True heroes can get a free pass on lawsuits and misdemeanors if they follow the steps of how and when to spring into action.

House Bill 1179 will grant immunity to good Samaritans who do what they have to to rescue people or pets from locked vehicles. The bill passed the House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee unanimously Thursday and is expected to be debated on the House floor Tuesday.

Luke Perkins of the Durango Herald unearthed the bill most of the statehouse press corps missed, and explored it well on Friday.

The get out of jail free card has limits, though. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Lori Saine of Firestone, said it’s not a free pass to smash windows and nab dogs.

“There are steps you have to take to be immune from civil and criminal liability,” she said.

What you have to be award of is a lot to keep up with in an emergency.

Perkins provided a list of requirements for would-be heroes:

Ascertain that the person or animal in the vehicle is in danger.

Check the doors to see if they are locked.

Make a “reasonable effort” to find the owner of the vehicle.

Contact emergency services, and if they are not able to respond promptly, use no more force than necessary to access the vehicle.

Then, the person is expected to remain at the vehicle unless emergency medical treatment is needed, in which case they must leave a note with their contact information and provide law enforcement with the same while en route to a hospital or clinic.

Immunity for rescuers is needed because people are awfully negligent when it comes to heat and cars.

The inside of a vehicle in the sun can be 40 degrees hotter than outside, Troy Salazar, emergency services coordinator for Pueblo Community College, said, via the Durango Herald.

Salazar backed the bill, as long as it applies only to true emergencies.

An emergency can be a matter of judgment. Perkins recounted the story of Shelby Perovich. Last June she broke out the window of a 1996 Chevy pickup truck in Durango. She said she heard a puppy whimpering.

Kia Willden, owner of the truck, was away for six minutes, she said, and she wants Perovich to pay $1,800 for damages and loss of the use of the truck.

A trespassing case against Perovich was dropped by prosecutors, according to the Herald.