Legislation aimed at lowering auto insurance rates by enacting lawsuit reform is headed to the Governor’s desk.
Bill sponsor River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the bill brings our legal climate in line with other states. He pointed to an exchange he had with Nationwide as evidence of how badly the bill was needed.
“Come talk to our task force, come tell us why you won’t write here, and they just wrote a one sentence, very terse, very cold response, and it was, your legal climate is not conducive to our business model,” says Talbot.
The bill extends the prescriptive period for filing suits and lowers the jury trial threshold to 10,000 dollars among other changes.
Monroe Senator Katrina Jackson voted against the bill. She says the bill does not address the reasons why our auto insurance is the second-highest in the nation.
“No insurance company came to the table throughout the process of this session on this bill and guaranteed us that rates will decrease,” says Jackson.
Proponents argue the legislation is written to require at least a ten percent reduction in rates if passed.
Amite Representative Robby Carter says the GOP lawmakers refused to compromise on the legislation with plaintiffs’ attorneys who represent those who stand to lose the most under lawsuit reform.
“When you put lipstick on a pig it’s still a pig, well this is still a pig,” says Carter.
The legislation cleared the Senate with a veto-proof majority but fell four votes short in the House. Governor Edwards has indicated he does not support the bill, which may lead to a veto.
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