| 1 | Representative Pickens offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment to Amendment (362603) (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Between lines 208 and 209 insert: |
| 5 | Section 8. The facts stated in the preamble to this act |
| 6 | are found and declared to be true. |
| 7 | Section 9. The City of Tallahassee is authorized and |
| 8 | directed to appropriate from funds of the city not otherwise |
| 9 | appropriated and to draw a warrant in the sum of $775,000 |
| 10 | payable to Sheryl D. Allen and George F. Allen as compensation |
| 11 | for injuries and damages sustained due to the negligence of an |
| 12 | employee of the city. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ============= |
| 15 | Remove line 234 and insert: |
| 16 | lobbyist's fees; providing for the relief of Sheryl D. Allen and |
| 17 | George F. Allen by the City of Tallahassee; providing for an |
| 18 | appropriation to compensate Sheryl D. Allen and George F. Allen |
| 19 | for injuries and damages sustained as a result of an accident |
| 20 | involving Sheryl D. Allen and an employee of the City of |
| 21 | Tallahassee; providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that wrongfully incarcerated |
| 24 | persons have been deprived of their liberty, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that innocent persons who |
| 26 | have been wrongfully incarcerated should have the opportunity to |
| 27 | lead normal lives, and |
| 28 | WHEREAS, wrongfully incarcerated persons or their families |
| 29 | may have expended large sums of money and encumbered real |
| 30 | property to defend against wrongful incarceration, and |
| 31 | WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the incarceration of an |
| 32 | innocent person is a taking of a person's liberty for which |
| 33 | compensation is due, and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, the Legislature has a responsibility to manage |
| 35 | state resources for the benefit of all residents of the state, |
| 36 | and |
| 37 | WHEREAS, on December 8, 2001, Sheryl D. Allen was in |
| 38 | Tallahassee chaperoning her daughter's Keystone Heights High |
| 39 | School Band as they participated in the city's 2001 Winter |
| 40 | Festival parade, and |
| 41 | WHEREAS, Sheryl D. Allen was hit by a large trailer/float |
| 42 | owned by the City of Tallahassee and driven by a City of |
| 43 | Tallahassee employee when the trailer swung wide, leaving the |
| 44 | parade disembarkment area, and |
| 45 | WHEREAS, the contact with the trailer knocked Sheryl D. |
| 46 | Allen to the ground, resulting in a skull fracture and |
| 47 | significant closed-head injury, and |
| 48 | WHEREAS, the accident of December 8, 2001, formed the basis |
| 49 | of a negligence action filed against the City of Tallahassee in |
| 50 | 2002, and |
| 51 | WHEREAS, the city, after extensive discovery during the |
| 52 | litigation, admitted liability, and |
| 53 | WHEREAS, on April 7, 2004, the City of Tallahassee and |
| 54 | Sheryl D. Allen and George F. Allen, husband of Sheryl D. Allen, |
| 55 | mediated the case prior to trial and reached an agreement |
| 56 | whereby the city agreed to pay Sheryl D. Allen and George F. |
| 57 | Allen $200,000, pursuant to the limits of liability set forth in |
| 58 | s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, and to support the passage of a |
| 59 | claims bill in the Legislature for an additional payment of |
| 60 | $775,000, and |
| 61 | WHEREAS, the Tallahassee City Commission and the Circuit |
| 62 | Court in and for the Second Judicial Circuit approved the |
| 63 | settlement agreement reached at mediation, and the city has paid |
| 64 | $200,000 to Sheryl D. Allen, George F. Allen, and their |
| 65 | attorneys, and |
| 66 | WHEREAS, the City of Tallahassee has agreed to support the |
| 67 | filing and passage of this bill and has agreed that, if this act |
| 68 | becomes law, the City of Tallahassee, within 30 days after the |
| 69 | effective date of this act, will pay an additional $775,000 to |
| 70 | Sheryl D. Allen and George F. Allen, NOW, THEREFORE, |