Florida Senate - 2010                             CS for SB 2060
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Bennett
       
       
       
       
       590-03236-10                                          20102060c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to sovereign immunity; amending s.
    3         768.28, F.S.; increasing the statutory limits on
    4         liability for tort claims against the state and its
    5         agencies and subdivisions; providing for application
    6         of the act to claims arising on or after the effective
    7         date; providing an effective date.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 768.28, Florida
   12  Statutes, is amended 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         (5) The state and its agencies and subdivisions shall be
   18  liable for tort claims in the same manner and to the same extent
   19  as a private individual under like circumstances, but liability
   20  shall not include punitive damages or interest for the period
   21  before judgment. Neither the state nor its agencies or
   22  subdivisions shall be liable to pay a claim or a judgment by any
   23  one person which exceeds the sum of $200,000 $100,000 or any
   24  claim or judgment, or portions thereof, which, when totaled with
   25  all other claims or judgments paid by the state or its agencies
   26  or subdivisions arising out of the same incident or occurrence,
   27  exceeds the sum of $300,000 $200,000. However, a judgment or
   28  judgments may be claimed and rendered in excess of these amounts
   29  and may be settled and paid pursuant to this act up to $200,000
   30  $100,000 or $300,000 $200,000, as the case may be; and that
   31  portion of the judgment that exceeds these amounts may be
   32  reported to the Legislature, but may be paid in part or in whole
   33  only by further act of the Legislature. Notwithstanding the
   34  limited waiver of sovereign immunity provided herein, the state
   35  or an agency or subdivision thereof may agree, within the limits
   36  of insurance coverage provided, to settle a claim made or a
   37  judgment rendered against it without further action by the
   38  Legislature, but the state or agency or subdivision thereof
   39  shall not be deemed to have waived any defense of sovereign
   40  immunity or to have increased the limits of its liability as a
   41  result of its obtaining insurance coverage for tortious acts in
   42  excess of the $200,000 $100,000 or $300,000 $200,000 waiver
   43  provided above. The limitations of liability set forth in this
   44  subsection shall apply to the state and its agencies and
   45  subdivisions whether or not the state or its agencies or
   46  subdivisions possessed sovereign immunity before July 1, 1974.
   47         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011, and
   48  applies to claims arising on or after that date.