Okla. Senate Committee Passes Bill Protecting Volunteers from Lawsuits

A measure that will exempt volunteers who provide transportation services for charitable organizations or not-for-profit corporations from liability lawsuits passed out of the Oklahoma Senate Judiciary Committee.

“This bill will provide protection for the volunteers who drive senior citizens to and from hot lunch programs and take them to the grocery store to do their shopping,” said Senator Debbe Leftwich, author of the legislation, in an announcement on the Oklahoma Senate Web site, www.lsb.state.ok.us.

Senate Bill 113 is a product of the Oklahoma County Senior Summit, a meeting organized to discuss issues important to senior citizens. The Senator said she has worked with Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth on the issue.

Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, said that it’s not fair for people who volunteer their time to help senior citizens’ be more mobile to face individual liability in a lawsuit.

“We need to do more encourage volunteerism, especially when it concerns improving the quality of life for Oklahoma’s greatest generation, and this bill will do that,” Leftwich said.

Source: Oklahoma Senate