I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7179 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 11, 2020 Mr. Murphy of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. Harris ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide liability protection for covered providers during the COVID–19 outbreak, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Pandemic Liability Protection Act . 2. Protection from liability for covered providers in certain civil actions relating to COVID– 19 (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), a covered provider who operated during a public health emergency with respect to COVID–19 declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ) shall not be liable under Federal or State law for any act or omission of such covered provider with respect to any harm arising from exposure to, or infection by, the virus that causes COVID–19. (b) Exception Subsection (a) does not apply if the harm was caused by an act or omission constituting willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the covered provider. (c) Preemption This section preempts the laws of a State or any political subdivision of a State to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with this section, unless such laws provide greater protection from liability. (d) Covered provider defined In this Act, the term covered provider means any of the following: (1) A healthcare provider which includes a nursing home, health care clinic, pharmacy, hospital, outpatient center, blood donation center, and urgent care center. (2) A food provider which includes an owner or operator of a farm, fishery, food processing plant, food packaging plant, restaurant, and grocery store.