Johnson in 1996 chaired a special committee examining tort reform. The resulting bill which passed the Senate, would in the words of "The Columbus Dispatch", "cap noneconomic and punitive damages, impose additional time limits for filing lawsuits and protect defendants in multidefendant cases from being liable for unpaid portions of a judgment." The minority party was unhappy, the paper reported, "Democrats blasted Republicans, saying they were catering to business at the expense of the victims of their negligence." Senator Jeffrey D. Johnson, a Cleveland Democrat said "Somewhere along the way we have shifted away from concern for the victim to concern for business," but Bruce Johnson defended the legislation. "What we've done is tried to strike a balance. Lawsuit abuse threatens to close the doors of many small businesses in our state."