The "Boom Belt" didn't happen by accident. When SEC Chairman Paul Atkins joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in April to celebrate the region's economic dominance, he credited "steady adherence to first principles" for driving GDP growth, job creation, and population gains that outpace every other region in the country. One of the foundational pillars of that prosperity is civil justice reform that reined in lawsuit abuse and made both states competitive destinations for businesses and families.
A new paper from the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute and the James Madison Institute traces this legislative history in detail. In Texas, the effort stretches back more than five decades to the Tort Claims Act of 1969, running through repeated rounds of medical malpractice and lawsuit abuse reform. In Florida, a similar arc runs from the 1986 Tort Reform and Insurance Act through the sweeping 2023 personal injury overhaul championed by Gov. DeSantis. The results speak for themselves. Florida's reforms produced rate reductions from GEICO, Progressive, and State Farm ranging from 6% to 10.5%, while litigation over glass repairs plunged 90% between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024. Reform works.
But those gains are now in the crosshairs of well-funded trial lawyer interests, who are laser focused on protecting their bottom-line. In Texas, Arnold and Itkin, one of the state's largest billboard lawyer firms, contributed $10 million to launch the Texans for Truth and Liberty PAC. In Florida, the Florida Justice Association has donated more than $1M to political parties, top legislative leaders, and rank and file members of both parties. These infiltrative efforts are beginning to find success, with signs of legislative drift on the very principles that built the Boom Belt.
The consequences would fall hardest on ordinary consumers. Lawsuit abuse costs the average American household $4,207 annually, with costs in Florida and other high-litigation states surpassing $5,000 per year. Every dollar recaptured by trial lawyers through weakened reforms gets passed back to consumers through higher insurance premiums, inflated medical costs, and fewer businesses willing to operate in a litigious environment.
Texas and Florida have earned their status as national models. The tools to protect those gains already exist: legislation addressing nuclear verdicts and disclosure requirements for third-party litigation financing can close the remaining gaps. Lawmakers in Austin and Tallahassee should treat this moment as a call to hold the line, not a reason to compromise.