| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to sovereign immunity; amending s. 768.28, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing that a law enforcement agency is not |
| 4 | liable for injury, death, or property damage effected or |
| 5 | caused by a person fleeing a law enforcement officer under |
| 6 | certain circumstances; providing for severability; |
| 7 | providing for application; providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (9) of |
| 12 | section 768.28, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 13 | 768.28 Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions; |
| 14 | recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of |
| 15 | limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management |
| 16 | programs.-- |
| 17 | (9) |
| 18 | (d) The employing agency of a law enforcement officer as |
| 19 | defined in s. 943.10 is not liable for injury, death, or |
| 20 | property damage effected or caused by a person fleeing from a |
| 21 | law enforcement officer in a motor vehicle if: |
| 22 | 1. The pursuit is conducted in a manner that does not |
| 23 | involve conduct by the officer that is so reckless or wanting in |
| 24 | care as to constitute disregard of human life, human rights, |
| 25 | safety, or the property of another; |
| 26 | 2. At the time the law enforcement officer initiates the |
| 27 | pursuit, the officer reasonably believes that the person fleeing |
| 28 | has committed a forcible felony as defined in s. 776.08; and |
| 29 | 3. The pursuit is conducted by the officer pursuant to a |
| 30 | written policy governing high-speed pursuit adopted by the |
| 31 | employing agency. The policy must contain specific procedures |
| 32 | concerning the proper method to initiate and terminate high- |
| 33 | speed pursuits. The law enforcement officer must have received |
| 34 | instructional training from the employing agency on the written |
| 35 | policy governing high-speed pursuit. |
| 36 | Section 2. If any provision of this act or its application |
| 37 | to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity |
| 38 | does not affect other provisions or applications of this act |
| 39 | which can be given effect without the invalid provision or |
| 40 | application, and to this end the provisions of this act are |
| 41 | severable. |
| 42 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law |
| 43 | and shall apply to causes of action that accrue on or after the |
| 44 | effective date. |