| 1 | 1 | | |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | FIRST REGULAR SESSION |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | SENATE BILL NO. 574 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHROER. |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | 2100S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | To repeal sections 162.013 and 537.600, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | relating to civil immunity of school boards. |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | Section A. Sections 162. 013 and 537.600, RSMo, are 1 |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be 2 |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | known as sections 162.013 and 537.600, to read as follows:3 |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | 162.013. 1. Every member of a school board of this 1 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | state shall enjoy official immunity as provided u nder common 2 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | law for discretionary actions or omissions occurring within 3 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | the scope of his or her authority. The term "discretionary 4 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | actions or omission" as used in this subsection shall 5 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | include the casting of votes and abstentions from voting at 6 |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | meetings of the school board. 7 |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | 2. Notwithstanding other sections of the school laws 8 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | which provide that members of school boards shall serve 9 |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | without compensation, the school board of any school 10 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | district in the state, upon adoption of a resolution by the 11 |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | vote of a majority of all its members to authorize such 12 |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | action, may expend school district funds to purchase 13 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | insurance to indemnify the members of the school board, 14 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | individually, against loss for damages for personal or 15 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | bodily injury to a person, or f or damage or loss of 16 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | property, caused by the negligent act, error, or omission of 17 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | a member when acting within the scope of his office. 18 SB 574 2 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 537.600. 1. Such sovereign or governmental tort 1 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | immunity as existed at common law in this state p rior to 2 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | September 12, 1977, except to the extent waived, abrogated 3 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | or modified by statutes in effect prior to that date, shall 4 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | remain in full force and effect; except that, the immunity 5 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | of the public entity from liability and suit for 6 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | compensatory damages for negligent acts or omissions is 7 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | hereby expressly waived in the following instances: 8 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | (1) Injuries directly resulting from the negligent 9 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | acts or omissions by public employees arising out of the 10 |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | operation of motor vehicles or motorized vehicl es within the 11 |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | course of their employment; 12 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (2) Injuries caused by the condition of a public 13 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | entity's property if the plaintiff establishes that the 14 |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | property was in dangerous condition at the time of the 15 |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | injury, that the injury directly resulted fr om the dangerous 16 |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | condition, that the dangerous condition created a reasonably 17 |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | foreseeable risk of harm of the kind of injury which was 18 |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | incurred, and that either a negligent or wrongful act or 19 |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | omission of an employee of the public entity within the 20 |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | course of his employment created the dangerous condition or 21 |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | a public entity had actual or constructive notice of the 22 |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | dangerous condition in sufficient time prior to the injury 23 |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous 24 |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | condition. In any action under this subdivision wherein a 25 |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | plaintiff alleges that he was damaged by the negligent, 26 |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | defective or dangerous design of a highway or road, which 27 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | was designed and constructed prior to September 12, 1977, 28 |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | the public entity shall be entitled to a def ense which shall 29 |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | be a complete bar to recovery whenever the public entity can 30 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged 31 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | negligent, defective, or dangerous design reasonably 32 SB 574 3 |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | complied with highway and road design standards generally 33 |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | accepted at the time the road or highway was designed and 34 |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | constructed. 35 |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | 2. The express waiver of sovereign immunity in the 36 |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | instances specified in subdivisions (1) and (2) of 37 |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | subsection 1 of this section are absolute waivers of 38 |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | sovereign immunity in al l cases within such situations 39 |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | whether or not the public entity was functioning in a 40 |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | governmental or proprietary capacity and whether or not the 41 |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | public entity is covered by a liability insurance for tort. 42 |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | 3. The term "public entity" as used in thi s section 43 |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | shall include any school board of this state and multistate 44 |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | compact agency created by a compact formed between this 45 |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | state and any other state which has been approved by the 46 |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | Congress of the United States. 47 |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | |
|---|