CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 660

    Amendment No.    

                            CHAMBER ACTION
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11  Senator Brown-Waite moved the following amendment:

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13         Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 

14         On page 4, line 12, through page 5, line 6, delete

15  those lines

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17  and insert:

18         (c)  The Legislature finds that the state has

19  traditionally provided foster care services to children who

20  have been the responsibility of the state. As such, foster

21  children have not had the right to recover for injuries beyond

22  the limitations specified in s. 768.28. The Legislature has

23  determined that foster care and related services need to be

24  privatized pursuant to  s. 409.1671 and that the provision of

25  such services is of paramount importance to the state. The

26  purpose for such privatization is to increase the level of

27  safety, security and stability of children who are or become

28  the responsibility of the state. One of the components

29  necessary to secure a safe and stable environment for such

30  children is that private providers maintain liability

31  insurance. As such, insurance needs to be available and remain

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 660

    Amendment No.    





 1  available to non-governmental foster care and related services

 2  providers without the resources of such providers being

 3  significantly reduced by the cost of maintaining such

 4  insurance.

 5         The Legislature further finds that, by requiring the

 6  following minimum levels of insurance, children in privatized

 7  foster care and related services will gain increased

 8  protection and rights of recovery in the event of injury than

 9  provided for in s. 768.28.

10         (d)  Any eligible lead community-based provider, as

11  defined in paragraph (b), or its employees or officers, except

12  as otherwise provided in paragraph (e), must, as a part of its

13  contract, obtain a minimum of $1,000,000 per claim/$3 million

14  per incident in general liability insurance coverage. In any

15  tort action brought against such an eligible lead

16  community-based provider, net economic damages shall be

17  limited to $1 million per claim, including, but not limited

18  to, past and future medical expenses, wage loss, and loss of

19  earning capacity, offset by any collateral source payment paid

20  or payable. In any tort action brought against such an

21  eligible lead community-based provider, non-economic damages

22  shall be limited to $200,000 per claim. This paragraph does

23  not preclude the filing of a claims bill pursuant to s. 768.28

24  by the claimant for any amount exceeding the limits specified

25  in this paragraph. Any offset of collateral source payments

26  made as of the date of the settlement or judgment shall be in

27  accordance with s. 768.76. The lead community-based provider

28  shall not be liable in tort for the acts or omissions of its

29  subcontractors or the officers, agents, or employees of its

30  subcontractors.

31         (e)  The liability of an eligible lead community-based

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 660

    Amendment No.    





 1  provider described in this section shall be exclusive and in

 2  place of all other liability of such provider. The same

 3  immunities from liability enjoyed by such providers shall

 4  extend as well to each employee of the provider when such

 5  employee is acting in furtherance of the provider's business.

 6  Such immunities shall not be applicable to a provider or an

 7  employee who acts in a culpably negligent manner or with

 8  willful and wanton disregard or unprovoked physical aggression

 9  when such acts result in injury or death or such acts

10  proximately cause such injury or death; nor shall such

11  immunities be applicable to employees of the same provider

12  when each is operating in the furtherance of the provider's

13  business, but they are assigned primarily to unrelated works

14  within private or public employment. The same immunity

15  provisions enjoyed by a provider shall also apply to any sole

16  proprietor, partner, corporate officer or director,

17  supervisor, or other person who is in the course and scope of

18  his or her duties act in a managerial or policymaking capacity

19  and the conduct which caused the alleged injury arose within

20  the course and scope of said managerial or policymaking

21  duties. Culpable negligence is defined as reckless

22  indifference or grossly careless disregard of human life.

23         (f)  Any subcontractor of an eligible lead

24  community-based provider, as defined in paragraph (b), which

25  is a direct provider of foster care and related services to

26  children and families, and its employees or officers, except

27  as otherwise provided in paragraph (e), must, as a part of its

28  contract, obtain a minimum of $1,000,000 per claim/$3 million

29  per incident in general liability insurance coverage. In any

30  tort action brought against such subcontractor, net economic

31  damages shall be limited to $1 million per claim, including,

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 660

    Amendment No.    





 1  but not limited to, past and future medical expenses, wage

 2  loss, and loss of earning capacity, offset by any collateral

 3  source payment paid or payable. In any tort action brought

 4  against such subcontractor, non-economic damages shall be

 5  limited to $200,000 per claim. This paragraph does not

 6  preclude the filing of a claims bill pursuant to section s.

 7  768.28 by the claimant for any amount exceeding the limits

 8  specified in this paragraph. Any offset of collateral source

 9  payments made as of the date of the settlement or judgment

10  shall be in accordance with s. 768.76.

11         (g)  The liability of a subcontractor of an eligible

12  lead community-based provider which is a direct provider of

13  foster care and related services as described in this section

14  shall be exclusive and in place of all other liability of such

15  provider. The same immunities from liability enjoyed by such

16  subcontractor provider shall extend as well to each employee

17  of the subcontractor when such employee is acting in

18  furtherance of the subcontractor's business. Such immunities

19  shall not be applicable to a subcontractor or an employee who

20  acts in a culpably negligent manner or with willful and wanton

21  disregard or unprovoked physical aggression when such acts

22  result in injury or death or such acts proximately cause such

23  injury or death; nor shall such immunities be applicable to

24  employees of the same subcontractor when each is operating in

25  the furtherance of the subcontractor's business, but they are

26  assigned primarily to unrelated works within private or public

27  employment. The same immunity provisions enjoyed by a

28  subcontractor shall also apply to any sole proprietor,

29  partner, corporate officer or director, supervisor, or other

30  person who in the course and scope of his or her duties acts

31  in a managerial or policymaking capacity and the conduct which

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 660

    Amendment No.    





 1  caused the alleged injury arose within the course and scope of

 2  said managerial or policymaking duties. Culpable negligence is

 3  defined as reckless indifference or grossly careless disregard

 4  of human life.

 5         (h)  The Legislature is cognizant of the increasing

 6  costs of goods and services each year and recognizes that

 7  fixing a set amount of compensation actually has the effect of

 8  a reduction in compensation each year. Accordingly, the

 9  conditional limitations on damages in this section shall be

10  increased at the rate of 5 percent each year, prorated from

11  the effective date of this paragraph to the date at which

12  damages subject to such limitations are awarded by final

13  judgment or settlement.

14         Section 2.  If any provision of this act or its

15  application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the

16  invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of

17  the act which can be given effect without the invalid

18  provision or application, and to this end the provisions of

19  this act are declared severable.

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21  (Redesignate subsequent sections.)

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24  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

25  And the title is amended as follows:

26         On page 1, lines 11-20, delete those lines

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28  and insert:

29         funds; requiring community-based providers and

30         their subcontractors to obtain certain

31         liability insurance; prescribing limits on

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. CS for CS for SB 660

    Amendment No.    





 1         liability; prescribing immunity of employees of

 2         providers and their subcontractors; defining

 3         the term "culpable negligence"; declaring

 4         legislative intent with respect to inflationary

 5         increases in liability amounts; providing for

 6         severability; providing an effective date.

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