Lawsuit Reform Bills Pass House, Ticket Sales Bill Moves on in Minnesota Legislature

Catch up on some of the things Apple Valley's legislators—Reps. Kurt Bills (R-District 37B), Rosemount, and Tara Mack (R-District 37A), Apple Valley and Sen. Chris Gerlach (R-District 37), Apple Valley—were up to last week at the Capitol.

NEW BILLS AUTHORED

Rep. Kurt Bills

• Author of a bill that would allow ongoing operations for the Racing Commission and State Lottery (House bill HF2003)

Rep. Tara Mack

• Author of a bill that would modify the definition of a retail sale for vehicles; according to the bill's text, for rent-to-own or lease-to-own used vehicles where the lessee may purchase or return the vehicle at any time without penalty, a retail sale would be in effect at the time each payment is made under the terms of the agreement (House bill HF2032)

Sen. Chris Gerlach

• Chief author of a bill to specify "conditions for government regulation of occupations to protect against misuse of occupational regulations, to reduce competition and increase prices to consumers." (Senate bill SF1629)

• Chief author of a bill to extend the authority of the City of Apple Valley to use tax increment financing to fund projects that would create jobs or help a project move forward (Senate bill SF1676)

• Chief author of a bill to establish redevelopment districts and special rules for tax increment financing (Senate bill SF1677)

• Author of a bill to authorize "inverse condemnation" by a municipal waste-collection service when a governmental entity occupies the market (Senate bill SF1664)

EXISTING BILLS

Gerlach

• Gerlach's bill that s who want to resell what they've bought from the ticket-sales giant or another agency—authored last session and now with a few changes—, 11-4.

VOTES

House

Omnibus torts bill—reforms the process of making a class action lawsuit, including authorizing an appeal of right for the certification of a class action lawsuit before parties incur the initial costs (Senate file 149)

• 72 yea; 59 nay
• Bills—yea; Mack—yea

Limitation period for civil actions reduction—shortens Minnesota's statute of limitations in civil actions from six years to four years (Senate file 373)

• 71 yea; 56 nay
• Bills—yea; Mack—no vote

Attorney fees awards determining factor establishment—courts must consider how reasonable attorney fees are in relation to the amount of the damages awarded in a case, as well as the amount of damages sought compared to the what was awarded (Senate file 429)

• 76 yea; 49 yea
• Bills—yeah; Mack—no vote

Modification of interest calculations for civil action verdicts, awards and judgments—lowers the pre-judgment interest rate on civil awards and judgments from the current 10 percent flat rate to a market-driven rate with a base 4 percent (Senate file 530)

• 75 yea; 55 nay
• Bills—yea; Mack—yea