Louisiana House Speaker’s Tort Reform Bill Moves to Senate Floor
By Avery Davidson
The Voice of Louisiana Agriculture
The Louisiana Senate Committee on Judiciary A advanced one bill and three concurrent resolutions with the goal of lowering auto insurance rates on Wednesday.
Louisiana’s farmers and ranchers depend upon the trucking industry to move what they grow and raise to market. The owners of trucking companies claim their insurance rates have gone up 300% in the past three years and cite the high number of lawsuits filed as the reason for the increase.
The lone bill to get the approval of senators was HB 57 by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder. The committee deferred HB 44 filed by Representative Ray Garofalo along with three other bills filed by senators.
Schexnayder’s bill, dubbed the Civil Justice Reform Act of 2020, would lower the threshold for a jury trial to $10,000. The current limit is $50,000. Louisiana has the highest jury threshold in the country.
"Agriculture and farmers are the backbone of Louisiana's culture and economy,” said Rep. Schexnayder. “Any changes we can make to help farmers with their insurance rates, can only strengthen the growth of our family and farming culture.”
HB 57 now goes to the full senate for consideration. The 2020 special legislative session is set to end June 30.