ATLANTA — The Georgia House voted Thursday to pass a tort reform bill, Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature legislation this session, sending it to his desk for approval.
Kemp previously told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that one of his top priorities at the legislature this year is pushing for tort reform. The governor said the current state of civil litigation was hurting businesses around Georgia through payouts, settlements, legal fees and much higher insurance rates.
The bill would overhaul Georgia’s civil litigation system. The bill had already received approval from the Senate, and it passed a House committee vote Tuesday along party lines.
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It overcame opposition from Democrats, trial lawyers and some victims who worry the bill will limit lawsuits, though the bill’s sponsor told Channel 2 Action News he disagrees.
Macon Republican state Sen. John F. Kennedy introduced the governor’s lawsuit reform, or tort reform bill, saying previously that he thought the bill would “stabilize insurance rates...and maintain a good business environment.”
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However, opponents of the bill said that even if it passes, there’s no guarantee insurance companies will lower their rates.
State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes sent a letter to Insurance Commissioner John King asking that his “office undertake a comprehensive investigation into Georgia’s insurance market.”
She told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that Georgia families “cannot continue to afford rising premiums, and we need to find out what the real cause of these rising premiums are, and whether or not it’s because insurance companies are running a shell game.”
The senator’s questions about the impact of tort reform follow a recent report about similar changes in the state of Florida.
The Florida report found that while the insurance companies they examined claimed losses of $432 million, their affiliate companies made $1.8 billion in income.
Regarding the lawsuit reform legislation, Islam Parkes said she still has questions about what it will do for Georgians and wants to ensure they are protected from financial harms due to increasing costs.
“What are the reasons that auto insurance, homeowners’ insurance is going up? We need to make sure that these insurance companies are not taking advantage of Georgians,” Islam Parkes said.
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