Legislation shifting the burden of proof from retailer to plaintiff in slip-and-fall cases overwhelmingly passed the House Thursday and took a step toward passage in the Senate.

Proponents of the legislation say their bills shift Florida’s law back to where it was before 2001. In that year, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in Owens vs. Publix that the burden of proof in such tort cases was on retailers. The next year, lawmakers adopted legislation that fell in line with the court's ruling.

Republican leaders in both House and Senate set the table for conservative legislation due to come to a vote when both convene Thursday.

The House pushed through the following:

• a measure capping legal fees for private attorneys representing the state Attorney General’s Office;

• legislation moving the burden of proof from retailers to injured plaintiffs in slip-and-fall cases;

• a bill restoring affiliated political-committee funds; and,