Lawsuit Reforms Good for Texas Business, Survey Says

A survey of members of a particular Texas organization shows a belief that lawsuit reforms are good for the state business climate.

The statewide survey of Texas Association of Business members found that 95.6 percent of the 282 individuals polled believe that lawsuit reform is very or somewhat important to the Texas business climate.

The poll also found that almost 89 percent of respondents agree that lawsuit reform has had a positive or somewhat positive impact on business climate.

71 percent of survey takers reportedly believe that lawsuit reform means that businesses can focus more on products, services, and general business instead of liability concerns, and almost 65 percent say that it makes it less expensive to operate a business.

Many members of the TAB don’t necessarily believe they are safer from being sued, however, with 42.2 percent of those that weighed in saying that their business has about the same likelihood of being sued today as it did five years ago, but almost 42 percent of respondents say they believe they are less likely to be sued today as opposed to five years ago.

“Texas is a place where employers can focus on building a business and creating jobs instead of operating in fear of a lawsuit that could force them to shut their doors,” said Bill Hammond, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business.

“Texas repeatedly outranks other states as the best place to do business and for job creation and, clearly, the lawsuit reforms that Texas legislators have passed in recent years are a major factor in our success,” Hammond continued.

According to a press release, a recent study by the Perryman Group found that legal reforms have strengthened Texas’ economy and created jobs, with approximately 8.5 percent of Texas’ economic growth since 1995 resulting from lawsuit reforms. That accounts for almost 500,000 new jobs in the Lone Star State.

Texas has added 732,000 private sector jobs over the past 10 years, which is seven times more than any other state.