Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Judiciary Committee adopts amendment to raise Governmental Claims Act caps; members debate fiscal impact
Summary
Lawmakers amended a bill to raise Wyoming’s Governmental Claims Act caps, adopting an amendment that lowered the original proposal to $375,000 per claim and $750,000 per occurrence. Supporters said caps have not kept pace with inflation; local governments and special districts warned of higher insurance premiums and budgetary stress.
The Senate Judiciary Committee considered Senate File 35, a bill from the joint judiciary interim committee that would raise maximum liability amounts under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act.
Tory Racinas, executive director of the Local Government Liability Pool (LGLP), described the pool’s role insuring local governments and cautioned that increasing statutory caps would require higher premiums for member governments. Racinas said LGLP’s actuary estimated at a 55% confidence level an 8% premium increase and noted the pool generally budgets conservatively. "If you raise the limits, our rates are gonna have to go up," Racinas said.
Michael Fitzgerald, representing the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association (WTLA), argued the caps—some set in 1979 and never meaningfully changed—are out of date and…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
