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Business groups urge committee to oppose HB 447, warning indexing and higher caps will raise costs
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Summary
Opponents including the Ohio Chamber, Ohio Business Roundtable and Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice told the Judiciary Committee that House Bill 447's proposal to raise the non‑economic damages cap to $580,000 and index it to CPI would undermine predictability, raise insurance and business costs, and risk 'nuclear verdicts.'
House Bill 447 drew extensive opponent testimony from business groups and insurance‑market advocates. Steve Stivers, CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, warned that immediately raising non‑economic damage caps and indexing them to inflation would "inevitably increase the cost of doing business in Ohio," threaten predictability and risk higher insurance premiums.
Several witnesses traced the history of Ohio's caps (Senate Bill 80 and related statutes), explained the complex tiered formula that currently applies in Ohio and urged the committee to collect data before making sweeping, indexed changes. Nick Rhodes of the Ohio Business Roundtable echoed those concerns, saying automatic indexing would remove legislative oversight and create an escalating liability environment. Ryan Richardson of the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice warned that indexing could allow the caps to increase significantly in a single year and recommended a data‑driven review instead of an automatic CPI‑indexed increase.
Committee members pressed witnesses on comparative state practice and on whether raising caps would meaningfully affect competitiveness; witnesses repeatedly emphasized predictability for insurers and businesses and suggested codifying existing exceptions rather than immediate indexing.
