CS/CS/CS/SB 974 (Gruters) and CS/HB 985 (Beltran) revise the statutory limits on liability for tort claims against the state and its agencies and subdivisions (which include cities). CS/HB 985 seeks to increase the current statutory limits for claims from $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident to $1 million per person and no per-incident cap. Beginning July 1, 2023, the legislation would tie the revised limit to a consumer price index to automatically increase with inflation every year. CS/HB 985 was amended to shorten the timeframe for a government entity to make final disposition of a claim from six months to three months. The House bill will retroactively apply these new limits to any pending claims that have not been settled by the effective date of the bill (July 1, 2022).

CS/CS/CS/SB 974 was amended to change the current statutory limits for claims from $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident to a tier system based on a population threshold. A city or county whose population is 50,000 or less maintains the current limits of $200,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence. For a city or county whose population is between 50,001-250,000, the limits increase to $300,000 per person and $400,000 per occurrence. Lastly, for a city or county whose population is greater than 250,001, the limits would be increased to $400,000 per person and $600,000 per occurrence.   (Cruz)