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Senate restores hospital liability cap under Governmental Immunity Act; SB 53 passes
Summary
The Utah Senate passed SB 53 to restore a $250,000 cap on certain claims against state-run hospitals, with sponsors saying the change aligns hospitals with other state agencies and discourages large lawsuits; the bill passed final reading 27–2.
The Utah Senate on its seventeenth day approved Senate Bill 53, an expansion clarifying the scope of the Utah Governmental Immunity Act to restore a liability cap for some state-run hospitals.
Sponsor Senator Barlow, who presented the bill on the floor, said the measure “restores the cap and have[s] them operate as all other state agencies,” arguing the change discourages large lawsuits and prevents hospitals from having to buy expensive commercial umbrella insurance. He told colleagues that the institutions have historically handled losses up to $250,000 and that the cap “does, tend to discourage litigation.”
Senator Millie Peterson, speaking during debate, disclosed her prior employment history with a university hospital and raised concerns while acknowledging merits to the bill. Peterson said she read material questioning aspects of the bill and cautioned against suggesting hospitals must provide “perfect services,” but she did not oppose the measure outright.
Other senators pressed the sponsor for operational details. Senator Reese asked whether hospitals disclose the immunity cap to patients; Barlow responded that “they have to sign a form explained to them that as a condition of paying a patient at this hospital, that they are covered under the governmental immunity act up to 250,000, and they can make the decision at that time whether they wanna come in or not.”
Floor discussion also addressed how restoring the cap would interact with hospital self-insurance and commercial coverage. The sponsor said hospitals had been self-insured and, after a court decision that removed the cap, had to buy an umbrella policy that cost roughly $1.5 million; restoring the cap would allow institutions to reduce or eliminate that premium and the per‑patient surcharge associated with it.
After debate and a recording of a prior-conflict note for the journal, Senator Barlow moved final passage. The Senate conducted a roll-call vote; the clerk announced SB 53 passed 27 ayes to 2 nays. The Senate placed the bill on the transmission calendar to the House.
The bill expressly references the Utah Governmental Immunity Act. The Senate record shows the motion and vote; no implementing date or additional amendments were recorded in floor debate.
What’s next: SB 53 will be transmitted to the House for consideration and any further action there.
