On eve of key Georgia Senate vote, hints emerge Kemp's 2025 priority ‘tort reform' faces headwinds
Gov. Brian Kemp is ramping up pressure on Republican state senators to support his plan to pass new limits on lawsuits in Georgia, which is up for a key vote Friday. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder (2024 file photo)
Gov. Brian Kemp kicked off his penultimate year in office in January with the threat of a special session if 'meaningful, impactful' limits on lawsuits are not passed by the time lawmakers head back home in early April.
And Kemp's camp upped the ante Thursday when a top aide said the governor would cause electoral headaches for any Republican who does not support his all-in push for so-called tort reform.
Cody Hall, who is a senior advisor for Kemp, said they expect 'unfriendly' amendments to be offered up Friday, including proposed changes to the governor's plan to rein in what supporters of lawsuit award limits call phantom damages – or jury awards beyond a plaintiff's actual financial hit.
The comments, which were made on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Politically Georgia talk show, were a public sign that the governor's proposed overhaul on lawsuit rules might be in trouble with a key vote set for Friday.
Hall said that 'a vote for that amendment, a vote to change the bill, would be a vote against the governor, it would be a vote against tort reform.' He then said the governor's leadership committee, which is a powerful fundraising tool that allows Kemp to raise unlimited funds, would be used against those Republicans when they are on the ballot again in 2026, including some lawmakers who may seek higher office.
'This is his top legislative priority. He has a political infrastructure and a political organization that is committed to supporting his priorities, and we're going to make darn sure that folks that were 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 said.
A bill containing the bulk of the governor's plan passed out of a Senate committee earlier this month with an 8-3 vote along party lines after a five-hour meeting. A companion bill, which would increase regulations on third-party sources of funding for lawsuits, cleared the committee with bipartisan support but is not scheduled for a vote tomorrow. Both bills are sponsored by Macon Republican Sen. John Kennedy.
Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones, an Augusta Democrat, said Senate Democrats oppose the governor's bill as it is.
On Thursday, Jones unveiled an alternative plan that is narrowly focused on what he said is the Democrats' chief objection to the governor's plan: new limits on a business' liability for injuries that occur on their property. Jones argued that the Democrats' plan would increase protections for the business without jeopardizing the public's ability to pursue legitimate lawsuits.
'It actually brings the two interests together, which are not mutually exclusive. Businesses, we want them to thrive. We also want to make sure people are safe,' Jones told reporters Thursday.
The governor's plan would raise the standards for plaintiffs to prove that business owners were negligent. Jones said the Democrats are proposing legal protections that reward businesses for taking steps to improve on-site safety for their customers.
Without the support of Senate Democrats, the governor has few GOP votes to spare. Republicans have a 33-to-23 edge in the Senate, where 29 votes are needed to pass a bill. An amendment needs the majority vote of those present to succeed. Going into Friday, all eyes are on the civil trial attorneys who serve in the Senate. The state association that represents trial lawyers is opposed to the governor's overhaul plans.
Georgia Recorder freelancer Maya Homan contributed to this report.
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