House Bill No. 68

Introduced By mcgee

By Request of the Department of Corrections

A Bill for an Act entitled: An Act abolishing governmental liability for negligent tort damages to persons injured on the premises of a correctional institution while serving a sentence imposed upon conviction of a crime; amending section

2-9-108, MCA; and providing an immediate effective date.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1.  Section 2-9-108, MCA, is amended to read:

"2-9-108.   Limitation on governmental liability for damages in tort. (1) Neither the The state, a county, municipality, taxing district, nor or any other political subdivision of the state is not liable in tort action for damages suffered as a result of an act or omission of an officer, agent, or employee of that entity in excess of $750,000 for each claim and $1.5 million for each occurrence.

(2) The state, a county, municipality, taxing district, or any other political subdivision of the state is not liable in tort action for damages suffered as a result of negligence of an officer, agent, or employee of that entity by a person while the person was confined in or was otherwise in or on the premises of a correctional or detention institution or facility to serve a sentence imposed upon conviction of a criminal offense. The immunity granted by this subsection does not extend to serious bodily injury or death resulting from negligence or to damages resulting from medical malpractice, gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or an intentional tort. The subsection does not create an exception from the dollar limitations provided for in subsection (1).

(2)(3)  No An insurer is not liable for excess damages unless such the insurer specifically agrees by written endorsement to provide coverage to the governmental agency involved in amounts in excess of a limitation stated in this section, in which case the insurer may not claim the benefits of the limitation specifically waived."

Section 2.  Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.

Section 3.  Two-thirds vote required. Because [section 1] abolishes governmental liability for negligent torts, Article II, section 18, of the Montana constitution requires a vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the legislature for passage.

Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

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