Wallingford supports brief delay in passing coronavirus liability protection bill

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau said he was "surprised" to discover Gov. Mike Parson had asked the leadership in the General Assembly's upper chamber to remove the COVID-19 liability protection legislation from consideration in the legislature's special session, which ended Wednesday.

Wallingford said he is supportive of Parson's temporary change of heart, suggesting the governor is trying not to rush through an inadequately crafted bill.

"We don't want people who commit fraud, who may be cheating the system, to be exempted from liability," said Wallingford, who returned to his Capitol office in Jefferson City on Monday for the first time since kidney transplant surgery in St. Louis in early November.

"Nobody wants the bill to protect bad actors. So, the idea is to take the time to be exact and get (the legislation) right," he added.

Just three weeks ago, Parson had asked the state House and Senate to expand the purview of the special session to pass a bill to shield a variety of individuals and businesses from lawsuits related to the ongoing pandemic.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ed Emery (R-31), was being heard Tuesday night in the Government Reform Committee when the request came through via text from Parson.

Emery's bill had three protection components: health care workers providing necessary care during the ongoing state of emergency; manufacturers producing, designing and selling goods directly related to the pandemic; and premises such as schools, churches, businesses and not-for-profits.

The goal, Emery told the Missouri Times online newspaper, was to protect entities from being held accountable for "transmission or exposure claims on their premises or through their operations during the pandemic."

Wallingford said it appears the COVID-19 liability protection bill will be taken up when the legislature meets in regular session Jan. 6.

On that same day, Wallingford, 74, will move to the other side of the Capitol and take his seat as the newly elected representative of House District 147.