Senate Bill 2332

    Florida Senate - 1998                                  SB 2332

    By Senators Crist, Meadows, Williams, Bronson, Cowin, Harris,
    Horne, Diaz-Balart, Lee, Gutman, Ostalkiewicz and Turner




    20-1148-98

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the state's lawsuit against

  3         tobacco companies; providing a limitation on

  4         attorney's fees; providing for distribution of

  5         attorney's fees received from tobacco

  6         companies; providing an effective date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  (1)  An attorney who represented the state

11  in its lawsuit against tobacco companies may not be paid

12  attorney's fees that exceed $250 per hour per attorney. The

13  maximum fee that such attorney may receive is $250,000.

14         (2)  Attorney's fees paid by tobacco companies over and

15  above $3 million, the maximum allowed under subsection (1),

16  must instead be paid into the General Revenue Fund of the

17  state and earmarked for annual classroom teacher salary

18  bonuses.

19         (3)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the $2.8

20  billion attorney's fees in the tobacco lawsuit be reduced to a

21  maximum of $3 million with the remaining balance of $2.797

22  billion to be awarded on an equal basis to classroom teachers

23  of the state as an annual salary bonus.

24         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

25  law.

26

27            *****************************************

28                          SENATE SUMMARY

29    Limits attorney's fees in the state's lawsuit against
      tobacco companies to a maximum of $3 million. Provides
30    that attorney's fees paid in such lawsuit which exceed $3
      million must be used to provide annual salary bonuses for
31    classroom teachers.

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