PRINTER'S NO. 939
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
146
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY AUMENT AND MENSCH, JUNE 22, 2021
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JUNE 22, 2021
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
conduct a study of the current limitations on liability under
42 Pa.C.S. § 8528 and issue a report of its findings and
recommendations to the Senate.
WHEREAS, In May 1978, the Joint State Government Commission
issued a report of the recommendations of the Task Force on
Sovereign Immunity in light of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's
holding in Brown v. Commonwealth, 453 Pa. 566 (1973), suggesting
that the General Assembly provide for waiver of sovereign
immunity; and
WHEREAS, The Task Force on Sovereign Immunity, upon
completing its review, reaffirmed and resolved to retain the
Commonwealth's sovereign immunity and to allow for specific
limited waivers; and
WHEREAS, The Task Force on Sovereign Immunity recommended
that the maximum recovery for any plaintiff under the eight
aforementioned areas of liability be limited to $250,000 and
that the maximum liability exposure for the Commonwealth be
limited to $1 million per event or occurrence and recommended
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that recovery be limited to specific types of damages; and
WHEREAS, The Task Force on Sovereign Immunity found both
constitutional authority and strong public policy in favor of
the proposed limitations on liability; and
WHEREAS, Among other things, the Task Force on Sovereign
Immunity stated that "in the case of a suit against an
individual or a corporation, recovery in most instances is
effectively limited by the insurance coverage of the defendant;
where the ultimate recovery exceeds insurance coverage, a
further practical limitation exists to the extent of any
defendant's resources. In the case of a sovereign with public
taxing powers, the absence of a statutory limitation on recovery
would make the liability exposure in each individual case
theoretically unlimited"; and
WHEREAS, On April 19, 1978, the Task Force on Sovereign
Immunity's recommendations were introduced in the House of
Representatives as House Bill No. 2437, Printer's No. 3135; and
WHEREAS, In 1978, the General Assembly enacted Act 330 of
1978 waiving the Commonwealth's sovereign immunity in certain
limited circumstances and limiting its liability under 42
Pa.C.S. §§ 8522 and 8528; and
WHEREAS, These limits have not been altered since 1978 and in
a series of cases, including Zauflik v. Pennsbury Sch. Dist.,
104 A.3d 1096, 1100 (2014) and Grove v. Port Auth. of Allegheny
County, 218 A.3d 877 (Pa. 2019), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
questioned whether the current statutory limitations on
liability infringe on the constitutional right to a jury trial
guaranteed by section 6 of Article I of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has also affirmed the
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greater capacity of the Legislature to evaluate complex
questions of public policy to establish limits on the liability
of local governments and the Commonwealth in negligence cases;
and
WHEREAS, Section 11 of Article I of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania vests the Legislature with the sole authority to
waive the Commonwealth's sovereign immunity and with that the
sole authority to determine the scope of any waiver; and
WHEREAS, The Senate believes that it is important, having
agreed to waive the Commonwealth's liability in certain limited
circumstances, to revisit and reexamine whether it is in the
interests of this Commonwealth's residents for the limitations
on liability originally enacted, and as amended, to remain in
place or be again altered, taking into account the interests of
litigants, the public and the impact that any change may have
upon the Commonwealth's budget and the services, benefits and
programs the Commonwealth offers and provides to its residents;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Legislative Budget and
Finance Committee to conduct a study of the current limitations
on liability under 42 Pa.C.S. § 8528 and issue a report of its
findings and recommendations to the Senate; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee's
study and report take into account the interests of litigants,
the public and the impact any changes may have upon the
Commonwealth's budget and the services, benefits and programs it
offers and provides to its residents; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
report its findings to the General Assembly no later than June
30, 2022.
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