Public Safety Benefit Bill Wounded by Amendments

A controversial plan to boost benefits and lift a cap on attorneys' fees for Florida law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics and firefighters limped out of a House committee amid a flurry of insurance legislation last week. But insurance experts say it may have been too badly wounded to survive. The House Insurance Committee passed its version of HB 141, known as the "first responders" bill, Wednesday by a vote of 16-0. But not before committee Chairman Dennis A. Ross, R-Lakeland, tacked on an amendment that removed two of the bill's main provisions. One would ...