Relief/Marcus Button/Pasco County School Board:
HB 6507 is a claims bill that provides special relief to Marcus Button and his mother, Robin Button, arising from a 2006 crash involving a Pasco County School Board bus. The bill recites the facts of the collision, the severe and permanent injuries suffered by Marcus Button, the resulting litigation, and the prior partial payment made under Florida’s sovereign immunity limits. It then authorizes the Pasco County School Board to pay $1 million to a trust for Marcus Button and $200,000 to Robin Button as compensation for the harms and losses caused by the negligence of a school board employee.
The bill also states legislative intent that government liens, including Medicaid liens, tied to Marcus Button’s treatment are waived and paid by the state. It further provides that the amounts already paid under section 768.28, Florida Statutes, together with the amounts awarded in this act, are intended to be the sole compensation for all past, present, and future claims arising from the crash. Attorney fees related to the claim are capped at 25 percent of the total amounts awarded under the act, and the act takes effect upon becoming law.
HB 6507 would create a one-time, case-specific appropriation obligation for the Pasco County School Board and would override the ordinary limits of Florida’s sovereign immunity framework for this claim by authorizing additional compensation beyond the statutory cap that applied when the claim arose. It also directs payment of associated government liens, including Medicaid liens, and limits attorney fees, while resolving all remaining claims connected to the 2006 incident. The bill affects only the named parties and does not broadly amend general law, but it operates as a private relief act within Florida’s claims-bill process.
The available context suggests the bill was generally sympathetic and remedial in nature, focused on compensating a severely injured individual and his family for long-term losses caused by a school board employee’s negligence. The bill’s findings emphasize the seriousness of the injuries, the need for lifelong care, and the fact that the parties reached a settlement to fully resolve the matter. The legislative action history indicates the companion bill passed and HB 6507 was laid on the table, suggesting the relief itself was accepted through the companion measure rather than through this specific House bill.
The main point of contention appears to be the size and structure of the compensation relative to Florida’s sovereign immunity cap and the treatment of collateral benefits and liens. The bill notes that the school board argued at trial that governmental benefits would reduce future care damages, and the act expressly addresses waiver of government liens, including Medicaid liens, which can be a sensitive issue in claims bills. Another potential issue is the attorney-fee cap and the final settlement amount, both of which reflect the legislature’s effort to fully close the claim while controlling the total public payout.