Sovereign immunity compromise measure headed to the governor
Rep. Fiona McFarland
The Florida House ended several years of debate March 12 when it signed off on a compromise to reform Florida’s sovereign immunity laws.
The House voted 108-1 to approve HB 145 by Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota. It goes next to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
For the first time in more than a decade, the bill would raise $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident caps on damages that can be awarded to victims of government negligence without seeking the Legislature’s approval.
However, the increase would be significantly less than the House proposed when it overwhelmingly approved HB 145 during the first week of the session, McFarland acknowledged.
“The bill that we passed raised that number to $500,000 and $1 million,” she said. “The Senate has requested that the caps be $350,000 and $500,000, and I would like to concur with their changes.”
The Senate also declined to accept House provisions that would have permitted local governments to settle claims beyond the caps, and to bar insurers from tying payouts to the passage of a claims bill, McFarland noted.
“The Senate was not comfortable with that language, but again, I would ask that we concur in their changes,” she said.
Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, sponsored the companion, SB 1336.
“This bill updates liability standards to reflect economic realities while maintaining fiscal responsibility,” Brodeur told the Appropriations Committee in February.
SB 1336 initially raised per person and per incident caps to $300,000 and $450,000 respectively.
Local governments, rural schools and charity hospitals successfully fought proposals to raise the caps for the past several years.
Last month, local governments warned that the House proposal would raise their liability insurance premiums at a time when lawmakers are considering a property tax cutting proposal that some studies show could reduce local revenues 50% to 60% or more.
Gulf Port Councilwoman Marlene Shaw told a Senate committee that the Suncoast League of Cities could support the Senate version but not the House. The League represents 27 cities and 1 million residents in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties.
Before the final House vote on Thursday, Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-Sarasota, asked McFarland if the compromise would have helped the handful of injured victims who were forced to seek claims bills this year.
“I’m wondering if the caps that the Senate is proposing are adequate so that we may not have had to have the relief bills that we saw,” she asked.
Maybe, McFarland said.
“It perhaps could have done away with some of the claims bills that we entertain up here, but certainly, some that we passed in just the past couple of weeks have been for a high dollar amount and that would not change with the passage of this law.”
The compromise contains other benefits, McFarland said. She noted that reformers complained that plaintiffs’ attorneys are unwilling to risk challenging a government entity when the damage awards are capped at $200,000.
“But if that number is $350,000?” McFarland said. “My hope is that it opens the door for more attorneys to be able to bring a valid claim to suit.”
