.
The audio file is available upon request.