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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3432
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE BUR TON.
7322H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 537.610, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
liability insurance and limits for certain tort claims.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 537.610, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 537.610, to read as follows:
537.610. 1. The commissioner of administration, through the purchasing division,
2 and the governing body of each political subdivision of this state, notwithstanding any other
3 provision of law , may purchase liability insurance for tort claims, made against the state or the
4 political subdivision, but the maximum amount of such coverage shall not exceed [ two ] five
5 million dollars for all claims arising out of a single occurrence and shall not exceed [ three
6 hundred thousand ] two million dollars for any one person in a single accident or occurrence,
7 except for those claims governed by the provisions of the Missouri workers' compensation
8 law , chapter 287, and no amount in excess of the above limits shall be awarded or settled
9 upon. Sovereign immunity for the state of Missouri and its political subdivisions is waived
10 only to the maximum amount of and only for the purposes covered by such policy of
11 insurance purchased pursuant to the provisions of this section and in such amount and for
12 such purposes provided in any self-insurance plan duly adopted by the governing body of any
13 political subdivision of the state.
14 2. The liability of the state and its public entities on claims within the scope of
15 sections 537.600 to 537.650, shall not exceed [ two ] five million dollars for all claims arising
16 out of a single accident or occurrence and shall not exceed [ three hundred thousand ] two
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 million dollars for any one person in a single accident or occurrence, except for those claims
18 governed by the provisions of the Missouri workers' compensation law , chapter 287.
19 3. No award for damages on any claim against a public entity within the scope of
20 sections 537.600 to 537.650, shall include punitive or exemplary damages.
21 4. If the amount awarded to or settled upon multiple claimants exceeds [ two ] five
22 million dollars, any party may apply to any circuit court to apportion to each claimant his
23 proper share of the total amount limited by subsection 1 of this section. The share
24 apportioned each claimant shall be in the proportion that the ratio of the award or settlement
25 made to him bears to the aggregate awards and settlements for all claims arising out of the
26 accident or occurrence, but the share shall not exceed [ three hundred thousand ] two million
27 dollars.
28 5. The limitation on awards for liability provided for in this section shall be increased
29 or decreased on an annual basis ef fective January first of each year in accordance with the
30 Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditures as published by the Bureau of
31 Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce. The current value of the
32 limitation shall be calculated by the director of the department of commerce and insurance,
33 who shall furnish that value to the secretary of state, who shall publish such value in the
34 Missouri Register as soon after each January first as practicable, but it shall otherwise be
35 exempt from the provisions of section 536.021.
36 6. Any claim filed against any public entity under this section shall be subject to the
37 penalties provided by supreme court rule 55.03, or any successor rule.
✔
HB 3432 2