Purpose

This bill would grant legal protection to racing facilities by shielding them from nuisance lawsuits filed by nearby property owners. If a racing facility was already built before nearby property owners bought or built nearby properties, the facility would be immune from nuisance claims. The immunity would apply even if the facility changes in size, scope, configuration, technology, or the type of racing it hosts, as long as these changes follow applicable laws and regulations. The bill also aims to limit local governments from restricting the facility in ways that conflict with this immunity, while still requiring facilities to obey environmental and health and safety laws.

Main Provisions

• Definitions
  • Racing facility: A designated area or track where competitive vehicle and motorsport races are held, including the track, spectator areas, garages, and related grounds, buildings, or appurtenances used to operate the races.
  • Area of the racing facility: Within a five-mile radius of the facility’s property perimeter or within a contiguous group of properties where the facility is located.
• Immunity from nuisance claims
  • A racing facility is immune from nuisance lawsuits brought by surrounding property owners if the facility was built before those property owners purchased or built their property in the area.
  • Immunity applies regardless of changes to the facility’s size, scope, configuration, technology, or type of racing, provided all changes comply with local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
• Local preemption
  • Local governments cannot adopt or enforce ordinances or rules that would restrict, limit, or prohibit the operation of a racing facility in a way that would be inconsistent with this act.
• Construction and compliance
  • Nothing in this section exempts racing facilities from complying with state or federal environmental laws or health and safety regulations.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Creates an immunity from nuisance claims for racing facilities under specified conditions, shifting potential liability away from facilities in many surrounding nuisance situations.
• Establishes local preemption to limit local regulations that would conflict with this immunity.
• Maintains requirements for environmental and health/safety compliance, ensuring facilities still follow applicable laws.

Relevant Terms

• racing facility
• nuisance
• immunity
• area of the racing facility
• five-mile radius
• nuisance claims
• local preemption
• designated area facility
• track
• motorsport
• spectators
• appurtenances
• environmental laws
• health and safety regulations
• ordinance
• local government
• changes in size/scope/configuration/technology