§1742a Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act

Summary

Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture must set up a faster way for eligible people and groups to get permission to go onto federal land to search for missing people who are believed to be dead. Eligible — a not-for-profit group or an individual made up only of adults. Good Samaritan search-and-recovery mission — a search by an eligible party for one or more missing people believed to be deceased. Secretary — the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. The Secretaries must make rules that say these searchers act for private reasons, are not federal volunteers, and are not covered by certain federal volunteer or employee compensation and tort laws. The agencies may not force searchers to buy liability insurance if the searchers sign written consent to those rules and a waiver that releases and protects the United States from claims and pays for any claims against it. The agency must approve or deny a request within 48 hours and, if it denies the request, explain why and say what to do to fix it. The agencies must also build partnerships with search groups to coordinate and speed searches, and they had to send Congress a joint report within 180 days after March 12, 2019 explaining their plans and actions.