Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB559 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
3	3	SENATE BILL NO. 559
4	4	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
5	5	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BURGER.
6	6	2066S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	To repeal section 537.600, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to liability
9	9	of private contractors.
10	10
11	11	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
12	12	Section A. Section 537.600, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
13	13	section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 537.600, 2
14	14	to read as follows:3
15	15	537.600. 1. Such sovereign or governmental tort 1
16	16	immunity as existed at common law in this state prior to 2
17	17	September 12, 1977, except to the e xtent waived, abrogated 3
18	18	or modified by statutes in effect prior to that date, shall 4
19	19	remain in full force and effect; except that, the immunity 5
20	20	of the public entity from liability and suit for 6
21	21	compensatory damages for negligent acts or omissions is 7
22	22	hereby expressly waived in the following instances: 8
23	23	(1) Injuries directly resulting from the negligent 9
24	24	acts or omissions by public employees arising out of the 10
25	25	operation of motor vehicles or motorized vehicles within the 11
26	26	course of their employment; 12
27	27	(2) Injuries caused by the condition of a public 13
28	28	entity's property if the plaintiff establishes that the 14
29	29	property was in dangerous condition at the time of the 15
30	30	injury, that the injury directly resulted from the dangerous 16
31	31	condition, that the danger ous condition created a reasonably 17
32	32	foreseeable risk of harm of the kind of injury which was 18 SB 559 2
33	33	incurred, and that either a negligent or wrongful act or 19
34	34	omission of an employee of the public entity within the 20
35	35	course of his employment created the dangerous condition or 21
36	36	a public entity had actual or constructive notice of the 22
37	37	dangerous condition in sufficient time prior to the injury 23
38	38	to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous 24
39	39	condition. In any action under this subdivision wherein a 25
40	40	plaintiff alleges that he was damaged by the negligent, 26
41	41	defective or dangerous design of a highway or road, which 27
42	42	was designed and constructed prior to September 12, 1977, 28
43	43	the public entity shall be entitled to a defense which shall 29
44	44	be a complete bar to recov ery whenever the public entity can 30
45	45	prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged 31
46	46	negligent, defective, or dangerous design reasonably 32
47	47	complied with highway and road design standards generally 33
48	48	accepted at the time the road or highway was des igned and 34
49	49	constructed. 35
50	50	2. The express waiver of sovereign immunity in the 36
51	51	instances specified in subdivisions (1) and (2) of 37
52	52	subsection 1 of this section are absolute waivers of 38
53	53	sovereign immunity in all cases within such situations 39
54	54	whether or not the public entity was functioning in a 40
55	55	governmental or proprietary capacity and whether or not the 41
56	56	public entity is covered by a liability insurance for tort. 42
57	57	3. The term "public entity" as used in this section 43
58	58	shall include any multistate comp act agency created by a 44
59	59	compact formed between this state and any other state which 45
60	60	has been approved by the Congress of the United States. 46
61	61	4. When acting within the scope of a government 47
62	62	contract, private contractors of a public entity, excluding 48
63	63	those private contractors provided for in section 210.114, 49
64	64	shall have sovereign or governmental tort immunity to the 50 SB 559 3
65	65	same extent as a public entity, including any limitation on 51
66	66	awards for liability provided for in section 537.610. 52
67	67	