Senate Bill sb2002c1

    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2002

    By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Posey and Clary





    590-2350-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to sovereign immunity; amending

  3         s. 768.28, F.S.; providing that a law

  4         enforcement agency is not liable for injury,

  5         death, or property damage effected or caused by

  6         a person fleeing a law enforcement officer

  7         under certain circumstances; providing for

  8         severability; providing for application;

  9         providing an effective date.

10  

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

12  

13         Section 1.  Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (9) of

14  section 768.28, Florida Statutes, to read:

15         768.28  Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;

16  recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of

17  limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management

18  programs.--

19         (9)

20         (d)  The employing agency of a law enforcement officer

21  as defined in s. 943.10 is not liable for injury, death, or

22  property damage effected or caused by a person fleeing from a

23  law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle if:

24         1.  At the time the law enforcement officer initiates

25  the pursuit, the officer reasonably believes that the person

26  fleeing has committed a forcible felony violation as defined

27  in s. 776.08; and

28         2.  The pursuit is conducted by the officer pursuant to

29  a written high-speed pursuit policy adopted by the employing

30  agency. The policy must contain specific procedures on the

31  proper method to initiate and terminate high-speed pursuit.

                                  1

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






    Florida Senate - 2005                           CS for SB 2002
    590-2350-05




 1  The law enforcement officer must have received instructional

 2  training from the employing agency on the written high-speed

 3  pursuit policy.

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

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

 6  invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of

 7  this act which can be given effect without the invalid

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

 9  this act are declared severable.

10         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

11  law and shall apply to causes of action that accrue on or

12  after the effective date.

13  

14          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15                         Senate Bill 2002

16                                 

17  This committee substitute revises the substantive provisions
    of the underlying bill in that the committee substitute:
18  
    --   Limits liability for property damage;
19  
    --   Removes language which would have immunized law
20       enforcement agencies caused by the pursuit of drunk
         drivers; and
21  
    --   Clarifies the bill by removing language that could have
22       been construed to expand the liability of law enforcement
         agencies and law enforcement officers under some
23       circumstances.

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  2

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