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In an effort to curb auto insurance rates in Louisiana, state legislators greenlit several bills this week aiming to rein in personal injury lawsuits—including one proposal that bars people who aren’t legal U.S. citizens from suing if hurt in a wreck, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
House Bill 436, by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, cleared the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure without objection. The bill looks to ban “unauthorized aliens” from receiving general damages stemming from auto accidents. General damages include compensation for pain and suffering, but the proposal would still allow recovery for “special damages,” such as medical expenses and property damage.
Firment, an insurance consultant, says the purpose of the bill aims to both address the state’s auto insurance crisis while discouraging illegal immigration.
Hammond Republican Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, an attorney, questioned the constitutionality of the bill, saying the state could be meddling in federal immigration law.
“The Supreme Court said that we can’t enforce alien laws. That would be a federal position,” Muscarello says. “So it might be something we could look at because there might be some constitutional issues.”
Firment contends that his bill, which moves next to the House floor, is very narrowly focused and believes it would pass constitutional scrutiny.
