Governor signs into law The Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation Act, prohibiting indemnification agreements and hold-harmless language in snow contracts.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an official statement released by ASCA Executive Director Kevin GIlbride.
On Thursday, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, signed Senate Bill 2138, The Snow Removal Service Liability Limitation Act, into law. This is the ASCA’s model legislation, which we created, introduced, and lobbied hard for throughout the process.
In May of 2015, ASCA staff and a group of Illinois members descended upon Springfield to introduce our model legislation. We succeed in getting sponsors from both sides of the aisle, securing bi-partisan support for the bill. We followed up with letters, meetings, and phone calls to maintain momentum and achieve forward progress. The Illinois Landscape Contractors Association also jumped on board and supported these efforts and the bill. In May of this year, I testified on behalf of the industry and ASCA members in the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee.
Later that month, the bill passed unanimously through the Illinois Senate, and shortly thereafter, it received unanimous support in the House. It was sent to Governor Rauner on June 29th, and signed on Aug. 25th, a mere 15 months after its introduction.
This law now makes indemnification agreements and hold-harmless language passing liability from the property owner or property managers to the contractor, null and void in Illinois. There are many impacts of this legislation, and in the coming weeks the ASCA will be educating its membership on what this means to them through webinars and educational events.
The ASCA continues to work in all snow-industry states to get this same legislation enacted. Currently, the ASCA has succeeded in getting our bill introduced in Michigan (it has already passed the Michigan House of Representatives), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Indiana. ASCA Staff and membership are working to get these bills moving, and we are close in many others.
If you’d like to get involved in legislative efforts in your state, I encourage you to contact me directly at kgilbride@gie.net.
Read the full article here: http://www.ascaonline.org/illinois-legislative-alert-asca.aspx