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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1467
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BURGER.
6399S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 537.610, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
limitations on awards for damages against public entities.
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Section A. Section 537.610, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 537.610, 2
to read as follows:3
537.610. 1. The commissioner of administration, 1
through the purchasing division, and the governing body of 2
each political subdivision of this state, notwithstanding 3
any other provision of law, may purchase liability insurance 4
for tort claims, made against the state or the political 5
subdivision, but the maximum amount of such coverage shall 6
not exceed two million dollars for all claims arising out of 7
a single occurrence and shall not exceed three hundred 8
thousand dollars for any one person in a single accident or 9
occurrence, except for those claims governed by the 10
provisions of the Missouri workers' compensation law, 11
chapter 287, and no amount in excess of the above limits 12
shall be awarded or settled upon. Sovereign immunity for 13
the state of Missouri and its political subdivisions is 14
waived only to the maximum amount of and only for the 15
purposes covered by such policy of insurance purchased 16
pursuant to the provisions of this section and in such 17
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amount and for such purposes provided in any self-insurance 18
plan duly adopted by the governing body of any political 19
subdivision of the state. 20
2. The liability of the state and its public entities 21
on claims within the scope of sections 537.600 to 537.650, 22
shall not exceed two million dollars for all claims arising 23
out of a single accident or occurrence and shall not exceed 24
three hundred thousand dollars for any one person in a 25
single accident or occurrence, except for those claims 26
governed by the provisions of the Missouri workers' 27
compensation law, chapter 287. 28
3. No award for damages on any claim against a public 29
entity within the scope of sections 537.600 to 537.650, 30
shall include punitive or exemplary damages. 31
4. If the amount awarded to or settled upon multiple 32
claimants exceeds two million dollars, any party may apply 33
to any circuit court to apportion to each claimant his 34
proper share of the total amount limited by subsection 1 of 35
this section. The share apportioned each claimant shall be 36
in the proportion that the ratio of the award or settlement 37
made to him bears to the aggregate awards and settlements 38
for all claims arising out of the accident or occurrence, 39
but the share shall not exceed three hundred thousand 40
dollars. 41
5. The limitation on awards for liability provided for 42
in this section shall be increased or decreased on an annual 43
basis effective January first of each year in accordance 44
with the Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption 45
Expenditures as published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 46
of the United States Department of Commerce. The current 47
value of the limitation shall be calculated by the director 48
of the department of commerce and insurance, who shall 49
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furnish that value to the secretary of state, who shall 50
publish such value in the Missouri Register as soon after 51
each January first as practicable, but it shall otherwise be 52
exempt from the provisions of section 536.021. The 53
applicable limitation on awards for liability provided for 54
in this section as to a given claim shall be the limitation 55
then in effect on the date of the accident or occurrence 56
giving rise to the claim. 57
6. Any claim filed against any public entity under 58
this section shall be subject to the penalties provided by 59
supreme court rule 55.03, or any successor rule. 60
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