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1 | AN ACT concerning agricultural activity liability.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | Agritourism and Farm Animal Activity Liability Act. | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | finds that activities involving the use and exhibition of farm | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | animals including but not limited to agritourism activities are | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | engaged in by a large number of citizens of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | significantly contributing to the economy of Illinois. Since it | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | is recognized that there are inherent risks in working with, | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | exhibiting, and using farm animals which should be understood | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | by participants in farm animal activities and agritourism and | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | which are essentially impossible for owners of farm animals or | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | sponsors of farm animal activities and agritourism professions | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | to eliminate, it is the purpose of this statute is to define | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | the areas of responsibility and affirmative acts for which | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | activity sponsors, professionals, and participants shall be | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | responsible, to specify risks of injury for which activity | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | sponsors, professionals, and participants shall not be | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | responsible, and to specify areas of responsibilities of farm | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | animal participants. Therefore, the General Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | determines that to preserve and promote activities involving |
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1 | farm animals and agritourism and the health and safety of the | ||||||
2 | citizens of Illinois, these statutory provisions are necessary | ||||||
3 | to instruct persons voluntarily engaging in farm animal | ||||||
4 | activities and agritourism of the potential risks inherent in | ||||||
5 | the activities. | ||||||
6 | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
7 | (a) "Agritourism activity" means any activity carried out | ||||||
8 | on a farm that allows individuals, for recreational, | ||||||
9 | entertainment, or educational purposes, to view or participate | ||||||
10 | in production agriculture as defined by Section 3-35 of the Use | ||||||
11 | Tax Act or hunting, fishing, or trapping. An activity is an | ||||||
12 | agritourism activity whether or not the participant paid to | ||||||
13 | participate in the activity. | ||||||
14 | (b) "Agritourism and farm animal activity professional" | ||||||
15 | means any person who is engaged in the business of providing | ||||||
16 | one or more agritourism or farm animal activities, whether or | ||||||
17 | not for compensation. | ||||||
18 | (c) "Farm animal activity" means any activity that allows | ||||||
19 | individuals to participate in any manner in the leading, | ||||||
20 | showing, exhibiting, riding, providing or assisting in | ||||||
21 | providing medical treatment of, grooming, fixing or attending | ||||||
22 | to farm animal equipment, driving, or being a passenger upon a | ||||||
23 | farm animal, or a spectator at any of these activities. Any | ||||||
24 | such activity is a farm animal activity whether carried out on | ||||||
25 | or off-site of the agritourism and farm animal professional's |
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1 | business, such as at a clinic, parade, fair, exhibition, or | ||||||
2 | other location of this sort, however informal or impromptu, | ||||||
3 | that is sponsored by an agritourism and farm animal activity | ||||||
4 | professional. | ||||||
5 | (d) "Farm animal" means an animal in one of the following | ||||||
6 | categories: cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, horses, ponies, | ||||||
7 | mules, donkeys, hinnies, alpacas, llamas, ratites, (ostrich, | ||||||
8 | rhea, emu), and poultry. | ||||||
9 | (e) "Inherent risks of farm animal and agritourism | ||||||
10 | activity" means those dangers or conditions that are an | ||||||
11 | integral part of an agritourism or farm animal activity | ||||||
12 | including certain hazards, including surface and subsurface | ||||||
13 | conditions, natural conditions of land, vegetation, and | ||||||
14 | waters, the unpredictable behavior of wild or domestic animals, | ||||||
15 | and the dangers of structures or equipment ordinarily used in | ||||||
16 | farming operations. Inherent risks of agritourism and farm | ||||||
17 | animal activity also include the potential of a participant to | ||||||
18 | act in a negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the | ||||||
19 | participant or others, including failing to follow | ||||||
20 | instructions given by the agritourism professional or failing | ||||||
21 | to exercise reasonable caution while engaging in the | ||||||
22 | agritourism activity. | ||||||
23 | (f) "Participant" means any person, other than the | ||||||
24 | agritourism and farm animal professional, who engages in an | ||||||
25 | agritourism or farm animal activity. | ||||||
26 | (g) "Person" means an individual, fiduciary, firm, |
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1 | association, partnership, limited liability company, | ||||||
2 | corporation, unit of government, or any other group acting as a | ||||||
3 | unit. | ||||||
4 | Section 15. Liability. | ||||||
5 | (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, | ||||||
6 | an agritourism and farm animal activity professional is not | ||||||
7 | liable for injury to or death of a participant resulting from | ||||||
8 | the inherent risks of farm animal and agritourism activity, so | ||||||
9 | long as the warning contained in Section 20 is posted as | ||||||
10 | required and, except as provided in subsection (b) of this | ||||||
11 | Section, no participant or participant's representative can | ||||||
12 | maintain an action against or recover from an agritourism or | ||||||
13 | farm animal activity professional for injury, loss, damage, or | ||||||
14 | death of the participant resulting from any of the inherent | ||||||
15 | risks of agritourism or farm animal activities. | ||||||
16 | (b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this Section prevents or | ||||||
17 | limits the liability of an agritourism and farm animal activity | ||||||
18 | professional if the agritourism and farm animal activity | ||||||
19 | professional does any one or more of the following: | ||||||
20 | (1) Commits an act or omission that constitutes willful | ||||||
21 | or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant, and | ||||||
22 | that act or omission proximately causes injury, damage, or | ||||||
23 | death to the participant. | ||||||
24 | (2) Has actual knowledge or reasonably should have | ||||||
25 | known of a dangerous condition on the land, facilities, or |
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1 | equipment used in the activity and does not make the danger | ||||||
2 | known to the participant, and the danger proximately causes | ||||||
3 | injury, damage, or death to the participant. | ||||||
4 | (c) Any limitation on legal liability afforded by this | ||||||
5 | Section to an agritourism and farm animal activity professional | ||||||
6 | is in addition to any other limitations of legal liability | ||||||
7 | otherwise provided by law. | ||||||
8 | (d) Liability may be limited under the terms of this Act | ||||||
9 | regardless of whether the agritourism or farm animal activity | ||||||
10 | is open to the public. | ||||||
11 | Section 20. Warning required. | ||||||
12 | (a) Every agritourism professional must post and maintain | ||||||
13 | signs that contain the warning notice specified in subsection | ||||||
14 | (b) of this Section. The sign must be placed in a clearly | ||||||
15 | visible location at the entrance to the agritourism and farm | ||||||
16 | animal activity location and at the site of the agritourism | ||||||
17 | activity or farm animal activity. The warning notice must | ||||||
18 | consist of a sign in black letters, with each letter to be a | ||||||
19 | minimum of one inch in height. | ||||||
20 | Every written contract entered into by an agritourism and | ||||||
21 | farm animal professional for the providing of professional | ||||||
22 | services, instruction, or the rental of equipment to a | ||||||
23 | participant, whether or not the contract involves agritourism | ||||||
24 | activities or farm animal activities on or off the location or | ||||||
25 | at the site of the activity, must contain in clearly readable |
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1 | print the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this | ||||||
2 | Section. | ||||||
3 | (b) The signs and contracts described in subsection (a) of | ||||||
4 | this Section must contain the following notice of warning: | ||||||
5 | "WARNING | ||||||
6 | Under Illinois law, each participant who engages in an | ||||||
7 | agritourism or farm animal activity expressly assumes the risks | ||||||
8 | of engaging in and the legal responsibility for injury, loss, | ||||||
9 | or damage to participant, person, or property resulting from | ||||||
10 | the risk of agritourism or farm animal activity." | ||||||
11 | (c) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning | ||||||
12 | warnings signs and notices provided in this subsection will | ||||||
13 | prevent an agritourism and farm animal professional from | ||||||
14 | invoking the liability limitations provided by this Act.
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15 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
16 | becoming law.
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