HB 2471 Summary

• Amends Arizona Revised Statutes section 3-113 to allow producers, shippers, or associations representing them to sue for damages from malicious public dissemination of false information claiming perishable agricultural food products are unsafe for human consumption.

• Makes a person who intentionally disseminates false information about perishable agricultural food product safety to the public liable for damages, including compensatory and punitive damages.

• Permits successful parties in such lawsuits to recover court costs and reasonable attorney fees.

• Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for bringing actions under this section from the date false information is disseminated.

• Defines key terms including "false information" (information not based on reliable scientific facts that the disseminator knows or should know is false), "perishable agricultural food product" (agricultural or aquacultural products grown in Arizona that decay within a reasonable time), "producer," and "shipper."