5224

VETOES

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

June 1, 1982

REVISED LETTER
Honorable Harry Hughes
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Re: House Bill 155 and
Senate Bill 240

Dear Governor Hughes:

We have reviewed House Bill 155 and Senate Bill 240,
identical bills purporting to exempt an operator of certain
emergency vehicles from tort liability and to impose
liability on the owner or lessee of the vehicle. Although
these bills are constitutional, they contain severe
interpretative problems that will unnecessarily perplex both
courts and litigants.

Both bills add § 19-103 to the Transportation Article
and provide in § 19-103(b)(l) that:

"An authorized operator of an emergency vehicle who
is authorized to operate the emergency vehicle by its
owner or lessee, is not liable in his individual
capacity, when exercising reasonable care, for any
damages resulting from a tortious act or omission
within the scope of performing emergency service."

The bills also provide in § 19-103(c)(l) that:

"An owner or lessee of an emergency vehicle,
including a political subdivision, is liable to the
extent provided in subsection (d) of this section for
any damages caused by a tortious act or omission of an
authorized operator of an emergency vehicle, when
exercising reasonable care, within the scope of
performing emergency service."

We believe the original intent of the legislation was
to exempt operators of certain emergency vehicles from
Liability for negligent (but not grossly negligent) acts and
to impose such liability on the owners or lessees of the
vehicles, thus making the latter strictly liable for the
negligence (but not the gross negligence) of the operators.