SB 228 (Surovell) proposes changes to Code, including limiting the sovereign immunity of local governments. The bill states 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.
VACo Members – Contact your Senator on the Courts of Justice Committee to Oppose SB 228.
According to local government risk insurers, this will 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 opposes any substantive change in local governments’ present defense of qualified immunity and sovereign immunity. SB 228 has been referred to the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, which could hear the bill as early as Wednesday, January 21. VACo urges member localities to consult with their risk insurance providers to determine individual fiscal impacts of the legislation.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett