Arkansas House Passes H.B. 1204 Limiting What People Can Recover When They are Injured

Legislation, ,

On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1204 limiting what people who are injured through no fault of their own may recover in damages for their injuries.

Right now, when people are injured through no fault of their own, they can go to court to make the guilty party pay for their injuries.

The person or business who caused the injury cannot use the injured person’s insurance to reduce the damages they owe. Courts can review evidence and award appropriate damages based on the facts of the case. This ensures injured people get fair compensation for harm that others do to them.

H.B. 1204 restricts damages awarded in all civil lawsuits in Arkansas.

The measure limits what people can recover in damages when someone injures them through no fault of their own.

Under H.B. 1204, an injured person’s insurance could be used to reduce what the person or company who caused the injury has to pay.

  • A motel that aids or abets sex-trafficking could use a trafficking victim’s insurance policy to reduce what they have to pay for the victim’s injuries.
  • A drunk driver who kills or injures a stay-at-home mom could use the mother’s insurance to reduce what he has to pay to her or her family.
  • A church leader who abuses a child may get to pay less to the child’s family if the family has insurance.

Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) explained some of the ways H.B. 1204 could hurt Arkansans during his testimony against the bill, which you can watch below.

H.B. 1204 might increase the insurance companies’ profits, but there is no guarantee it will lead to lower premiums for customers. There is no indication that legislation like H.B. 1204 has reduced insurance rates in any other state. That is part of the reason Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry vetoed a similar measure last year.

H.B. 1204 now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration. Below is a breakdown of how each representative voted on the bill.

The Following Representatives Voted FOR H.B. 1204

  • Achor
  • Andrews
  • Barker
  • Beaty Jr.
  • Beck
  • Bentley
  • S. Berry
  • Breaux
  • Brooks
  • K. Brown
  • M. Brown
  • N. Burkes
  • R. Burkes
  • Joey Carr
  • John Carr
  • Cavenaugh
  • Childress
  • Cozart
  • Crawford
  • Duke
  • Eaton
  • Eaves
  • Eubanks
  • Evans
  • Furman
  • Gonzales
  • Gramlich
  • Hall
  • Hawk
  • Hollowell
  • Jean
  • L. Johnson
  • Long
  • Lundstrum
  • Lynch
  • Maddox
  • Magie
  • McAlindon
  • McClure
  • McCollum
  • McGrew
  • B. McKenzie
  • McNair
  • S. Meeks
  • Milligan
  • J. Moore
  • K. Moore
  • Nazarenko
  • Painter
  • Pearce
  • Perry
  • Pilkington
  • Puryear
  • Ray
  • Richmond
  • Rose
  • Rye
  • Schulz
  • R. Scott Richardson
  • M. Shepherd
  • Steele
  • Steimel
  • Torres
  • Tosh
  • Underwood
  • Unger
  • Walker
  • Warren
  • Wing
  • Wooldridge
  • Wooten

The Following Representatives Voted AGAINST H.B. 1204

  • Barnes
  • Barnett
  • A. Collins
  • C. Cooper
  • Duffield
  • Ennett
  • D. Garner
  • Hudson
  • J. Mayberry
  • McCullough
  • M. McElroy
  • McGruder
  • T. Shephard
  • Springer
  • Wardlaw
  • D. Whitaker
  • Womack
  • Gonzales Worthen

The Following Representatives Voted “Present” on H.B. 1204

  • A. Brown
  • Clowney
  • Gazaway
  • Henley
  • Holcomb

The Following Representatives Did Not Vote

  • F. Allen
  • Dalby
  • K. Ferguson
  • Ladyman
  • J. Richardson
  • Vaught

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Updated: House Committee Passes H.B. 1204 Limiting What Injured People Can Receive in Medical Damages

Legislation,

On Tuesday the House Judiciary Committee passed H.B. 1204, a bad bill that limits what people can receive in damages when someone injures them through no fault of their own.

H.B. 1204 effectively reduces what trucking companies and other big businesses might be forced to pay when they injure a person or family.

The bill also benefits insurance companies, but it could hurt regular people who have faithfully paid their premiums. It is likely to deprive the injured party of the full benefit of their insurance and deny them full compensation for the harm that they suffered.

That might increase the insurance companies’ profits, but there is no guarantee it will result in lower premiums for customers.

Family Council is concerned about potential, unintended consequences this bill could have on families.

H.B. 1204 now goes to the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for a vote. You can read H.B. 1204 here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers. This article has been updated to include information regarding H.B. 1204’s passage in the House Judiciary Committee.

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Petition Precision: Legislation Filed to Clarify Arkansas’ Initiative Laws

Legislation,

Legislation has been filed clarifying Arkansas’ laws concerning petitions to place initiatives on the ballot.

The Arkansas Constitution lets canvassers circulate petitions to place measures on a general election ballot. Since 2008, organizations placed — or attempted to place — measures like the Arkansas Lottery amendment, Arkansas Casino Amendment, marijuana legislation, an abortion amendment, and others on the ballot via the petition process.

H.B. 1221 and H.B. 1222 by Rep. David Ray (R — Maumelle) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) clarify Arkansas’ laws concerning initiatives and referendum.

H.B. 1221 makes it clear that petition signatures expire at the end of a General Election cycle. This would prevent canvassers from collecting signatures across multiple election cycles and help ensure sponsors don’t submit old signatures that are outdated or more likely to be invalid.

H.B. 1222 clarifies that the Arkansas Attorney General cannot approve a measure’s sponsors to begin collecting signatures to place a measure on the ballot if the measure conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or federal law. The bill also prevents sponsors from asking the attorney general to certify conflicting measures.

Currently, the Arkansas Attorney General must review each ballot measure to ensure the measure’s title and wording are clear and consistent before canvassers can begin collecting petition signatures to place it on the ballot.

H.B. 1222 would help ensure the A.G.’s office is not asked to approve measures that are unconstitutional or run afoul of federal law.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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