coronavirus liability

Republicans touted the legislation as a must-pass bill to protect Florida’s economy and return people to work, but many Democrats decried it as being overly broad and eliminating the public’s access to courts.

The House spent less than two hours debating the business liability bill, with the Republican majority shooting down six proposed amendments filed by Democrats.

A House panel on Tuesday voted 12-6 to approve legislation that would protect nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals and physicians from lawsuits related to COVID-19.

As the 60-day session begins Tuesday, social distancing and other safety rules will continue to be in place at the Capitol.

The breadth of the liability protections and whether all long-term care facilities should be shielded are among the issues that will considered during the annual legislative session that begins Tuesday.

While the House has not posted details about which bills it will consider during the first week, Speaker Chris Sprowls told reporters he wants to move quickly on the proposal.

A decision by House Judiciary Chairman Daniel Perez to shelve without discussion five amendments proposed by Democrats caused many leaning toward supporting the bill to back away.

The bipartisan committee vote was a first step in delivering on the Republican-led Legislature’s priority of shielding nursing homes, hospitals and physicians from COVID-19 lawsuits.

By the committee agreeing to adopt three amendments proposed by Rep. Lawrence McClure of Dover, the House version is no longer is identical to its Senate counterpart.

Senate and House leaders have fast-tracked identical bills. The Senate version, however, was held up Monday when Senate Judiciary Chair Jeff Brandes was delayed in another meeting.