1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to civil actions; limiting liability for 
  1.3             public notification of emergency; proposing coding for 
  1.4             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 604A. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [604A.34] [PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY.] 
  1.7      A person, including a corporation, partnership, or other 
  1.8   business entity, who notifies the public of an emergency via a 
  1.9   medium of mass communications including, without limitation, 
  1.10  radio, television, cable television, or Internet, is not liable 
  1.11  for any civil damages as a result of acts or omissions by that 
  1.12  person in rendering the notification, unless the person acts in 
  1.13  a willful and wanton or reckless manner in providing the 
  1.14  notification. 
  1.15     For the purposes of this section, notifying the public of 
  1.16  an emergency includes notification of emergencies related to 
  1.17  war, missing children, weather, any notification made through 
  1.18  the Emergency Alert System, any notification made through the 
  1.19  Amber Alert System, and any notification requested by a 
  1.20  governmental authority or agency. 
  1.21     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
  1.22     Section 1 is effective August 1, 2003, and applies to 
  1.23  actions arising from incidents occurring on or after that date.