Senate bill focuses on sovereign immunity caps
Sen. Joe Gruters
Florida lawmakers are considering raising the $200,000 “sovereign immunity” threshold, beyond which, victims of government negligence must seek state approval to be compensated.
The Senate Commerce Committee voted 6-3 on February 8 to approve SB 974 by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota.
An earlier version raised the threshold to $300,000 per individual and $400,000 per incident, but Gruters introduced a “strike-all” amendment that raised the figures to $1 million and $3 million respectively.
Gruters told the panel the figures will likely change again.
“This amendment continues the ongoing discussion as to what the right cap amount is for sovereign immunity,” he said.
David Cruz, deputy general counsel for the Florida League of Cities, said his organization supports reforming the sovereign immunity process, but not such a dramatic increase in the threshold.
“Florida League of Cities supports the underlying bill, we support a comprehensive look at what our sovereign immunity caps are and coming up with what a reasonable cap level is,” he said.
Many cities self-insure up to the sovereign immunity limit, and a tenfold increase could be financially devastating, Cruz said.
A small city would be forced to pay more than half of its $5 million annual operating budget for a single claim, Cruz said.
“At that point, things like fire and police would come into question, if we even have the budget on hand to continue to provide those services,” he said. “That’s the reason we have sovereign immunity.”
School districts would also feel the blow, said Bob Harris, general counsel for the Panhandle Area Education Consortium.
“Number 1, we couldn’t afford it,” Harris said.
The 13 rural school districts he represents in Northwest Florida are struggling to maintain liability coverage in the wake of Hurricane Michael, Harris said.
The consortium recruited seven insurance companies to underwrite $64 million in liability coverage before storm, Harris said. After a recent renewal, the consortium is relying on 24 companies, he said.
“Every single dollar that goes into our insurance program to pay for claims are taxpayer dollars,” he said. “One of our districts is so small that if they raised their taxes by 1 mil, that would bring in a whopping $100,000.”
But supporters say the threshold, which hasn’t been raised since 2010, is far too low to compensate victims, many of whom face catastrophic injuries.
Florida Justice Association executive committee member Todd J. Michaels called the amendment “a step in the right direction.”
After victims reach a settlement, they must go through a special master, and then wait years for the Legislature to approve a “claims” bill, Michaels said.
“In our state, we have a sovereign immunity system that shields wrongdoers and makes it harder for victims to accomplish and achieve justice,” he said.
Michaels said he represented two families who lost a loved one in the Parkland school shooting, and a teacher who was injured trying to save her students.
“The courts in that case quickly clarified that under our current system there was a total of $300,000 aggregate, available to all of them, unless there was legislative action,” Michaels said.
Had he not been able to find compensation for his clients through a separate civil rights action, they would have received $8,823.50 each, Michaels said.
A South Florida man, George Gough, struggled to maintain his composure as he described his experience navigating the claims process.
Gough’s 14-year-old son, Jaime Gough, bled to death in a middle school bathroom in 2004 after being stabbed 42 times by a classmate.
“It is something very difficult, the grief…the back and forth…it took us three years to get compensated,” he said. “It’s not about money, no money is going to bring back your loved ones.”
Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, a Georgetown Law graduate, said sovereign immunity is important to fend off meritless claims.
“There is a difference between counties and states and private individuals,” he said. “We are often seen as targets for frivolous litigation, and that is why the concept of sovereign immunity exists.”
Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Ft. Lauderdale, said the comment, “makes my blood boil.”
“You know what a frivolous lawsuit is?” Farmer said. “One that doesn’t involve you or your family…How would you like to be Mr. Gough?”
SB 947 faces hearings in Rules and Appropriations before reaching the Senate floor. A companion, HB 985 by Rep. Mike Beltran, R-Valrico, faces one more hearing in Judiciary.
The 60-day legislative session adjourns March 11.
