Thirty-one Republicans in the Iowa Senate have given final legislative approval to a bill that provides new liability protection to the trucking industry.
The bill does not impact coverage of medical bills after someone is killed or severely injured in Iowa by a semi or commercial vehicle, but $5 million would be the limit in non-economic pain and suffering damages. Earlier this year a lower $2 million limit cleared the Senate, but last month 58 House members voted to set $5 million dollars as the cap.
Republican Senator Michael Bousselot of Ankeny said the changes made by the House aren’t ideal, but the bill is a step in the right direction. “This is a bill that is intended to lower costs for Iowans,” Bousselot said. “…Predictability and stability for critical, critical components of our supply chain.”
Three Republican Senators joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. Senator Nate Boulton, a Democrat from Des Moines, said juries should still be allowed to decide how much a victim is owed without any limits.
“While I still have objections to the bill’s overall impact,” Boulton said, “I do want to take this moment to acknowledge the work done by so many to get us to a much better piece of legislation here.”
Governor Reynolds first proposed a new liability shield for the trucking industry last year and she put the issue on her list of legislative priorities for this year.