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STATE OF IOWA
KIM REYNOLDS
GOVERNOR
May 19,2026
The Honorable Paul Pate
Secretary of State of Iowa
State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Dear Mr. Secretary,
I hereby transmit:
House File 917, an Act relating to civil liability actions against motocross facilities.
The above House File is hereby approved on this date.
Sincerely,
KimKeynold
Govemor of Iowa
cc: Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House
STATE CAPITOL DES MOINES, IOWA 50319 515.281.5211 WWW.GOVERNOR.IOWA.GOV
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House File 917
AN ACT
RELATING TO CIVIL LIABILITY ACTIONS AGAINST MOTOCROSS
FACILITIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION. 673B.1 Motocross facility —
immunity.
1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
provides:
a. ^Facility operator" means any individual, group, club,
partnership, corporation, or business entity, whether or not
operating for profit or not for profit, or any employee or
agent, which sponsors, organizes, rents, or provides to the
House File 917, p. 2
general public the opportunity to use a motocross vehicle by
a participant on a motocross facility. "^Facility operator"
includes a fair authority as defined in section 673.1.
b, ^Inherent risks of motocross activities" means those
dangers, hazards, or conditions that are an integral part of
motocross activities, including all of the following;
(1) Operator error.
(2) Cold weather or heat-related injuries and illnesses,
including hypothermia, frostbite, heat exhaustion, heat stroke,
and dehydration.
(3) An act of nature which may include rock fall, inclement
weather, thunder and lightning, severe or varied temperature,
weather conditions, and winds including tornadoes.
(4) Attack or bite by animals.
(5) The aggravation of injuries or illnesses because they
occurred in remote places where there are no available medical
facilities.
c, ^Motocross activity" means riding on, training in or on,
using, or being a passenger on a motocross vehicle as follows:
(1) A competition, exercise, or undertaking that involves a
motocross vehicle.
(2) Training or teaching activities regarding the operation
of a motocross vehicle at a motocross facility.
d, ^^Motocross facility" means an area created and maintained
for the operation of motocross vehicles on natural or man-made
terrain.
e, ^Motocross vehicle" means a motorized two-wheel or
four-wheel vehicle being operated over terrain created and
maintained for recreational use.
f, "^Participant" means a person, whether amateur or
professional, whether or not a fee is paid, which rents,
leases, or uses a motocross vehicle or is a passenger on a
rented, leased, or used motocross vehicle while participating
in a motocross activity.
2. Except as provided in subsection 4, a motocross facility
shall not be liable for any injury to or the death of a
participant resulting from the inherent risks of motocross
activities and, except as provided in subsection 4, a
participant or a participant's representative shall not make
House Pile 917, p. 3
any claim against, maintain any action against, or recover
from a facility operator, owner, or its agents, servants, or
employees for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant
resulting from any of the inherent risks of motocross
activities which injury, loss, damage, or death occurred at a
motocross facility.
3. This section shall not apply to any employer and employee
relationship governed by the provisions of chapter 87.
4. The provisions of subsection 2 shall not prevent or limit
the liability of a facility operator of a motocross facility
that does any of the following;
a. Intentionally injures the participant.
b. Commits an act or omission that constitutes negligence
for the safety of a participant in a motocross activity and
that negligence is a proximate cause of the injury or death of
a participant.
c. Provides unsafe equipment to a participant and knew
or should have known that use of the furnished equipment was
unsafe.
d. Fails to use that degree of care that a reasonably
prudent person would use under the same or similar
circumstances.
5. Every facility operator shall post and maintain signs
which contain the warning notice specified in this subsection.
Such signs shall be placed in a clearly visible location on
or near areas where the facility operator conducts motocross
activities. The warning notice specified in this subsection
shall appear on the sign in black letters on a white background
with each letter to be a minimum of one inch in height. The
signs described in this subsection shall contain the following
warning notice:
WARNING
Under Iowa law, a facility operator is not liable for an
injury to or the death of a participant in motocross activities
resulting from the inherent risks of motocross activities
pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 673B.
6. This section shall not be construed to affect, limit,
or modify any claim or defense existing in statute or common
law or to affect any claim against a motocross facility for
House File 917r p. 4
any injury to or the death of a participant that occurred at a
motocross facility prior to the effecti^^ date of this Act.
/lyVk^AA I
PAT GRASSL^ AMY SINC^IR
Speaker of the House President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 917f Ninety-first General Assembly,
1Approved I ^\JL\I I ' f 2026
KIMA^EYNOLD
Governor
MEGHAN NELSON
the House