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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the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association (WTLA), argued the caps—some set in 1979 and never meaningfully changed—are out of date and unfair to citizens harmed by government negligence. Fitzgerald said a $250,000 cap in 1979 would equal roughly $1.08 million today after inflation and that surrounding states have higher limits. "When the cap is met it matters to those citizens," Fitzgerald said, pointing to a Casper fire where claimants received a small pro rata share of the capped payout.
Testimony from municipal, county and special‑district representatives highlighted fiscal concerns. Ashley Harp Street, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, said evidence of frequent cap breaches was limited and asked for more data before changing statutory limits. Kelly Krako, an LGLP board member, and Holly Kennedy of the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts cautioned that many small special districts operate on limited budgets, rely on mill levies or county allocations, and would be particularly hard hit by premium changes; Kennedy said one conservation district with a $10,000 annual operating budget could not absorb a 20% insurance‑rate jump.
Jeremiah Reeman of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association said commissioners balance responsibilities to public safety and to taxpayers and noted higher caps could increase defense costs and insurance premiums across counties.
Mark Aronowitz of Lawyers and Advocates for Wyoming urged the committee to update fixed statutory dollar amounts for inflation so victims of catastrophic government negligence are not left with "pennies on the dollar." He said the proposed increase is modest compared with inflation since 1979 and that citizens harmed by government carelessness deserve closer compensation.
Senator Cole offered a compromise amendment that split the difference between the bill sponsor’s proposal and current law, changing the proposed per‑claim cap to $375,000 and the per‑occurrence cap to $750,000. The committee adopted the amendment on a roll call: Senator Crago Aye, Senator Crump Aye, Senator Hicks (absentee) No, Senator Cole Aye, Chairman Olsen No — recorded as 3 ayes and 2 noes. After the amendment’s adoption, debate continued but no further final action on the underlying bill appears in the transcript.
Ending: The committee adopted a numeric amendment to SF 35 and left open additional deliberation; members asked for more precise fiscal data on premium impacts for counties, municipalities and special districts before final action.
