Claims bills top Florida Senate’s first-day agenda
Jan 10, 2012
The following article was published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on January 10, 2012:
Claims bills top Florida Senate’s first-day agenda
Bills that would compensate a crash victim and a man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit top the Florida Senate’s first-day agenda.
The Legislature convenes its annual 60-day regular session on Tuesday.
The two claims bills are top priorities for Senate President Mike Haridopolos. Both passed the Senate last year but died in the House.
One measure would pay about $15 million to Eric Brody. He was paralyzed when a speeding Broward County sheriff’s deputy, who was late for work, crashed into his car in 1998.
The other would compensate William Dillon with more than $810,000. DNA testing cleared Dillon of a Brevard County murder.
Claims bills must be passed to permit the state and local governments to pay damages that exceed $200,000.
Find this article here: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120110/APN/1201100583