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repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be 2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