Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 974
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì660804ÊÎ660804                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/31/2022           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Gruters) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 768.28, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         768.28 Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;
    8  recovery limits; civil liability for damages caused during a
    9  riot; limitation on attorney fees; statute of limitations;
   10  exclusions; indemnification; risk management programs.—
   11         (5)(a) The state and its agencies and subdivisions are
   12  shall be liable for tort claims in the same manner and to the
   13  same extent as a private individual under like circumstances,
   14  but liability does shall not include punitive damages or
   15  interest for the period before judgment. Neither The state, nor
   16  its agencies, and its or subdivisions are not shall be liable to
   17  pay a claim or a judgment by any one person which exceeds the
   18  sum of $300,000 $200,000 or any claim or judgment, or portions
   19  thereof, which, when totaled with all other claims or judgments
   20  paid by the state or its agencies or subdivisions arising out of
   21  the same incident or occurrence, exceeds the sum of $400,000
   22  $300,000. However, a judgment or judgments may be claimed and
   23  rendered in excess of these amounts and may be settled and paid
   24  pursuant to this section act up to $300,000 $200,000 or
   25  $400,000, as applicable. The $300,000, as the case may be; and
   26  that portion of the judgment that exceeds these amounts may be
   27  reported to the Legislature, but may be paid in part or in whole
   28  only by further act of the Legislature.
   29         (b) Notwithstanding the limited waiver of sovereign
   30  immunity under paragraph (a) provided herein, the state or an
   31  agency or subdivision thereof may agree, within the limits of
   32  insurance coverage provided, to settle a claim made or a
   33  judgment rendered against it without further action by the
   34  Legislature, but the state or agency or subdivision thereof does
   35  shall not waive be deemed to have waived any defense of
   36  sovereign immunity or increase to have increased the limits of
   37  its liability as a result of its obtaining insurance coverage
   38  for tortious acts in excess of the $300,000 $200,000 or $400,000
   39  $300,000 waiver provided in paragraph (a) above.
   40         (c) The limitations of liability set forth in this
   41  subsection shall apply to the state and its agencies and
   42  subdivisions whether or not the state or its agencies or
   43  subdivisions possessed sovereign immunity before July 1, 1974.
   44         (d)Beginning July 1, 2032, and on July 1 every 10 years
   45  thereafter, the Department of Financial Services shall adjust
   46  the limitations of liability in this subsection, rounded to the
   47  nearest $10,000, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index
   48  for the Southeast or a successor index as calculated by the
   49  United States Department of Labor. After each adjustment, the
   50  department must publish the adjusted liability limitation
   51  amounts on its website which amounts shall apply to causes of
   52  action accruing on or after the October 1 following the
   53  adjustment date.
   54         (e)(b) A municipality has a duty to allow the municipal law
   55  enforcement agency to respond appropriately to protect persons
   56  and property during a riot or an unlawful assembly based on the
   57  availability of adequate equipment to its municipal law
   58  enforcement officers and relevant state and federal laws. If the
   59  governing body of a municipality or a person authorized by the
   60  governing body of the municipality breaches that duty, the
   61  municipality is civilly liable for any damages, including
   62  damages arising from personal injury, wrongful death, or
   63  property damages proximately caused by the municipality’s breach
   64  of duty. The sovereign immunity recovery limits in paragraph (a)
   65  do not apply to an action under this paragraph.
   66         Section 2. Sections 45.061, 110.504, 111.071, 163.01,
   67  190.043, 213.015, 252.51, 252.89, 252.944, 260.0125, 284.31,
   68  284.38, 322.13, 337.19, 341.302, 373.1395, 375.251, 381.0056,
   69  393.075, 395.1055, 403.706, 409.993, 455.221, 455.32, 456.009,
   70  456.076, 471.038, 472.006, 497.167, 513.118, 548.046, 556.106,
   71  589.19, 723.0611, 760.11, 766.1115, 766.112, 768.1355, 768.295,
   72  944.713, 946.5026, 946.514, 961.06, 1002.33, 1002.333, 1002.34,
   73  1002.55, 1002.83, 1002.88, 1006.24, and 1006.261, Florida
   74  Statutes, are reenacted for the purpose of incorporating the
   75  amendments made by this act to s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, in
   76  references thereto.
   77         Section 3. This act applies to claims arising on or after
   78  October 1, 2022.
   79         Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2022.
   80  
   81  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   82  And the title is amended as follows:
   83         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   84  and insert:
   85                        A bill to be entitled                      
   86         An act relating to sovereign immunity; amending s.
   87         768.28, F.S.; increasing the statutory limits on
   88         liability for tort claims against the state and its
   89         agencies and subdivisions; requiring the Department of
   90         Financial Services to adjust the limitations on tort
   91         liability every 10 years after a specified date and
   92         publish the adjustments on its website; reenacting ss.
   93         45.061, 110.504, 111.071, 163.01, 190.043, 213.015,
   94         252.51, 252.89, 252.944, 260.0125, 284.31, 284.38,
   95         322.13, 337.19, 341.302, 373.1395, 375.251, 381.0056,
   96         393.075, 395.1055, 403.706, 409.993, 455.221, 455.32,
   97         456.009, 456.076, 471.038, 472.006, 497.167, 513.118,
   98         548.046, 556.106, 589.19, 723.0611, 760.11, 766.1115,
   99         766.112, 768.1355, 768.295, 944.713, 946.5026,
  100         946.514, 961.06, 1002.33, 1002.333, 1002.34, 1002.55,
  101         1002.83, 1002.88, 1006.24, and 1006.261, F.S., to
  102         incorporate the amendments made to s. 768.28, F.S., in
  103         references thereto; providing applicability; providing
  104         an effective date.