Judiciary Interim Committee

more sex offenders to receive treatment, he said. This will improve the sex offender treatment program, which will eventually improve the recidivism rate of sex offenders.

    Chair Taylor objected to the use of group therapy for sex offenders because some convicts find it immoral on religious grounds to discuss these crimes in group settings. He asked whether this type of therapy must be conducted in group settings or whether private therapy would be as productive. Dr. Shanchez indicated that group therapy provides the best results.

     *     SHOCAP - Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program, submitted a report explaining its computer database and how it tracks youth offenders. Chief Doyle Talbot, Layton Police Department, and Ms. Susan Burke, CCJJ, answered questions about the report.

    Chief Talbot said the SHOCAP database will require at least another three months of testing to identify any problems. He said that the Davis County SHOCAP Task Force has recommended that a full-time statewide coordinator be designated in the Department of Public Safety to take this program statewide.

     *     Juvenile Justice Task Force. Sen. Hillyard and Rep. Fox distributed the Juvenile Justice Task Force report, "1997 Recommendations".

    Sen. Hillyard presented draft legislation prepared by the Juvenile Justice Task Force. The bills include: a) Correctional Officer Amendment; b) Division of youth Corrections Special Function Officers; c) Judicial Custody of Youth to Human Services; and d) Reauthorization of Juvenile Justice Task Force.

    Sen. Hillyard reviewed the recommendations and introduced Ms. Robin Williams, Division of Child & Family Services, and Mr. Gary Dalton, Division of Youth Corrections. Ms. Williams and Mr. Dalton urged the committee to support the proposals.

    The Judiciary Interim Committee discussed the recommendations and took the following action.

     MOTION: Rep. Bradshaw moved that the committee consider all four bills as a package. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Way absent for the vote.

     MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to adopt all four bill presented by Sen. Hillyard as Judiciary Committee bills. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Way absent for the vote.

     *     ADR - Administrative Office of the Courts reported on the progress of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program .
    
    Mr. Schwermer explained that ADR programs are voluntary, they primarily involve mediation, and that in 1995 , 498 cases reported to the courts that had gone through the process, and in 1996, 640 cases were in the program. Of these cases, he said, 79.5 percent were resolved with mediation. He said the three main ADR programs include: 1) The Visitation Mediation Program; 2) The Juvenile Court Victim Offender Mediation Program; and 3) The Dependency Mediation Program.

     *     Mandatory Educational Course for Divorcing Parents - Ms. Kristine C. Prince, Program Coordinator, Administrative Office of the Courts, distributed the report

    Ms. Prince said that the Mandatory Educational Course for Divorcing Parents was one of the most successful programs that the Administrative Office of the Courts has ever administered. She said that parents, although resentful at first for having been mandated to participate, often express appreciation for the program.

3.    Immunity for Volunteers

    Ms. Esther Chelsea-McCarty, Associate General Counsel, distributed 1998FL-0069/012, "Immunity for Volunteers" and outlined the changes since the last discussion.

    Mr. Kline Strong, Volunteer, distributed a copy of summary notes from the "1997 Statewide Survey of Volunteers" that he conducted. He said if there is not immunity for volunteers then the state can expect to pay 20 million each year to hire employees or else more people will go without the services volunteers currently provide.

    Mr. Jeffrey C. Swinton, Executive Director, Salt Lake Inner City Project, and Stake President for the LDS Church, distributed a copy of his presentation which outlined concerns of liability issues relating to Church volunteers. He explained how volunteers have been recruited for community service and to assist those in need in the Salt Lake City area through the Salt Lake Inner City Project. He said that the LDS Church could be exposed to vicarious liability through this effort and noted that the Church decided not to recruit church members because of potential liability. He pointed out that the most notable impact will be on the Salt Lake County Juvenile Court Mentoring program for which several hundred LDS volunteers were not recruited.

    Mr. Leo Jardine, representing the Utah Volunteer Centers Association and the Utah Food Bank, spoke in favor of the bill. He also estimated that at least eleven hundred volunteers will not be recruited to provide critical services in the Salt Lake City area. He reported that at a rate of $9.00 per hour, with an approximate 50 hours per year per volunteer, then the replacement cost would total about $750,000.

     Mr. Russell Behrman, Director, The Volunteer Center, distributed letters from the Utah Volunteer Centers Association, United Way of Davis County, and The Volunteer Center. These organizations substantially depend on volunteers which are encouraged to participate through corporations, churches, and other third party organizations. These volunteers donate an average of four hours each time they volunteer, he said. If these organizations were to hire employees for these hours it would cost between $600,000 and $1.2 million per year. Mr. Behrman urged the committee to support this legislation.     

    Mr. Jim Olsen, President, Utah Food Industry Association, said that the food retailers who donate substantial amounts of food will significantly reduce the amounts of donations because they are coming to understand the risk of liability.
            
    Mr. David Davis, Legal Counsel and Director for Human Resources for the Macy's Stores, said Macy's operates seven retail locations across the Wasatch Front. He explained that these stores conservatively donate $110,000 a year in food products. He indicated to the committee that Macy's will no longer donate food products pending resolution of this issue. The risk is too substantial, he said.

    Mr. Ralph L. Dewsnup, Utah Trial Lawyers Association, spoke against the legislation. He explained that the Utah Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of the Good Samaritan Act. He said there is a misunderstanding about the law in Utah and if these organizations and the public understood the law, then they would not be reacting in the present manner.

    Mr. Dewsnup identified Utah Code Ann., Section 63-30b-2 which provides that "Any person performing services on a voluntary basis, without compensation, under the general supervision of, and on behalf of any public entity, shall be immune from liability with respect to any decisions or actions, other than in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle, taken during the course of those services, unless it is established that such decisions or actions were grossly negligent, not made in good faith, or were made maliciously.

    Also, Utah Code Ann., Section 67-20-3 provides that ". . . a volunteer is considered a governmental employee for purposes of . . . liability protection and indemnification normally afforded paid government employees."

    Concerning contributors of food, Mr. Dewsnup cited Utah Code Ann., Section 78-11- 22.1 which provides that "A person or entity who donates apparently wholesome food to a nonprofit organization for distribution to the needy is not subject to civil or criminal liability regarding the condition of the food unless an injury or death results from an act or omission of the donor that constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct."

    Mr. Dewsnup explained to the committee that this bill immunizes irresponsible volunteers, it immunizes organizations that do not purchase liability insurance, and it immunizes volunteers who engage in intentional misconduct. He urged the committee to vote against the bill.

    Mr. Richard K. Winters, Executive Director, Community Services Volunteer Center, said that the perception in Utah is that volunteers are liable. Whether this accurate or not does not bring the volunteers back, he said. The fact remains people are not volunteering because they fear liability for accidents. He urged the committee to correct this serious problem.

    Mr. Gary Doxey, Governor's General Counsel, said that volunteers are becoming increasingly important to the administration of government in Utah. He emphasized the importance of foster parents and acknowledged the governor's comfort in the direction of policy that this bill represents. He said the governor would like to support this bill but he is not entirely comfortable with the way it has been drafted. He distributed some amendments and suggested that the bill address intentional misconduct so such acts are not immune from liability.

    Chair Taylor voiced support of the amendments.

    Rep. Arent questioned whether it was possible to deal with the issue of foster care by amending Title 67, Chapter 20, rather than amending this bill. Mr. Winters responded that foster parents are presently protected from liability as volunteer agents of the state. He suggested that no amendments in either this bill or current law are necessary.

    Mr. Val Bateman, Medical Association, questioned Mr. Strong's survey, indicating that if this bill passes, then it could be argued that immunity does not apply to organizations that were not surveyed.

    Chair Taylor said that motions can not be entertained due to the lack of a quorum.

    Mr. Nate Alder, Utah Non Profits Association, expressed concerns with Utah Code Ann., Section 78-19-1 through 3. If the Legislature could lower the minimum insurance requirements, then the volunteer community would be pleased with the bill, he said.

    Ms. Karmen Sanome, Salt Lake County Aging Services, and Ms. Marge Edwards, President, AARP, addressed the issue of "expected compensation" and suggested setting a five or ten-dollar limit to allow the elderly to provide gas money to volunteers who drive them long distances to receive medical attention. The elderly would like to help the volunteers that help them, she said, and this provision has a chilling effect when the volunteer must reject all offers to pay for gas.

    Ms. Brinda K. Thompson, Director, Utah Food Bank, said that grocery stores are scared to donate food because of the liability. If this fear continues, she said, the Food Bank will lose the majority of its donations. She stressed the importance of food donations and the pain and hunger that will follow if donations to the food bank dwindle.
            
4.    Judicial Nominating Procedures

    Postponed

5.    Adjournment

    MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:06 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.