(Georgia Recorder) — Gov. Brian Kemp signed new lawsuit award limits into law Monday that he argues will bring balance to Georgia’s legal environment and send relief to the state’s businesses.
The signing marks the end of a bruising fight at the state Capitol with both sides of the aisle feeling the fallout. But the debate over whether the pair of bills will help rein in costs rages on.
“Both of these bills accomplished our goal of leveling the playing field in Georgia’s courtrooms and ensuring our business environment remains the best in the nation,” Kemp said in remarks at the state Capitol Monday.
“(They) simply bring transparency and fairness to a process that has been abused for too long, that has driven up costs for businesses and consumers alike,” he added.
Some of the bills’ biggest supporters caution that it will take time for that relief to come.
Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce said he believed the changes would help the state’s small businesses and health care providers, especially in rural communities – but not overnight.
“It’s not an easy fix. It’s not going to lower rates for everybody tomorrow,” Clark said Monday. “But if it can stabilize them, I think that’s a huge win.”
Insurance Commissioner John King, a Republican who is seen as a potential U.S. Senate candidate, said Monday that he expects to see reduced rates. If not, King said he wants to hear insurers explain why rates are not decreasing.
“We’ve expended so much political currency in getting this done. Now I expect insurance companies to meet us in the middle,” King said.
In January, Kemp pledged to drag lawmakers back to Atlanta for a special session if “meaningful, impactful” changes were not made to the state’s civil litigation system. At one point, the governor’s top aide said the governor’s war chest would be used to back primary challengers for GOP defectors.
In the end, the votes did not fall neatly along party lines, with eight Republican lawmakers in the House voting against Senate Bill 68, which contained the bulk of the changes. It just barely cleared the House with a 91-82 vote after some changes were made.
The main bill includes provisions that would limit owners’ liability for injuries that occur on their property, restrict damages awarded for medical bills, and enable trials to more easily be split into multiple stages so that juries can determine liability and damages separately.
Georgia Democrats blasted Monday’s bill signing.
“Congratulations to Brian Kemp for threatening and arm-twisting his way to the signing of his number one priority this year: shielding insurance companies from accountability to Georgians in court,” said Matthew Wilson, who is serving as interim chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia and who is also a trial lawyer.
Rep. Tanya Miller, an Atlanta Democrat and an attorney who was a leading voice of opposition to the bills this session, said Monday that if insurance rates do stabilize, it won’t be because the state limited lawsuits in Georgia.
Miller called the Kemp-backed package “a manufactured solution to a manufactured problem.”
“The truth is, this so-called reform was never about solving a real problem,” Miller said. “The tort reform campaign has long been run on half-truths, selective anecdotes, and outright misinformation. There was no crisis in our judicial system, and no credible data supports the claim that injured citizens seeking justice in a court of law caused insurance premiums to spike.”
The bill had faced opposition from crime victims and their families and the trial attorneys who represent them. In the House, the bill was changed to carve out greater protections for survivors of human trafficking, but lawmakers did not extend similar protections to other child, elderly and sexual assault victims.
Critics had argued that the last-minute changes didn’t go far enough.
“Our laws should stand up for injured Georgians, not give big corporations a free pass for turning a blind eye,” said Rep. Stacey Evans, an Atlanta Democrat and an attorney who also helped lead the Democratic opposition to the bill.
In the House, the focus on insurance rates will continue this year. House Speaker Jon Burns last week announced the creation of a blue-ribbon study committee on insurance rates.
“Throughout the interim, the House will take another look at something that’s important: a close look at our state’s insurance markets and premiums to ensure that our fellow Georgians and companies of every size have access to coverage and are not being subjected to unjustified rate increases,” Burns said in remarks at Monday’s bill signing ceremony.
