A bill in the state legislature aimed at substantially increasing the monetary caps when actions by a government in Florida go terribly wrong, has just one more committee to make it through before reaching the Floor of the House of Representatives.
But Glades County has joined a gorowing list of municipalities and municipal groups hoping to blunt the bill's momentum and stop House Bill 145 from becoming law.
House Bill 145 addresses many aspects of Florida's Sovereign Immunity.
The legal principal behind sovereign immunity is to keep the state and its agencies from being sued by private citizens without its permission. The concept is rooted in the ancient idea that “the King can do no wrong.”
But that shield is not absolute. It is cumbersome and restrictive.
As it stands now, Florida’s insurance payout cap is $200,000 per person — even for a death. That cap hasn’t been raised in 16 years.
But Erin Grall of Indian River County wants to more than double that to $500,000. And for incidences involving more than one person, the cap would be raised to $1,000,000 per incident. That monetary payout could increase by an additional $500,000 over the next five years.
If anyone is seeking damages of more than $200,000, permission must be granted by the state legislature. That’s called a claims bill and it can take years for victims and survivors to be paid out above the caps even when judges order awards higher damages.
A similar proposal passed in one chamber last year but stalled in the other.
Like last year's proposal, House Bill 145 would be a win for the future victims, but such a high jump of payouts could wipe away small municipalities’ budgets, officials in Glades County say.
That’s why Glades County manager Paul Carlisle is headed to Tallahassee next week where he will hand-deliver a letter to members of Florida Legislature imploring them to re-think the bill because of it’s potential implications to rural governments like his.
Click below for the letter and learn more about the bill.
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