ADOPTED 3/4/04

6601-S AMH JUDI SHIR 007

SSB 6601 - H COMM AMD

By Committee on Judiciary

   Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

   "NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 7.72 RCW to read as follows:

   (1) Any manufacturer, packer, distributor, carrier, holder, marketer, or seller of a food or nonalcoholic beverage intended for human consumption, or an association of one or more such entities, shall not be subject to civil liability for personal injury or wrongful death based on an individual's consumption of food or nonalcoholic beverages in cases where liability is premised upon the individual's weight gain, obesity, or a health condition related to the individual's weight gain or obesity and resulting from the individual's long-term consumption of a food or nonalcoholic beverage.

   (2) For the purposes of this section, the term "long-term consumption" means the cumulative effect of the consumption of food or nonalcoholic beverages, and not the effect of a single instance of consumption.

   NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act may be cited as the commonsense consumption act."

EFFECT: Replaces SSB 6601 with provisions barring personal injury or wrongful death suits for claims arising out of an individual's weight gain, obesity, or a health condition related to an individual's weight gain or obesity and resulting from the individual's long-term consumption of a food. Advertisers are no longer included in the list of possible defendants exempted from liability. "Food" no longer includes alcoholic beverages or animal feed.