 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 9 * May 10, 1999 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story Senate considersY2K bill that By Eric Ciliberti
The Year 2000 (Y2K) issue has become more complex during the past few weeks as the Senate debated S.96, the "Y2K Act" sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). S. 96 would limit the amount of punitive damages that may arise out of possible litigation, which some estimate at close to $1 trillion, as a result of Y2K computer-related problems. The bill exempts state and local governments from punitive damages resulting from any Y2K legislation, as well as local agencies, entities, or multi-jurisdictional entities of local governments. In its current form, S. 96 would cap punitive damages at $250,000 or three times the amount of economic damages, whichever is greater. In addition, plaintiffs would need to wait 90 days before filing a lawsuit, a "cooling off" period as described by McCain. During this time, the party responsible for the Y2K-related computer failure would have some time to repair the computer-related failure. The White House has threatened to veto this legislation following an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) report, which warned that the bill would act as a disincentive to solving Y2K computer problems. Senate votes are expected on S. 96 within the next week. But the fervor surrounding this bill and related Y2K legislation will continue as the powerful lobbies of business square off against the trial lawyers over future Y2K legislation. |