HB 527 Alabama House · 2025 Regular Session

Civil liability, liability limited for certain entities operating off-roading parks

House Bill 527 limits the civil liability of individuals or entities operating off-roading parks for injuries or deaths sustained by participants. Under this bill, operators are generally not liable for incidents resulting from the inherent risks of off-roading. However, this immunity does not apply if the operator engaged in certain actions, such as providing a faulty vehicle, failing to assess a participant's ability, or acting with willful disregard for safety. To benefit from this limited liability, operators must post specific warning signs, include warnings in contracts, and maintain at least $1 million in liability insurance per occurrence. This bill directly affects off-roading park operators and participants.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Apr 3, 2025 Last action May 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 9 edits · Apr 29, 2025

MAJOR

The bill was amended to add clearer definitions for key terms, expand the exceptions to liability limits, update the required warning notice language, and add a new insurance requirement for operators. These changes strengthen the legal protections for off-roading park operators while ensuring participants are properly informed about liability limitations.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include more specific definitions and additional exceptions to liability limitations, making the protections more comprehensive for operators.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'PARK' to clarify what locations qualify under the bill.

Added a new definition for 'PARTICIPANT' to clarify who is covered by the liability limitations.

REQUIREMENT

Modified subsection (c)(1) to change 'faulty' to 'faulty or defective' and added 'or defect' to ensure broader coverage of vehicle issues.

Added two new subsections (c)(4) and (c)(5) to explicitly exclude liability for willful/wanton disregard and intentional injury.

Added subsection (c)(3) to clarify that warning signs must be conspicuously posted for dangerous latent conditions.

Modified subsection (f) to change the warning notice language to include 'except as allowed by state law' for greater accuracy.

Added subsection (g) to clarify that failure to post signs prevents operators from invoking immunity privileges.

Added subsection (h) requiring operators to maintain minimum liability insurance coverage of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate.

TECHNICAL

Updated document version numbers and page headers from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' to reflect the bill's current legislative status.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

May 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Judiciary)

upper

Apr 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 1073

lower

Apr 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1072

lower

Apr 29, 2025

Introduced

Judiciary Engrossed Substitute Offered (Judiciary)

lower

Apr 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin (Judiciary)

lower

Apr 16, 2025

Introduced

Judiciary 1st Amendment (Judiciary)

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Judiciary)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors