Conservative Reforms Moving Through the House

This was good week for conservative reforms. Several pieces of legislation moved through the House this week that will change our state.

First, the House Judiciary Committee passed a sweeping lawsuit abuse reform (or Tort Reform) legislation.
This was good week for conservative reforms. Several pieces of legislation moved through the House this week that will change our state.

First, the House Judiciary Committee passed a sweeping lawsuit abuse reform (or Tort Reform) legislation.

Tort reform legislation was a critical piece of the Republican Caucus agenda this year since it will dramatically improve our state’s legal climate for businesses – a crucial thing that businesses look at when locating or expanding in our state.

The legislation approved this week includes five major reforms: First, it limits punitive damages to 3 times the amount of compensatory damages or $350,000 whichever is greater. This will limit out-of-control awards that significantly drive up the cost of insurance in this state.

The second major reform is establishing a cap on the bond a business must post to file an appeal in a civil lawsuit. If approved, the cap will be $25 million for large businesses and $1 million for small businesses. The legislation also reforms what is known as the Statute of Repose. The language assures that building code violations do not constitute fraud, gross negligence or recklessness, but such violations may be introduced as evidence.

The fourth reform is creating limiting the attorneys’ fees an outside attorney can collect outside when employed by the Attorney General or a solicitor. The new system will establish a sliding scale to fairly compensate the attorneys while not adding a burdensome cost to the taxpayers.

And finally, this legislation will repeal the statute that currently makes it impossible to show someone failed to use a seat belt.

The second piece of conservative reform approved this week is a measure that will give voters the power to make the Secretary of State appointed by the Governor rather than elected. The Secretary of State’s office primarily deals with paperwork, and it is not an office that needs to be independent to accomplish its work, such as the Attorney General. This is not a change that the Republicans can make on our own, but we believe it is important to give the voters the chance to make this decision. This dove-tails with our previous approval of another constitutional amendment that would have the Governor and Lieutenant Governor run together on the same ticket.

Third, we overwhelmingly approved the creation of a “Sunset Commission” this week. This commission – approved three previous times by the House Republicans this decade – will examine government agencies and programs to ensure they are effective. President Reagan famously said that “a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth.”

Unfortunately, this is generally true, but conservatives hope that this commission will put to bed programs and agencies that are not performing or woefully out-of-date.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t briefly discuss the budget. The House Ways and Means Committee also finalized its version of the state budget this week. I’ll write more about that after I’ve had time to digest the numbers. What we do know is this: Conservatives such as myself are adamant about not raising taxes during an economic downturn to plug a hole in the budget. The result is a budget that funds the essential services of government and ensures we are getting our money’s worth from government programs.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia. If I can ever be of assistance to you, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 963-0337 or in Columbia at 803 734-3045.