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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 5, 2024 02:21 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Wayne Langerholc, Jr. |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Statutory Cap Reform for Catastrophic Cases |
| In 1978, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania removed common law sovereign immunity, allowing lawsuits against the state and local governments for unlimited money. Realizing the financial problems this could cause, the General Assembly studied the issue and then passed the Sovereign Immunity Act. This law limited the types of claims and the amount of money individuals could get from these lawsuits. Since 2014, Justices of the Supreme Court have warned that if the General Assembly doesn't raise the damages cap set in 1978, the Court might declare it unconstitutional. This could cause the same financial problems as before. This issue is currently being considered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the case of Freilich v. SEPTA. The Pennsylvania Constitution gives the General Assembly the power to make these policy and fiscal decisions, not the Justices of the Supreme Court, who only look at individual cases. The Senate asked the LBFC to study the liability limits. The LBFC found that the current cap still provides adequate relief for over 99% of claims. My legislation will create an increased cap for catastrophic cases to address this issue before the Supreme Court oversteps and affects all other cases. Please join me in supporting this legislation to protect the General Assembly's role and all government agencies from severe financial distress and unnecessary litigation. |
Introduced as SB1300
Memo Updated: June 5, 2024 02:22 PM