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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 24, 2014 10:35 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Brian Sims |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Municipal Tort Liability |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would amend Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by adjusting for inflation the monetary limitation on damages for lawsuits against political subdivisions of the state. The current cap, set at $500,000 would be adjusted to a rounded $1.25 million, and would thereafter be adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index published by the United States Department of Labor. When legislators in 1980 set the $500,000 cap, they intended that political subdivisions of the Commonwealth should be liable for that value. Over the past 33 years, inflation has caused that liability to shrink at the expense of citizens of the Commonwealth who were harmed by no fault of their own. Adjusting this cap for inflation seeks only to maintain the original intent of those legislators who passed this legislation in 1980. In the summer of 2012, a four foot wide water main break resulted in substantial water and electrical damage to more than 100 homes in South Philadelphia. Under the current cap, many residents would receive just 19 cents on the dollar for damage caused by the City of Philadelphia’s aging underground infrastructure. I believe that it is long overdue that we adjust this 33-year old limit to fairly compensate those impacted by these public disasters or personal tragedies. Additionally, this is intended to be a companion to Senator Farnese’s proposed SB 1065 with an addendum that the cap be raised based on CPI and not the proposed $2 million cap in SB 1065. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. Thank you. |
Introduced as HB2146