43 U.S.C. § 1742a Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: prefLabel,label,title,shortLabel
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-19 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/06/2023)
• Citation: 43 U.S.C. § 1742a

(a) Definitions

In this section:

(1) Eligible

The term "eligible", with respect to an organization or individual, means that the organization or individual, respectively, is-

(A) acting in a not-for-profit capacity; and

(B) composed entirely of members who, at the time of the good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission, have attained the age of majority under the law of the State where the mission takes place.

(2) Good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission

The term "good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission" means a search conducted by an eligible organization or individual for 1 or more missing individuals believed to be deceased at the time that the search is initiated.

(3) Secretary

The term "Secretary" means the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable.

(b) Process

(1) In general

Each Secretary shall develop and implement a process to expedite access to Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for eligible organizations and individuals to request access to Federal land to conduct good Samaritan search-and-recovery missions.

(2) Inclusions

The process developed and implemented under this subsection shall include provisions to clarify that-

(A) an eligible organization or individual granted access under this section-

(i) shall be acting for private purposes; and

(ii) shall not be considered to be a Federal volunteer;

(B) an eligible organization or individual conducting a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section shall not be considered to be a volunteer under section 102301(c) of title 54;

(C) chapter 171 of title 28 (commonly known as the "Federal Tort Claims Act") shall not apply to an eligible organization or individual carrying out a privately requested good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section; and

(D) chapter 81 of title 5 (commonly known as the "Federal Employees Compensation Act") shall not apply to an eligible organization or individual conducting a good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission under this section, and the conduct of the good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission shall not constitute civilian employment.

(c) Release of Federal Government from liability

The Secretary shall not require an eligible organization or individual to have liability insurance as a condition of accessing Federal land under this section, if the eligible organization or individual-

(1) acknowledges and consents, in writing, to the provisions described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection (b)(2); and