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Senate Commerce and Tourism Chairman Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, says the bill would most likely be considered at his committee’s next meeting March 2, the same day as the start of the legislative session.
Senate and House leaders have fast-tracked identical bills. The Senate version, however, was held up Monday when Senate Judiciary Chair Jeff Brandes was delayed in another meeting.
A scheduled committee vote on a high-profile bill that would protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits was delayed Monday after the measure’s primary sponsor, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, was delayed in another meeting.
Senate Commerce and Tourism Chairman Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, told The News Service of Florida that the lawsuit-limitation bill (SB 72) would most likely be considered at his committee’s next meeting, now scheduled for March 2, the same day as the start of the 2021 legislative session.
State Rep. Lawrence McClure of Dover
The measure, which has broad support from business organizations, would make it harder to file coronavirus-related lawsuits against businesses and to win such lawsuits.
The Republican-controlled Legislature continues to fast-track a proposal that would shield Florida businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits, positioning the measure to be among the first bills passed after the 2021 session starts next month.
Members of the House Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee voted 11-6 Wednesday to advance the House version of the bill (HB 7), filed by Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover.
“It’s a one-in-100-year pandemic,” McClure told the committee in explaining why he thinks the legislation is needed.
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Legislation providing businesses and other institutions protection from civil liability for COVID-19 claims has been introduced into both houses of the Florida Legislature. The bills (HB 7, sponsored by Rep. Lawrence McClure, and SB 72, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes) are identical and are on the fast track through the Legislature, according to House Speaker Chris Sprowls, who has described the legislation as the most aggressive liability protection bill in the nation. HB 7 was approved on January 13 and SB 72 was approved on January 25 by their respective first committees of reference. They each have two committees left before reaching the floor of their chambers.
COVID-19-liability bill in Florida may be ready for quick adoption in March by John Haughey, The Center Square | January 26, 2021 10:30 AM Print this article
A ready-to-pass COVID-19-liability bill could await Florida lawmakers when they convene in March for the 2021 legislative session.
Companion Senate and House measures seeking to shield Florida businesses from “frivolous” lawsuits related to the pandemic already have advanced through initial hearings and could secure all three required committee nods in pre-session deliberations.
SB 72’s House companion,
House Bill 7, filed by Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, was reported favorably out of the House Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee on Jan. 13. It next goes before the House Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee.
With November’s elections strengthening Republicans’ grip on the Florida Legislature, conservative priorities are being fast-tracked through preliminary committee hearings before the legislative session begins March 2.