On February 12, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee voted unanimously (15-0) to carry over to 2027, SB 228 (Surovell), which proposes a number of changes to Code, including limiting the sovereign immunity of local governments. VACo strongly opposed this bill.
As previously reported, the proposed bill stated that when a locality provides liability insurance or self-insurance under this section, that provision is “deemed a waiver of sovereign immunity.” This means the locality may be liable for damages up to the total of the self-insurance or insurance coverage it has in place, including any pooled or excess coverage.
According to local government risk insurers, this would have significant fiscal impacts to local government liabilities, potentially raising existing liability costs by more than 2.5 times, resulting in several hundred million dollars in additional costs to local governments. Local governments routinely perform inherently risky but socially necessary functions, such law enforcement and corrections, fire-EMS and emergency response, child welfare and social services, land-use decisions and zoning, and public works and transportation. Without sovereign immunity, localities face open-ended liability for lawsuits, including high-dollar verdicts. VACo thanks members who contacted their Senators to oppose this legislation.
Additional legislation involving proposed changes to sovereign immunity has been modified to address VACo and local government concerns. HB 1220 (Delaney), HB 994 (Seibold), and HB 1330 (Seibold) make various changes to the requirements governing the use of photo speed monitoring devices. These changes address topics such as the use of civil penalty revenues, signage, data retention, device calibration, reporting requirements, and other operational standards. Each bill passed the House Transportation Committee with language stating that, in any court proceeding involving a failure by a locality, or a private vendor acting on its behalf, to comply with photo speed monitoring requirements, the locality must waive its sovereign immunity in that proceeding. The problematic language involving sovereign immunity was removed in a House floor amendment on February 16. VACo thanks the patrons for working to address these concerns.
SB 637 (Ebbin), reduces the number of employees from 15 to five for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year for the definition of employer of domestic workers under the Virginia Human Rights Act. As originally introduced, the bill also waives sovereign immunity for all governmental entities for any act of unlawful discrimination in violation of the Act. The problematic language involving sovereign immunity was subsequently removed in a Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee substitute. VACo thanks the patron for addressing that concern.
VACo opposes any substantive change in local governments’ present defense of qualified immunity and sovereign immunity.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett and James Hutzler