David Casteel — Asked for clarification and confirmed the witness supported the bill.
John Hewkin — Called during roll call; the transcript likely misheard his name as 'Hukin.'
Chanel Mosley — Chanel Mosley was called during roll call.
Dave Hinman — Dave Hinman is called during roll call, asked to come forward, and then introduces himself as Representative Dave Hinman from O'Fallon, District 103, beginning his testimony on House Bill 1718.
Dave Hinman — Responded briefly and indicated he would wait for another witness.
Jim Murphy — Called during roll call.
Jim Murphy — Questioned whether the bill's approach was comparing apples and oranges by tying the cap to the original date of loss for minors.
Jim Murphy — Asked a follow-up question about liability limits.
Jim Murphy — Was recognized for questions from the committee.
Jim Murphy — Raised the possibility that attorneys might delay filing to benefit from inflation.
Jim Murphy — Asked whether the policies are current-basis coverage and inquired about premium increases and loss ratios.
Jim Murphy — Commented that the rate increases seemed low compared with the non-taxing authority world and linked it to the low cap.
Jim Murphy — The chair thanks Representative Murphy for his questions.
Jim Murphy — The chair asks about contingency fee rates in these cases.
Jim Murphy — He summarizes the issue as settlement date versus injury date and then asks a follow-up question.
Jim Murphy — He apologizes for using the term 'unscrupulous' broadly, and the witness responds that their members are respected professionals.
Jim Murphy — The speaker responds to Representative Murphy’s earlier point about attorneys and settlement timing.
Jim Murphy — The witness thanks a representative whose name is transcribed unclearly as 'Jimman'; likely a legislator being acknowledged for work on an amendment.
Jim Murphy — Representative Murphy asks whether insurance coverage matches the current cap per incident.
Jim Murphy — The witness referred to committee questioning; the transcript does not clearly identify the member beyond 'Representative Butts.'
Brandon Phelps — Called during roll call.
Wick Thomas — Called during roll call; the transcript likely misheard 'Wic, or Thomas' as a single phrase.
Terry Thompson — Called during roll call.
Terry Thompson — Representative Thomas asked for clarification about the court’s reasoning in Robinson v. Board of Police Commissioners, noting he had not yet read the case and had not received recent court updates. He then continued the same line of questioning and concluded by thanking the witness for the explanation.
Terry Thompson — Representative Butts is called on for questions after the witness’s remarks.
Terry Thompson — Representative Butts asks whether premium increases are a high priority for the witness’s members.
Terry Thompson — The representative is referenced as having asked the witness to mention the issue.
Terry Thompson — Representative Butts asks for information on average premium increases over the last five to ten years.
Bob Titus — Representative Bob Titus was welcomed as a new member of the committee.
Unidentified witness — The witness explained that the liability limit was recently set at 532,148 and that the issue arose because the statute was vague, leading the court to interpret which cap applied. The bill’s purpose is to clarify that the award cap should be determined at the time of the accident, and the witness confirmed that this is the only change the bill makes.
Matthew Broderson — Matthew Broderson, executive director of MURMA, explained that the Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management Association provides municipal self-insurance coverage to 103 small- and mid-sized cities across the state. He testified in support of the bill, saying it would help control growth in award amounts and close a potential coverage gap for public entities, especially in cases involving children and long-tail injuries under occurrence-based policies. He discussed how minors can file claims up to age 23, gave an example of inflation adjustments increasing a cap from $435,000 to $517,000 for a 2020 claim settling in 2025, and said the bill could reduce incentives to delay settlement until higher inflation numbers take effect. He also noted that caps apply to the sovereign/entity rather than employees, confirmed that MURMA’s policies operate on a current basis, said the organization does not track loss ratios, and described MURMA’s composite-rate structure and annual rate increases of about 2% to 3% based on payroll.
Mike Sudakum — Introduced himself as a practicing attorney in Missouri and testified on behalf of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys in opposition to the bill.
Bill Allen — Representative Butts is referenced and then called on during a discussion about the proposed cap increase, after which he asks a follow-up question about whether cases with such low caps typically drag on for a decade and how long they usually take to settle.
Pat Kelly — Pat Kelly, with the Municipal League of Metro St. Louis, testifies in support of House Bill 1718.
Curtis Trent — Mentioned as having filed similar bills on this issue multiple times.
Curtis Trent — The witness was responding to questions from Representative Butts and discussing certainty in insurance coverage.
Curtis Trent — The witness referred to 'Representative Butts' when discussing CPI, but the intended member is unclear.
Laura Holloway — Laura Holloway, director with the Missouri Municipal League, testifies in support of House Bill 1718.
Chris Leese — Chris Leese testifies in support of House Bill 1718 on behalf of the city of O’Fallon and references another city/representative connection that is unclear in the transcript.
Zach Pollock — Zach Pollock, a registered lobbyist, testifies in support of House Bill 1718 on behalf of housing-related organizations.
Brandon Kach — Testified on behalf of the Missouri Insurance Coalition in support of the bill.
David Gregory — A member was referenced as having full context on tail coverage, but the speaker is not explicitly identified.
Trent Watson — Testified on behalf of the Missouri Association of Counties in support of the bill.
Rney C. A. C. Dinoff — Rney C. A. C. Dinoff identified himself as the State Public Advocate and began his testimony in opposition to the bill.
Stephen Marion — Identified himself as legislative director with the Department of Commerce and Insurance and began informational testimony.
Dane Diehl — Called to order as Chairman; the transcript likely misheard his name as 'Deal.'
Mark Matthiesen — Called as Vice Chair; the transcript likely misheard his name as 'Batisson.'
Steve Butz — Steve Butz is first mentioned during roll call, then appears as the committee member who is recognized to proceed and begins asking questions about the bill, including concerns about the cap increase and the CPI factor.
David Casteel — Called during roll call; the transcript likely misheard his name as 'Castile.'
David Casteel — Sought confirmation that the bill limits the award to the cap at the time of injury.