Senate Bill sb0316c1

    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 316

    By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    and Senators Campbell and Smith




    302-1340-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to sovereign immunity; amending

  3         s. 768.28, F.S.; providing that the state, an

  4         agency, or a subdivision thereof may settle a

  5         judgment or claim within the limits of a

  6         self-insurance fund; clarifying that any

  7         defense of sovereign immunity is not waived as

  8         a result of providing a specified

  9         risk-management program; providing an effective

10         date.

11

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

13

14         Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 768.28, Florida

15  Statutes, is amended to read:

16         768.28  Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;

17  recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of

18  limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management

19  programs.--

20         (5)  The state and its agencies and subdivisions shall

21  be liable for tort claims in the same manner and to the same

22  extent as a private individual under like circumstances, but

23  liability shall not include punitive damages or interest for

24  the period before judgment.  Neither the state nor its

25  agencies or subdivisions shall be liable to pay a claim or a

26  judgment by any one person which exceeds the sum of $100,000

27  or any claim or judgment, or portions thereof, which, when

28  totaled with all other claims or judgments paid by the state

29  or its agencies or subdivisions arising out of the same

30  incident or occurrence, exceeds the sum of $200,000.  However,

31  a judgment or judgments may be claimed and rendered in excess

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






    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 316
    302-1340-01




  1  of these amounts and may be settled and paid pursuant to this

  2  act up to $100,000 or $200,000, as the case may be; and that

  3  portion of the judgment that exceeds these amounts may be

  4  reported to the Legislature, but may be paid in part or in

  5  whole only by further act of the Legislature. Notwithstanding

  6  the limited waiver of sovereign immunity provided herein, the

  7  state or an agency or subdivision thereof may agree, within

  8  the limits of insurance coverage provided or within the limits

  9  of a self-insurance fund, to settle a claim made or a judgment

10  rendered against it without further action by the Legislature,

11  but the state or agency or subdivision thereof shall not be

12  deemed to have waived any defense of sovereign immunity or to

13  have increased the limits of its liability in excess of the

14  $100,000 waiver or $200,000 waiver as a result of its

15  obtaining insurance coverage, providing self-insurance, or

16  participating in any other risk-management program authorized

17  in subsection (15) for tortious acts in excess of the $100,000

18  or $200,000 waiver provided above. The limitations of

19  liability set forth in this subsection shall apply to the

20  state and its agencies and subdivisions whether or not the

21  state or its agencies or subdivisions possessed sovereign

22  immunity before July 1, 1974.

23         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

24

25          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
26                              SB 316

27

28  Redrafts the bill's language to effectuate its intent to
    authorize a government entity to settle a tort claim or
29  judgment within the limits of its self-insurance without
    legislative authorization.
30

31

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