Legislators

In HB 167, the standard of care for COVID-19 exposure cases (except in those cases originating in health care facilities) was the business-friendly standard of “willful and wanton misconduct or intentional infliction of harm.” This standard would have been the strongest in the country in dealing with these types of lawsuits. Senator Stone proposed an amendment to lower the standard of care to “gross negligence” and additionally added a repeal date where there was none previously. This amendment intended to fundamentally undermine the pro-business version of HB 167.

HB 167 is a comprehensive pro-business bill necessary to aid in Georgia’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. To support economic recovery, businesses need the assurance that when giving their best efforts to protect employees and the general public, they in turn will be protected from frivolous lawsuits.  Our public health officials are learning more about COVID-19 every day and recommendations are ever-changing in response. As businesses adapt to this new economy, they require the support of the legislature to provide a consistent and predictable legal environment. This legislation is narrowly tailored to provide targeted relief against frivolous lawsuits regarding the transmission of COVID-19.

The Senate substitute to HB 167 did not receive a vote in the House of Representatives.

The Business Court is a statewide court created by a constitutional amendment that passed with almost 70% of the statewide vote. The overwhelming standard and key to a successful business court is the ability for one party to be able to petition transfer the case to the Business Court. Currently, Georgia law requires both parties to consent to this transfer. Senate Bill 110 would have fixed the two-party consent issue, but it failed in a vote on the Senate floor. The failure of the Senate to enact one-party consent has ensured that the Business Court will be underutilized and essentially unavailable to businesses outside the metro Atlanta area.

SB 374 would have established reasonable parameters and limits around settlement demand letters in civil cases. Currently, plaintiffs’ lawyers can make settlement demands so complex and confusing that when an insurance company asks for clarification or cannot assent to frivolous requests, it is seen as a rejection of the settlement offer and the insurance company is said to be acting in bad faith. Claims of bad faith allow a plaintiffs’ attorney to sue an insurer for more than the policy limits of the defendant. This bill requires that offers of settlement be reasonable, limited in scope, professional, and clear so that bad actors cannot continue to issue specious and purposely complex offers of settlement to the end of suing for amounts beyond what insurance policies cover.

Though the SB 374 passed the Senate, the House failed to take it up for consideration.

This bill establishes gross negligence as the standard of care for officers and directors of Georgia non-profits, foundations, and cooperatives.  In 2017, the General Assembly set this standard for for-profit corporations, and SB 373 provides consistency for the organizing statutes not included in the initial legislation. This cleanup legislation corrected a discrepancy between for-profit and non-profits and passed both chambers.

On April 2, the Senate gave final passage to HB 224 by a vote of 49-3, after also passing the House on the same day by a vote of 158-5. HB 224 amends the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Quality Jobs Tax Credit (QJTC), and the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.

Georgia provides ITC’s for a portion of qualified investments in manufacturing facilities with the credit amount increasing based on the county tier, with more rural counties receiving higher credits. Currently, ITC’s are restricted to application of 50% of the income taxes within Georgia, which is highly restrictive because many manufacturing companies are large exporters of their goods leaving them with credits that are earned but unable to be used. By allowing a portion of ITC’s to be used against payroll withholding liability, we will strengthen the incentive for Georgia investment in the state’s most rural areas. HB 224 also revises the job creation threshold for the QJTC in tier 1 and tier 2 counties with a population of less then 50,000.

The Chamber supports legislation that encourages both existing and potential Georgia companies to invest in rural areas. By expanding the use of ITC’s to apply to payroll withholdings and modifying the threshold to earn QJTC’s in rural areas, HB 224 is another tool to improve Georgia’s rural economies.

On April 2, the House gave final passage to HB 353 by a vote of 107-55, after passing the Senate on March 28 by a vote of 41-10. HB 353 seeks to stymie insurance fraud schemes stemming from staged motor vehicle collisions.  HB 353 would make it illegal for individuals to intentionally cause a staged motor vehicle collision for the purpose of claiming insurance benefits or filing a civil lawsuit seeking monetary damages.  Not only is HB 353 important to help curb these kinds of illegal insurance fraud schemes, but more so to promote public safety by reducing injuries to the perpetrators or to the public caused by these intentional motor vehicle collisions.

On March 29, the House and Senate chambers both overwhelmingly gave approval to SB 108, which will mandate that computer science courses be taught in middle and high schools throughout the state.

The Chamber supports SB 108 as necessary to continue to fully educate and train Georgia students for the jobs and technologies of the future and to keep Georgia as a leader in technological innovation and business in the nation.

The House and Senate appointed a Conference Committee to work out the policy differences between the two chambers with respect to the establishment of a statewide business court. All conferees (Reps. Efstration, Fleming, and Oliver and Sens. Stone, Dugan, and Kennedy) signed on to the consensus conference report and while the House gave its final passage to the Conference Committee Report on SB 110 by a vote of 135-28, the Senate, in a fairly unprecedented move, failed to even bring the report for a vote, effectively killing the business community’s preferred model for a business court that has proven successful in Fulton and Gwinnett Counties.

Unfortunately, the personal injury lobby (expressly exempted from the legislation) weighed in in opposition to the bill swayed enough of members of the senate to keep the bill from having a vote.

*The vote reflected on the scorecard is the House vote on the Conference Committee Report.

Amendment 3, authored by Sen. Jesse Stone, was essentially a “poison pill” to effectively kill the chances of passage of the underlying legislation.

The Chamber would like to thank the Senators who supported the business community by voting against this amendment.

*Amendment 3 was passed by the Senate and included in the final version of HB 171. The Senate did not pass HB 171, therefore there are no votes to be counted for House members.

On March 26, during the Senate floor debate on HB 171, an amendment was offered by Senator William Ligon (Brunswick) (Amendment 1) which would have removed the provision admitting the non-use of seat belts as evidence in civil court cases.

Amendment 1 would have stripped out in its entirety the pro-business language around the admissibility of seat belt usage or non-usage in a civil case.  Georgia law requires front-seat passengers to wear seat belts as a proven method of reducing serious bodily injury or death, yet juries aren’t allowed to know whether an individual was or was not complying with the law at the time of an accident.

The Chamber would like to thank those Senators who supported the business community by voting against Amendment 1.

* Amendment 1 did not pass the Senate, therefore there are no votes to be counted for House members.

On March 29, the Senate gave final passage to HR 37 by a vote of 51-1, after passing the House on Feb. 21 by a vote of 169-1. HR 37 creates the Georgia Commission on Freight and Logistics. By 2030, Georgia will experience an increase of 1.5 million cars traveling our roads and a 60 percent increase in cargo freight coming through the Georgia Ports Authority. HR 37 provides the necessary framework to study these growing demands and will provide the state with data-driven investment strategies to ensure Georgia’s future as a leader in freight infrastructure and business.

On March 25, the House gave final passage of Senate Bill 106 by a vote of 104-67, after passing the Senate 32-20 on Feb. 26. SB 106 allows for the State Department of Community Health to apply for 1115 & 1332 waivers from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the U.S. Department of Treasury. SB 106 will help reduce private health insurance premiums for all Georgians and reform the state’s healthcare delivery system for those below the Federal Poverty Line. The Patients First Act is tailored to fit the needs of Georgia and will promote innovation and efficiency in healthcare throughout the state, and ensure our citizens enjoy a high quality of life.