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Governor Scott Cannot Skip Legal Reform

Florida Lawsuit Abuse Legal reform

Written by Bob Molsick, Sick of Lawsuits supporter and small business owner in Florida.

Governor Scott recently announced his plans to tour a handful of states as part of a campaign to draw employers to The Sunshine State. That’s great, because let’s face it – our state needs jobs and still lags behind as others are recovering.

The pitch highlights Florida as a business-friendly environment with low taxation and light regulation, which isn’t completely off base. But he’s missing something – our taxes and regulations may be appealing, but our liability climate most definitely isn’t.  In fact, it is regularly listed as one of the worst.   It’s hard to tout a state as a mecca for business at the same time its laws encourage questionable lawsuits, and its courts overturn reforms and hand out questionable verdicts and mega awards.

Governor Scott may want to skip over that, but employers looking at Florida certainly won’t.

A bad legal climate puts businesses at greater risk of being sued, raises liability costs, and makes it harder to grow and create jobs. If that’s not enough, throw in unpredictable courts and there is a very real risk that if companies do end up in court they won’t get a fair hearing.

That is why a fair, predictable legal system is a key component of a good business environment. Look at Texas, for example. Former Governor Rick Perry touts his sweeping legal reforms as one of the main reasons he was able to bring so many jobs to Texas. So, why isn’t Governor Scott following in Perry’s footsteps? He should.

Promoting a state as a good business environment without addressing legal reform is like trying to sell a house without plumbing or electricity.  It may not be the most visible or sexy piece of the package, but you sure wouldn’t want to live there without it, and there aren’t many who are going to buy it.

Florida voters opted against putting a trial lawyer in the governor’s mansion. Governor Scott should seize on that to further challenge the trial bar’s influence by making legal reforms a priority. That would send a clear message that he’s serious about making our state a good place to do business.  Yes, we have too many trial lawyers in the legislature who will do anything they can to block reforms.  That’s why it is even more important that Governor Scott lead the charge. He defeated the power and money of the trial bar in the election. Let’s see if he has the fight and will left to do it again in the legislature.

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A project of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, Sick of Lawsuits is an online network of people who are interested in restoring integrity to our justice system by addressing issues surrounding legal reform. We encourage citizens to be empowered as legal consumers, take action against abuses, and help restore common sense and fairness to our legal system.

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