Georgia bill to limit lawsuits advances after Kemp makes concession to Republican senators
Georgia bill to limit lawsuits advances after Kemp makes concession to Republican senators
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia senators voted 33-21 on Friday to support Gov. Brian Kemp’s top-priority legislation to limit lawsuits, but not before some of Kemp’s fellow Republicans extracted a concession in exchange for the votes necessary to secure a majority.
Senate Bill 68 moves on to the House for more debate as Kemp continues to marshal a political and lobbying push. A second bill that would limit third-party funding of lawsuits has not yet come before the full Senate.
Kemp’s bill sets stricter standards for when owners are accountable for injuries on their property, and stops attorneys from recovering fees twice for the same case. It allows separate trials for assigning responsibility and determining damages, and tries to make sure defendants can get a baseless case dismissed before engaging in expensive pretrial preparation.
Senate President Pro Tem John Kennedy, a Macon Republican sponsoring Kemp’s measure, said Friday that it’s “an effort to balance our civil justice system and stabilize cost for health care providers, job creators and most importantly, Georgia consumers.”
“The cost of doing nothing is incredible,” Kennedy said. “Our system is broken and we’ve got to fix it.”
Democratic Sen. Emanuel Jones of Decatur broke with his party to support the bill. The only Republican who voted against it was Sen. Colton Moore of Trenton.
Proponents say the legislation, which they call tort reform, would help businesses, physicians, property owners and others save money from lawsuits and lower insurance rates. Opponents say there’s no proof insurance rates would drop and worry people wouldn’t win compensation when they’re wronged.
“What we’re seeing here is not about fixing a broken system,” said Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, a Duluth Democrat. “It’s about creating a manufactured crisis to justify stripping away consumer protections and handing even more power to billion-dollar insurance corporations.”
Senators rejected an amendment by Islam Parkes to limit insurance rate increases to the rate of inflation.
A last-minute compromise softened one of the bill’s provisions governing how jurors determine medical damages. Right now, jurors only see bills sent by hospitals and physicians before insurers bargain them down and pay for part. Kemp wanted jurors only to see the actual cost that injured people paid, arguing that paying the face value of the bills meant people were collecting “phantom” damages. The agreement says jurors will see both and decide on appropriate damages.
“What we’ve come up with is, tell the jury the truth,” said Republican Sen. Bo Hatchett of Cornelia. “If the jury wants to know if the plaintiff has insurance, show them. If the jury wants to know how much the bill was, show them.”
The deal averted opposition from Hatchett and some other Republicans who are lawyers, clearing the way for the measure to pass the Senate. The vote came after Cody Hall, a political strategist for Kemp, broadcast an extraordinary threat on Thursday that Kemp would fund challengers to any Republican who opposed or watered down the measure.
“We’re going to make darn sure that people who are with us are supported, but we’re also going to make sure that voters are reminded of those who do not stand with him,” Hall told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Lobbyists on both sides are spending heavily and Kemp has threatened a special session if his bills don’t pass. Friday, before senators voted, clerks handed out letter after letter from business groups supporting the measure.
Democrats proposed an alternative to part of Kemp’s bill, which they say goes too far.
“You basically foreclosed the courthouse,” Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II said.
Democrats suggested restricting when property owners can be sued for injuries resulting from crimes on their property, and shield businesses from liability if they implement security measures. It also clarifies that being in a high-crime area doesn’t make an owner liable.
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Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.
By CHARLOTTE KRAMON and JEFF AMY
Associated Press
