Hold Contractors Accountable; No Immunity for Harm

I am writing in strong opposition to SB916 (Burger), HB1718 (Hinman), HB2437 (Van Schoiack), SB1467 (Burger), and HB2926 (Parker). These bills represent a dangerous shift that prioritizes corporate interests over the safety and legal rights of the people of Missouri. Granting private companies sovereign immunity shields them from accountability and undermines fundamental principles of justice. Sovereign immunity exists to protect the government, a public entity funded by taxpayers, from certain lawsuits. It was never intended to be a corporate shield for private, for-profit companies. These bills would extend that shield to any private contractor and subcontractor working on Missouri Department of Transportation projects. If a private company building a bridge or repairing a road makes a negligent mistake that injures a worker or a member of the public, this law would make it nearly impossible for victims to seek fair compensation. This is fundamentally unfair. It creates a two-tiered system of justice where private corporations profit from public projects but are insulated from the consequences of their own negligence. These companies make decisions based on their bottom line. If they know they are immune from lawsuits, what incentive do they have to maintain the highest safety standards? The threat of liability is a critical tool that ensures corporations prioritize safety. By removing this threat, we are putting Missourians at greater risk of injury due to corporate negligence. Additionally, these bills strip rights from individual citizens. If a person is catastrophically injured due to a contractor's error, their ability to recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering would be severely capped and restricted. The current liability limits of $2 million for all claims from a single occurrence are grossly inadequate for severe, life-altering injuries. This shifts the enormous financial burden of an accident from the corporation that caused it onto the injured individual, their family, and the public social services they may then require. These bills represent a giveaway to large contractors at the expense of working Missourians. It is bad policy to grant private corporations a protection that was designed for the state. We should be expanding accountability for corporations, not erecting new legal barriers to protect them from the results of their actions. I urge you to oppose these bills and stand with the rights of Missouri citizens to seek justice when they are harmed by corporate negligence.