Kemp recommits to tort reform

Gov. Brian Kemp Wednesday pledged to continue pushing major tort reform legislation when the General Assembly convenes in January for the 2025 legislative session.

Kemp made his announcement at the annual Congressional Luncheon in Athens sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the same venue he used a year ago to promise that comprehensive tort reform would be a major priority during the 2024 session.

However, in that session's early days last January, the governor said getting tort reform done would require more than one year. As a result, lawmakers settled for passing legislation limiting the ability of plaintiffs in lawsuits against commercial truckers to file suit directly against a trucking company’s insurance carrier.

'We took the first meaningful steps on this issue this past session by creating a mechanism to gather needed information that will guide the next steps,' Kemp told a roomful of political and business leaders Wednesday. 'And as we gather that data, I'm ensuring we listen to all stakeholders.'

Kemp announced he will hold a listening tour to hear from subject matter experts and industry leaders, including three roundtables that will inform his tort reform agenda for 2025.

Republican governors and GOP legislative leaders have worked for years to pass significant tort reform legislation. The most significant step in that direction came nearly 20 years ago with a bill that placed a $350,000 cap on non-economic damage awards in medical malpractice and product liability lawsuits. But the state Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional in 2010.

Since then, legislative Democrats and their allies in the legal industry have joined forces to sink efforts to enact tort reform, arguing it would take away victims’ rights to their day in court.

Kemp is backing tort reform as a pro-business measure that would stop frivolous lawsuits from driving up insurance premiums to the point that the costs prevent Georgia businesses from creating jobs.