Habersham County’s delegation of state lawmakers convened at Fairfield Inn and Suites in Cornelia Wednesday, April 30, and briefed members of the community on legislative efforts from their time at Capitol since January.
State Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, was the first to lead Wednesday’s discussion – which centered on tort reform.
As passed, Senate Bill 68, pushed by Hatchett and Gov. Brian Kemp, is a major reform of Georgia’s civil justice system, changing how lawsuits are handled, especially in personal injury and negligent security cases. The bill limits how lawyers argue noneconomic damages, restricts recovery of inflated medical costs and allows seat belt non-use to reduce damage awards.
SB 68 also makes it harder to hold property owners liable for crimes committed by third parties unless strict foreseeability conditions are met. Additionally, it permits dividing trials into phases—first to determine fault, then damages. Most changes apply immediately, while key tort reforms apply only to future cases.
“The common theme is that insurance rates are just too high,” Hatchett, a plaintiffs’ attorney said Wednesday. “The question is – what is causing them to be as high as they are? One solution we reached is to change the way litigation occurs in the state of Georgia.”
Hatchett went on to say that he believes SB 68 is “honestly fair and balanced.”
“When we walked away from this session, there were people happy and people upset on both sides of this issue,” Hatchett said. “…we made a very fair and balanced bill that, hopefully, will help the justice system moving forward. And I’m hoping it will make insurance rates go down.”
School safety
Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, touted House Bill 268, which improved aspects of school safety statewide.
The bill, as written, aims to strengthen school safety and student well-being by implementing a statewide emergency alert system and improving coordination between schools and emergency services. As part of the bill, a mobile panic system will be required in all public schools by July 1 of 2026, allowing real-time communication with first responders during security threats.
The legislation also mandates detailed digital mapping of school facilities to aid emergency access, expands the sharing of student disciplinary and behavioral records between schools and government agencies and introduces suicide and violence prevention training, student advocacy specialists, and an anonymous tip line for reporting threats.
Additional measures include expanding court jurisdiction for certain juvenile offenses and creating new criminal penalties for school-related terroristic acts. Erwin said the bill seeks to improve safety, mental health support and information transparency across Georgia’s education system.
“We had to figure out what we had to do to secure our schools,” Erwin said, adding his belief that the bill could benefit students for generations. “Our kids deserved this. Our teachers deserved this. Our parents deserved this. They needed to know, when they pull up to the door and let their (child) out, they would be able to pick them up at the end of the day.”
New business park
Rep. Victor Anderson, R-Cornelia, pointed to the potential property purchase for a new business park on 200 acres along GA 365 that was known as Lee Arrendale State Prison’s equine impound area, where inmates once rehabilitated injured horses in partnership with the state’s Department of Agriculture.
House Resolution 97, if signed by Kemp, could allow Habersham County’s Commission to move to purchase that property at 377 Mt. Zion Road and GA 365 in the near future. Action, or at least discussion, likely would first be required by commissioners and the Habersham County Development Authority.
The potential property sale to Habersham comes after the GDC recommended closure of Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto in 2023, though state officials still haven’t provided a timeline for the future transfer of prisoners or when the facility could shut down.
A new Habersham County fire station could also be constructed on another 20 acres of the property, Anderson said.
“That property was included in the conveyance resolution,” Anderson said. “…there is potential to develop a new economic development site in Habersham County. Not sure exactly how that will look or what it would be used for, but it’s prime property. It’s about seven miles from the (Northeast Georgia) Inland Port, just up the street from a lot of other development.”
