ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp scored a major legislative victory Friday as the Senate passed his tort reform bill -- a measure to overhaul Georgia’s civil legal system and it could affect how and when you can sue.
The bill would limit when you can sue, limit what you might get, and what juries can hear during your lawsuit.
Businesses are all for it -- lawyers not so much.
Tort reform is Kemp’s number one priority this session and his team put a lot pressure on Republicans to get it passed, including a threat to back primary challenges against those who didn’t.
“I wouldn’t call it arm twisting. I would say it’s good faith negotiations,” state Sen. John F. Kennedy said.
Negotiations that continued through the night and into the morning.
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The bill would limit some lawsuits and regulate how juries calculate awards. It would also require attorneys show actual medical costs to juries instead of initial bills.
Kennedy said last-minute negotiations got any remaining Republicans over the finish line.
“This was important to him. It was important to Georgia. It was and is his number one priority, so he was going to negotiate and be open to ideas,” Kennedy said.
“This is a very important bill,” Augusta Democratic state Sen. Harold Jones said.
Jones led the opposition and insisted, despite Kemp’s promise, there’s no guarantee tort reform would lead to lower insurance rates.
He said both sides of the aisle felt the governor’s push to get this passed.
“That’s very strong. But we’ll let Republicans fight with each other. The bottom line is obviously this was his number one priority, but we’re going to make sure we’ll get some changes to it, too. And believe me they were not the only ones being threatened around here. Let me tell you,” Jones said.
The bill now goes to the house where it’s expected to have a rougher time.
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