Show 4A The Salt Lake Tribune Wednesday 23rd Day SENATE Bills Introduced SB 164 (Rogers) Good Samaritan proactections apply to hoiordous-materlal- s cidents SB 165 (Flnllnson) Modifies the 55 mph speed limit SB166 (Poce) Creates a pubilc-educa- -' tlon task force to study and mak e on education reforms to the 1988 Legislature SB 167 (Money) Prohibits the harvesting ' or transportation of forest products with- f out proof of ownership SB 168 (Barton) Prohibits state employees from being sworn In or serving In the Legislature unless they resign their executlve-branc- h positions SB 169 (Fordhom) Provides stoggered truck registrations regardless of declared gross weight SB 170 (Carling) Provides additional disciplinary sanctions that can be Imposed upon medical licensees SB171 (Barlow) Provides for a reduction of a verdict If certain collateral sources of compensation are ovallable SB172 (Barlow) Limits punitive damage awards under certain conditions SB173 (Barlow) Provides o limit to noneconomic damages SB174 (Barlow) Tortious liability of a landowner Is limited In certain circum- stances HOUSE Bills Passed HB1 1 (Bishop) Lowers the top oge for February compulsory House 45-2- 4 education from 18 to 16 By Resolutions Passed SJP6 (Steele) Acknowledges the vital role Primary Children's Medical Center plays In serving children By Senate 26-By House 70-- 0 Bills Introduced HB215 (Walker) Allows procedure for removing nomes from a referendum or Initiative petition a limited HB216 (Bishop) Provides death benefit for certain members of the public employees' retirement systems HB217 (Bishop) Allows the state retirement board to set pension contribution rotes bosed on ogency experience ond sets new employer rates In the public employees' disability program HB218 (Skousen) Allows courts to continue Imposing conditions for Involuntary commitment of the mentally III HB219 (Skousen) Requires therapists and counselors to record Interviews with children In suspected abuse coses HB220 (C Moody) Sets requirements for allowing local drug and alcohol authorities to disburse public funds Resolutions Introduced HCR8 (Smedley) Congratulates the United Way on Its centennial HJR 15 (DeMann) Commends Operation Crime Stop ond Operation Fire Stop pro- grams HJR 16 (Lewis) Mokes the executive-branc- h offices appointive except for governor ond lieutenant governor By Paul Roily Tribune Staff Writer The Senate ended two days of heated debate Tuesday and advanced a measure that would make Utah the most difficult state in the nation in which to successfully sue corporate officials for irresponsible actions Senate Bill 47 was clearly the most controversial piece of legislation to hit the Senate floor so far this session And in fhe end 16 of the state’s 29 senators declared a conflict of interest before voting to advance the measure to a final vote probably on Wednesday The preliminary vote Tuesday which affirmed the proposal by a 20-- 8 test for the bill tally was the acid and it now should - ass the Senate easily and be sent to tne House The measure sponsored by Sen Lake would exand officers directors corporate empt from liability in lawsuits brought by shareholders for acts of negligence gross negligence and reckless misconduct Delaware and Pennsylvania have passed similar bills but both of those laws exempt only outside directors from lawsuits with officers in charge of daily operations still liable for negligence Kay Cornaby Senator Introduces More Bills 4To Balance’ Damage Awards By Paul Roily Tribune Staff Writer Sen Haven Barlow introduced a package of “tort reform” bills in the iUtah Senate Tuesday to compliment three bills aimed at the “liability insurance crisis” that passed last year The bills would show insurance companies that Utah is serious about stemming the recent “liability lawsuit” explosion of recent years so !those companies will be more willing to underwrite insurance in the state said Sen Barlow He introduced a series of bills last year designed to “bring into balance” the trend of large damage awards to plaintiffs that proponents of tort re- form say have contributed to the “drying up” of liability insurance in the US Some of the bills introduced last year were put on hold for further study after they received a severe beating from lobbies mostly represented by plaintiffs’ attorneys who argued such legislation stomped on the rights of plaintiffs who were wrongfully damaged in some way But three bills passed including a a $250000 cap on nonmedical damage" awards in medical malpractice suits a measure !to put a $100000 cap on liability of third parties in cases of drunk drivers causing injury or damage and a measure porotecting "deep pocket” defendants from having to pay more than their share of the blame in negligence cases measure to put Sen Barlow Tuesday introduced four more "tort reform” bills that he says are patterned after “the Colora-d- o laws” He said since Colorado passed a package of bills giving more protection to plaintiffs in liability suits “in- surance companies are coming back into that state because they're now willing to take the risk” Sen Barlow’s Senate Bill 171 would “collateral implement the source" rule That measure would allow a judge a damage suit to deduct from a jury award the amount of “other compensation” the plaintiff might be receiving for his injury The judge according to the bill could deduct from the award amounts equal to Worker’s Compensation employer compensation insurance payments and other similar compensation "We want to make the plaintiff whole again" said Sen Barlow “We want the plaintiff to be compensated for the losses caused by the injury But we don’t think the plaintiff should be better off than before the injury In other words it should not be profitable to sue” His Senate Bill 172 would limit the occasions when juries could award "punitive damages” on top of compensatory damages in a liability suit "Punitive damages may be awarded only if compensatory damages are awarded and it is established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant personally acted out of hatred or spite directed toward the injured party or knowingly and intentioanlly acted in flagrant disregard of the injured party’s legal rights” the bill says “Gross negligence or acts or omissions neither expected nor intended to injure another party are insufficient to support an award of punitive damages” the bill adds Sen Barlow said that measure is intended to prevent a jury “from going overboard after emotional arguments from an attorney” after the jury already awarded compensatory damages to cover the losses caused by the injury The bill also adds that if punitive damages are awarded “they may not exceed an amount equal to twice the total of compensatory damages awarded or $500000 whichever is less” Senate Bill 173 would extend the $250000 cap on "nonecomic damages" in medical malpractice suits to all other kinds of liability suits Noneconomic losses include such claims as “pain and suffering inconvenience emotional stress and impairment of quality of life Sen Cornaby said 35 other states are considering similar bills and Utah could be left outside the corporate mainstream if it becomes one of the few states without such protection “If we don’t pass this bill we will be sending a negative message to businesses that they are not welcome here” Sen Cornaby said “We need to do what we can to encourage business to come here because we are badly in need of new jobs in this state” But US Attorney Brent Ward the most vocal opponent of the bill said it would encourage the “wrong kind of businesses” to come to Utah He said it would attract unscrupulous firms looking for an area in which they could escape responsibility for negligent acts “It would redraw the lines of ethical conduct” Mr Ward said "It would make it so what used to be considered unethical would now be considered ethical" And Sen Lorin Pace asked on the Senate floor Tuesday “Where does the buck stop anymore? “For 800 years we’ve had laws covering acts of negligence and now we’re going to put that aside and say nobody’s responsible for anything” Sen Pace added “I think officers and A-- Continued From l drug testing guidelines for and pits big business against big labor A-- directors ought to be responsible for their actions Is there anything wrong with that'” Labor interests have drafted a rival measure House Bill 185 claiming the former gives employers too much liability protection against causes for tests and false results The labor version has been referred to the same House committee for review Salt Lake City lawyer Dan Berman in a letter to the Senate also questioned whether the bill would make it more difficult for Utah businesses to attract new capital because investors may not want to put their money in business whose officers are immune from negligence lawsuits House members have also agreed to give a measure calling for joint child custody in divorce cases another chance House Bill 41 had been rejected in effect by virtue of its 6 deadlock vote last week But proponents coaxed another floor hearing on the bill likely to come later this week But Sen Cornaby said the law would not cover intentional acts of misconduct where the officers or directors act illegally or in a manner that benefits themselves to the detriment of the corporation “What this bill is designed to do is eliminate nuisance suits brought by the corporate gadfly” he said “It will make it tougher on the guy who buys a couple of shares of stock in a corporation just so he can sue on the theory of negligence with the hopes the corporation will find it cheaper to settle out of court than to fight the suit” 36-3- On Tuesday representatives began floor discussion on returning Utah primary elections to September A like measure has already been approved by the Senate and would scrap date for the more fathe miliar period late-Augu- st “If you get something wrong we ought to correct it” said Rep Tom Christensen noting the Legislature had erred in adopting August primaries in 1983 The House may resume its primary debate Wednesday morning He said the bill was an "economic development bill” designed to show corporations tli "iking of relocating that Utah is a aealthy business climate and it is designed to encourage qualified business people to sit as outside directors on corporate boards Panel Debates Four Bills Bill Makes Going 65 On Less Costly Off-Roa- Vehicles d title for all OHVs’ model year 1988 or newer will allow Division of Parks and Recreation Rangers to ticket OHVs being transported which are not properly registered and would update an existing law that would encourage landowners to open their land to OHVs without liability problems User groups the ORV industry Division of Parks and Recreation officials and the local heads of the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service all expressed support for all four bills Senate Bill 39 which Sen Holmgren called the heart of his four-biproposal was debated extensively by the committee users groups and former state Rep Donna Dahl Final action is expected Friday at 8 am This bill the most controversial of the package would raise registration fees from $5 to $10 add a $2 user fee would prohibit the operation of OHVs on public land by children under age 8 and would require an education program addressing safety riding techniques and ethics for riders ages By Tom Wharton Tribune Outdoor Editor What role should state government play in the safety and regulation of vehicles? That was what members of the House Energy Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee debated Tuesday morning as they discussed a package of four bills that has passed the Utah Senate The committee passed out Senate Bill 38 sponsored by Sen John HolmRiver City favorably gren This bill one of four that would vehialter the way d cles — like snowmobiles ATVs and trail bikes — are managed in Utah would require all users under age 18 to wear helmets while operating their vehicles on public land The bill also proposes to require a Sen Fred Finlinson introduced a bill Tuesday that would reduce the penalties for speeding as long as the speeder only goes 10 miles above the speed limit Senate Bill 165 would change the violation of speeding between 55 mph and 65 mph from an act of “speeding" to an act of “an energy conservation violation" The recipient of an "energy con servation" ticket would not re reive any points on his record to ward suspension of his license Also the fine could not exceed $25 Similar bills have been introduced before in the Utah Legislature which has been vocal at times against the federal 55 mph speed limit h ly off-roa- three-wheele- ll President Warns Budget Cuts Threaten USU’s Standing By Dawn Tracy Tribune Education Writer If Utah State University takes another budget cut faculty will leave in droves for higher-payinjobs and the school will risk losing accreditation because of an inadequate library g USU President Stanford Cazier warned Tuesday President Cazier told the legislative Appropriations Subcommittee for Higher Education the university is doing a good job despite years of budget rollbacks This excellence can be seen in USU graduates’ accomplishments he said Over 97 percent of the school's 1985 graduating class who sought employment found jobs within one year of magraduation Every USU pre-lajor who applied for admission to law school was successful In the 1985 Fundamentals of Engineering Examination USU students passed at a rate of 96 percent the national average is 75 percent Accounting students consistently pass the CPA examination at approximately three times the national rate And 65 percent of USU graduates were successfully placed in medical schools the national average is 47 percent Low salaries however continue to dog the school Its salaries are 123 percent below average compared with 13 similar institutions Classified salaries at USU are 18 percent below average compared with local markets in northern Utah USU's library ranks between 11th and 13th out of its peer group in seven major library resource categories According to the Association of College and Research Libraries' formula USU library holdings are deficient by at least 200000 volumes or about $7 million pass a tax increase Last July USU officials eliminated and staff President Cazier said the accrediand faculty positions axed 23 programs in a budget cut ortation report from Northwest Association for Schools and Colleges has dered by Gov Norm Bangerter Officials hope to reallocate $38 million in warned USU to increase library holdsavings from the cuts and other re- ings since 1958 Next year when an ductions to strengthen surviving pro- accreditation team visits the college grams to beef up library holdings the school’s accreditation could be and to raise faculty salaries To do jeopardized because of its inadequate that however the Legislature must library 86 The last accreditation report issued in 1978 said USU should strengthen its collections to include a journal subscription list adequate to support a sophisticated graduate studies and research program Also the professional staff should be inwith librarians creased by one-haholding degrees from accredited graduate library schools lf daylight hours credit cards accepted To encourage compliance with the lower speed limit the US Transportation Department has threatened to withhold federal highway aid to states that do not enforce the 55 mph limit Last month Arizona became the first state to the be penalized — by $510000 — for not vigorously enforcing the speed limit The House last month passed a $90 billion highway and mass transit bill without relaxing the current 55 mph limit The Senate amendment added Tuesday to a similar bill would require the House and Senate to settle their differences in a conference committee Efforts to do exactly that last year resulted in a stalemate because of House opposition and the huge highway bill never was apprqyed to 16 8 “The bill is the crux of the whole told the committee “We have children operating vehicles out there who have no capability whatsover" Urged on by former Rep Dahl ofRep Ray Schmutz fered amendments that would make the safety program optional package” Sen Holgren BranHooie sue Senate Says 65 mph Is Needed On Rural Roads Will House? 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