Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE – New Mexico counties are warning that if lawmakers pass a proposed civil rights bill – a move they say would increase the risk of taxpayers tabbing on heavy legal claims – they will lose some of their insurance coverage need to cover.
The county’s testimony comes from the fact that civil rights legislation, House Bill 4, comes out as one of the most hotly debated bills in the first few weeks of the 60-day legislature.
The proposal emerged from the summer protests against racism and police brutality and was approved by the majority of the state’s nine-member Civil Rights Commission last year.
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However, Grace Philips, general counsel at the New Mexico Association of Counties, said the counties have already been warned by their reinsurer that they will lose their reinsurance to law enforcement if the law is signed. Reinsurance is an additional insurance, similar to the insurance of an insurer.
For Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Doña Ana counties, Philips said losing the additional coverage would mean they only have $ 2 million to respond to law enforcement and detention claims, up from now $ 10 million.
“It reduces the funds available to compensate people who have been harmed,” she said, “and when counties don’t have insurance to pay claims, the money to pay claims comes straight from the county budget.”
Legal judgments could also be judged on property taxes, she said.
House spokesman Brian Egolf, a Santa Fe Democrat and co-sponsor of the law, said he expected lawmakers to consider changes to address some of the financial concerns, including the possibility of capping damage to protect small local governments .
But the public should not lose sight of the opportunity to better hold officials accountable for civil rights violations.
“I think this will give many New Mexicans better access to justice,” said Egolf. “The dollar-and-cent problem will be solved.”
He described the insurance concerns as exaggerated. Government authorities have already been confronted with civil rights claims in federal courts, but can still take out insurance.
House Bill 4 would introduce a New Mexico Civil Rights Act. This would allow plaintiffs to file a lawsuit against a public entity – or someone working on behalf of the public – in a state court to seek damages for violating their constitutional rights.
Public agencies can already be sued in federal court for violating the US Constitution, and plaintiffs can seek monetary damages if successful. But New Mexico has no similar state law that allows victims of constitutional violations to seek damages in a state court.
The New Mexico Constitution may also provide broader protection or cover rights that lawmakers state that do not exist under federal law.
The proposed law would also prohibit the use of qualified immunity as a defense in cases filed under the state civil rights law. Qualified immunity provides legal protection when officials can demonstrate that their conduct did not violate clearly defined constitutional rights that a reasonable person would know about. It is allowed as a defense in federal court.
Proponents of the law have testified that government agencies must be held accountable following a wrongful arrest, foster child abuse, or fatal shooting by a law enforcement officer.
However, cities and counties claim the proposal would cost taxpayers money without preventing civil rights violations.
City and county officials say they can be held accountable in state courts for wrongdoing by law enforcement agencies. Plaintiffs can make claims for violations of the state constitution under the tort law, although the damage is limited to just over $ 1 million.
The Association of Counties and City League says the proposed civil rights law would allow for no damage-limit lawsuits and provide reimbursement of legal fees.
“You can already sue law enforcement,” Philips said. “All it does is make these cases more expensive and profitable for attorneys who are allowed to collect their fees on top of what the attorney received for their client.”
The State Association of Counties, which assures 29 of 33 New Mexico county governments, estimates the cost of litigation and civil rights claims would increase 66%, or $ 13 million per year.
AJ Forte, executive director of the Municipal League and former risk management director for the state, said the claims could be enormous. He noted that New Mexico’s biggest jury prize to date – in a death involving the FedEx shipping company – totaled $ 165 million.
“If a jury decides that a constitutional violation is worth $ 165 million, for example, as in the FedEx case,” said Forte, “we will stop talking about the cost of insurance. There will simply be no money left There is no liability fund in a state that has such a balance. “
House Bill 4 cleared its first hurdle this week – the House State Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee – and is next to the House Judiciary Committee, possibly its last stop before reaching the House Floor.
If passed by the House of Representatives, it would also have to be approved in the Senate – including any committees to which it is assigned in that Chamber – before it reaches Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
For his part, Egolf said he expected the House to consider a number of changes to the bill, including to address insurance concerns. However, the proposal has a meaning that goes beyond the finances of local government.
“Opponents of the bill are sending a message of dollars and cents,” said Egolf, “because they cannot talk about the real people who are involved in these cases.”
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