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The Georgia legislature has passed y2k immunity legislation. The governor will probably sign it.
There are billions of people who know nothing of y2k and its likely effects. Of those few who know about y2k, most dismiss it as irrelevant to their lives. I ask: If its effects are irrelevant, why are governments passing such legislation?
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To amend Chapter 60 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding local government, so as to provide that certain political subdivisions of the state shall have no liability for certain computer errors; to provide for applicability to failures to properly process dates or times under certain circumstances; to provide for related matters; to amend Article 2 of Chapter 21 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, "The Georgia Tort Claims Act," so as to provide that the state shall have no liability for certain computer errors; to provide for applicability to failures to properly process dates or times under certain circumstances; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 60 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding local government, is amended by adding a new Code section at the end thereof, to be designated Code Section 36-60-19, to read as follows:
"36-60-19. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'political subdivision of the state' means any office, agency, department, commission, board, division, and institution of any county or municipality of the State of Georgia.
(b) A political subdivision of the state shall have no liability for losses from any failure or malfunction occurring before December 31, 2005, which is caused directly or indirectly by the failure of computer software or any device containing a computer processor to accurately or properly recognize, calculate, display, sort, or otherwise process dates or times, if the failure or malfunction causing the loss was unforeseeable or if the failure or malfunction causing the loss was foreseeable but the plan or design or both for identifying and preventing the failure or malfunction was prepared in substantial compliance with generally accepted computer and information system design standards in effect at the time of the preparation of the plan or design."
SECTION 2.
Article 2 of Chapter 21 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, "The Georgia Tort Claims Act," is amended in Code Section 50-21-24, relating to exceptions to state liability, by striking the word "or" at the end of paragraph (11); by replacing the period at the end of paragraph (12) with the symbol and word "; or"; and by adding a new paragraph (13) to read as follows:
"(13) Any failure or malfunction occurring before December 31, 2005, which is caused directly or indirectly by the failure of computer software or any device containing a computer processor to accurately or properly recognize, calculate, display, sort, or otherwise process dates or times, if the failure or malfunction causing the loss was unforeseeable or if the failure or malfunction causing the loss was foreseeable but the plan or design or both for identifying and preventing the failure or malfunction was prepared in substantial compliance with generally accepted computer and information system design standards in effect at the time of the preparation of the plan or design."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
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