After weeks of talking about the concepts of a plan, Governor Brian Kemp finally pulled back the curtain on his comprehensive tort reform package on Thursday. Backed by more than a hundred citizens representing a broad spectrum of the business community on the North steps of the Georgia State Capitol, Kemp outlined a soup-to-nuts approach to “put hardworking Georgians first” through amendments to the State’s civil justice laws. Though the governor’s descriptions of the technical tweaks to the state’s evidence code and civil practice act sent attorneys’ hearts aflutter, the real test will be how those proposals are perceived by the public, who will be implored by both sides of the battle to let their opinions be known to their elected officials. Read on for a brief look at the combat zone in this #GoldDomeReport.
In this Report:
- Governor Kemp Unveils Comprehensive Tort Reform Package
- Committee Notes
- New Legislation
- What’s Next
Governor Kemp Unveils Comprehensive Tort Reform Package
Against a backdrop of more than a hundred Georgians, Governor Kemp unveiled his long-awaited tort reform package on Thursday morning. Declaring that “Georgians need tort reform, and they need it now”, Kemp outlined the key elements of his comprehensive proposal, which include:
- Addressing premises liability law by adjusting the standard for negligent security so that property owners are only liable “for what they directly control”;
- Attacking “phantom damages” by only allowing plaintiffs to seek damages in the amount actually paid (or will be paid in the future) for a medical bill;
- Prohibiting the use of “anchoring” by attorneys in closing arguments and protecting discretion “empowering the jury to decide an award amount on their own”;
- Allowing bifurcation of trials upon motion of a party, which requires a determination of liability before evidence of damages is introduced;
- Permitting introduction of evidence that a plaintiff was not wearing his or her seatbelt in an auto accident in mitigation of damages;
- Eliminating “double recovery” of attorney’s fees;
- Shortening the timeline for voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit by a plaintiff;
- Allowing the filing of a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer; and
- Limiting participation and ensuring transparency of third-party litigation funders.
The package has been introduced in the Senate by Senate President Pro Tempore John Kennedy (R-Macon) as SB 68 and SB 69, and text should be available online by Friday.
Committee Notes
House Special Committee on Resource Management
The House Special Committee on Resource Management, a new committee this year, met for a brief organizational meeting on Thursday morning. The purpose of this committee will be to explore industrial energy usage in Georgia. The committee is chaired by Rep. Brad Thomas (R-Canton), and its members are: Rep. Chas Cannon (R-Moultrie), Rep. Carmen Rice (R-Fortson), Rep. Victor Anderson (R-Cornelia), Rep. Shaw Blackmon (R-Bonaire), Rep. Robert Dickey (R-Musella), Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), Rep. Matt Hatchet (R-Dublin), Rep. David Huddleston (R-Roopville), Rep. Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth), Rep. Don Parsons (R-Marietta), Rep. Tremaine Teddy Reese (D-Columbus), Rep. Lynn Smith (R-Newnan), Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), Rep. Patty Marie Stinson (D-Butler), and Rep. Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville). The committee adopted its rules and adjourned with no discussion.
Senate Education and Youth Committee
The Senate Education and Youth Committee, chaired by Senator Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) convened on Thursday for its first meeting of the session. Chairman Hickman noted that the committee's priorities will include school safety and literacy, inviting everyone to attend a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees at 1:00 pm on Monday, to hear presentations on those topics. Presenting on school safety: Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities; on literacy: Georgia Council on Literacy, Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, RESA, and Georgia Department of Education.
The committee adopted its rules before moving on to consideration of SB 1, the 'Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act' authored by Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), which prohibits transgender girls from competing in women’s sports.
Senator Dolezal presented the Committee Substitute to his bill. Before walking the committee through each section of the bill, he shared some of the rationale behind it, referencing the work of the Senate Special Committee on Women’s Sports, which heard much testimony last year on the topic. He shared various statistics highlighting the average differences in performance among men and women, noting that the fastest female Olympic track runners would not qualify for the final heat of men in the same events, that on average women have 52% less upper body strength and 66% less lower body strength, and that men also out-perform women when comparing strength of those with the same body mass. He culminated his introductory remarks stating that the data and science back up what we all can observe. He characterized this bill as being about safety, fairness, and inclusion, in that order.
Specifically, the bill provides for the following:
- Lines 59-64: Establishes definitions of Male and Female, on the basis of “reproductive potential” (i.e. persons with XY chromosomes are male; those with XX chromosomes are female).
- Lines 116-131: Establishes covered entities, which includes any publicly funded school, any private school that chooses to compete against public schools, and any non-school organization that competes against public schools. Provides for teams to be designated one of three options: male, female, or coed.
- Lines 161-184: Requires sex-segregated changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters. Provides for alternate accommodations for students who are unwilling or unable to use multi-occupant facilities.
- Lines 216-250: Outlines processes for filing complaints and appeals.
- Lines 313-333: Establishes a private right of action for any student or guardian thereof aggrieved by a violation of this law (with a two-year limitation).
- Line 379 through the end of the bill repeats the language above for the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia.
Senator Dolezel noted that this bill codifies what is already the practice of GHSA, which led some senators to then ask why the legislation is needed.
Senator Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) asked for clarification on what happens if private schools compete both against public schools and other private schools. Are they only a covered entity during competition against public schools? Sen. Dolezal responded that “you are either a covered entity or you’re not” and that the “hook” is triggered by competing against public schools.
Senator Freddie Powell Sims (D-Dawson) questioned why they were “wasting” valuable time debating something that is not currently an issue for the 1,735,585 students in Georgia’s public schools, many of whom are still dealing with the effects of post-Covid learning loss and poor literacy rates, though she did ultimately vote in favor of passing the bill. She asked Sen. Dolezal how many students statewide were currently facing this issue and he said he did not know.
Senator RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta) shared his perspective as a “girl-dad” who loves sports and has concerns about unintended consequences for girls who might be misidentified because they’re “too good.” He is concerned for their safety and mental health as a result of bullying.
Senator Tim Bearden (R-Carrollton) shared his support of the bill, stating that it would be a tragedy for “one of our daughters” to be injured on the field or miss a scholarship or other opportunity that they otherwise would’ve received. Sen. Dolezal followed up by sharing a story of a woman on a female volleyball team who was struck in the face and seriously injured by a ball spiked by a transgender opponent. He said that while nothing like this has happened in Georgia, his goal is to head it off.
Senator Parent voiced more concerns about how the law would be enforced, noting that birth certificates can often be wrong for people who are intersex, with rates as high as 1 in 4,000. She further noted that schools don’t currently require birth certificates for enrollment.
Four cisgender female athletes joined the meeting via Zoom and presented testimony. All four of them were collegiate swimmers (at schools not in Georgia) who competed at the 2022 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, hosted at Georgia Tech, where Lia Thomas (who is transgender) also competed. They each passionately described their experiences at this event, focusing on their feelings of unfairness toward Thomas’s size advantage and being uncomfortable sharing a locker room with a person who has male genitals. One of them stated that she opted for changing in a custodial closet in lieu of the locker room where Thomas was present.
Speakers opposed included a pediatrician from Roswell who is concerned about mental health and the high suicide rates among transgender youth stating, “They just want to exist.” Carl Charles of Lambda Legal believes this is “nothing but lawsuits waiting to happen,” both from transgender girls who believe their rights are being violated under Title 9 and the 14th Amendment and from cisgender girls being targeted by the “gender police.”
Those in favor included Mike Griffin of the Georgia Baptist Mission board, who referenced the Book of Genesis and echoed points made earlier by the bill’s author.
Representative Park Cannon (D-Atlanta) was the last to give public comment, stating that she opposes the bill on grounds that she believes she shares with the author: support for individual freedom, support for parental freedom, and objection to government overreach.
Senator Kemp offered a friendly amendment to add language that the bill would not allow for any visual inspections of external sex organs. The amendment was adopted.
Senator Parent offered a friendly amendment to add language that would exclude grades kindergarten through 8th grade. The author opposed, and the amendment failed on party lines.
Finally, Senator Tim Bearden motioned to recommend DO PASS by Committee Substitute as amended. The motion passed with support from all Republicans and from one Democrat, Senator Sims.
New Legislation
The following new legislation of interest has been introduced in the House:
The following new legislation of interest has been introduced in the Senate:
