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Committee approves bill to keep raised liability caps for state, political subdivisions
Summary
House Bill 1142 passed committee 13-0 to remove a sunset provision and permanently retain higher statutory liability caps—$500,000 per person and $2,000,000 per incident—that were phased in after a recent change to the law.
The Political Subdivision Committee unanimously recommended passage of House Bill 1142, a bill that removes a sunset clause and preserves recently raised liability caps for the state and political subdivisions.
“It's a straightforward cleanup bill,” state Representative Brandy Pyle of District 22 said in presenting the measure, which the sponsor said codifies cap increases adopted in the previous session. Pyle told the committee the earlier step increases were intended so local units of government could budget for larger limits without a sudden fiscal shock.
Pyle summarized the statutory outcome: the bill would leave the per-person cap at $500,000 and the per-incident cap at $2,000,000 rather than reverting to the 1977 levels ($250,000 per person, $1,000,000 per incident) when a sunset expired. Jackie Hall, executive director of the North Dakota Association for Justice, testified in support and said the association worked with the bill sponsor, “Naderf,” and counties to reach the negotiated figures.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about the stair-step figures and their source. Representative Rehring queried a specific figure on the bill text—$468,750—and Pyle said those numbers came from “Mederf” for the stair-stepping. No opposition testimony was recorded.
Representative Hager moved a due-pass recommendation; Representative Rerrick seconded. The clerk recorded the roll as 13 yea, 0 nay, 0 absent. House Bill 1142 carries out of committee with the committee’s recommendation to advance.
The bill preserves higher liability limits enacted recently and removes the sunset intended to revert caps to their earlier statutory levels; the committee hearing did not include a floor-by-floor budget impact analysis or an immediate appropriation tied to the change.
