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S.B. 80 gave Ohio Farm Bureau a chance to work cooperatively with the governor and a coalition of business groups to support reform of Ohio’s tort laws. And it gave Farm Bureau members an opportunity to contact their state legislators through a new electronic tool available on Farm Bureau’s Web site.

CapWiz is a new electronic communications method members can use by visiting www.ofbf.org, clicking on Government and Grassroots, and then clicking on Legislative Action Center. You type in your ZIP code, use the already prepared message or create your own, and a message will be e-mailed to your state legislator. "We had more than 1,000 member contacts" with their state legislators on tort reform legislation alone through CapWiz and other methods of communication, according to OFBF Vice President of Government Affairs Keith Stimpert.

Tort reform is needed to encourage business development in the state, Stimpert said. Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. S.B. 80 sets a cap of $100,000 for punitive damage awards and sets a cap on noneconomic ("pain and suffering") damage awards. It also permits juries setting damage awards to be informed of plaintiffs’ insurance and compensation benefits. Other provisions establish a time limit on filing product liability lawsuits and empower judges to end frivolous legal conduct.

Also, the legislation creates a consumer’s bill of rights to help people find an attorney, and it addresses the fees that lawyers can receive.

Two parts of the bill are designed to offer protection to agriculture. One protects owners of "you-pick" operations from certain liability concerns. Another addresses liability for landowners that have property adjacent to parks and bike trails.

"We think this bill does a number of things that not only helps the agricultural community but also the business community at large," said Deering Dyer, OFBF’s director of local affairs.