Legislative Update

Goodman McGuffey Associate, Kyle Timmons, has written an article outlining legislative updates in regards to the many effects of COVID-19. Please contact our team with any questions or feel free to fill out the Contact Us form on our website.

Legislative Session Summary

Georgia’s 2020 legislative session, like everything else, was severely impacted by COVID-19. When the session was suspended in mid-March, there were still eleven working days remaining. After an almost three-month hiatus, the legislature returned on June 15^th, and finished up the 2020 legislative session on Friday, June 26^th. Governor Kemp will have until August 5^th (40-day period) to decide what bills to sign into law and what bills to veto. Below is a summary of relevant bills and resolution that have been signed into law, are awaiting the Governor’s signature, or stalled during the legislative session.

Signed into Law

SB 373 amends the business judgment rule as it related to nonprofit corporations so that the actions and decisions of a director are presumed to be in good faith and exercised using ordinary care. That presumption may be rebutted by evidence of gross negligence. 

Awaiting Governor’s Signature – UPDATED 8/6/2020

UPDATE AS OF 8/5/2020: Governor Signed SB 359 into law, also known as the “Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act,” protects businesses from legal liability arising from COVID-19 unless a plaintiff can prove gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm or intentional infliction of harm. Additionally, the bill creates a rebuttable presumption that the claimant assumes the risk when he or she enters certain premises that provide express warning disclaimers, except in cases of gross negligence. These legal protections will sunset on July 14, 2021.

You can access the “Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business 18 Safety Act” HERE.

The Legislature has spent many years debating sovereign immunity legislation after a series of cases from the Supreme Court of Georgia held that sovereign immunity can only be waived by an act of the General Assembly which specifically provides for the waiver and the extent of its application. The Legislature has passed three sovereign immunity bills since 2015, each of which has been vetoed.

HR 1023 is this sessions resolution that proposes a constitutional amendment addressing sovereign immunity. The amendment provides an express cause of action for declaratory relief against an officer or agency that is outside the scope of lawful authority or in violation of the laws or Constitution of this state or the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, the amendment provides that the General Assembly may authorize petitions for injunctive relief against officers and agencies of the state and local governments, and that such petitions may be subject to additional procedural requirements. The amendment explicitly states that no damages, attorney’s fees or costs of litigation shall be awarded in an action filed pursuant to this subparagraph, unless specifically authorized by an act of the General Assembly.

Stalled Bills and Resolutions

SB 415 sought to revise Georgia’s current laws on premises liability, products liability, asbestos actions and medical funding providers, among other things. Parts I and II of the bill required jury charges to be in writing, required disclosure of third-party funding agreements, and amended 9-11-67.1 dealing with time-limited demands. Ultimately the Senate voted to table SB 415 and did not have the requisite votes to remove the bill from the table on Crossover Day.

SB 390 was a more extensive version of SB 415 and included some significant revisions to the Georgia Civil Practice Act. The majority of these revisions were removed during the committee process. A heavily-revised version of SB 390 passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 8, but did not receive a vote by the full Senate by the Crossover Day deadline.

HB 484 sought to create disclosure requirements for medical funding providers. HB 484 did not pass out of the House Judiciary Committee by the Crossover Day deadline.

SB 464 sought to create the Georgia Uniform Mediation Act, which would apply many of the same protections and rules that apply to court-ordered mediation to private mediations.

HR 256 proposed an amendment to the state Constitution so that the General Assembly may set damage caps by law.

SB 148 sought to allow a court to admit evidence that a person failed to use a seatbelt to prove a party’s assumption of risk, negligence and apportionment of fault, among other things.

SB 155 sought to limit health care damages recovered by a claimant to the amount actually paid by the claimant and the amount necessary to satisfy unpaid charges that the claimant has a legal obligation to pay.

SB 203 sought to make several revisions to the Georgia Civil Practice Act, including a provision that set a proportionality standard for the scope of discovery.

HB 484 sought to create regulations for medical funding providers.

SB 374 sought to amend O.C.G.A. 9-11-67.1, which addresses settlement demands in personal injury actions. The bill sought to apply the statutory settlement demand criteria to all personal injury actions, not just those arising from motor vehicle accidents.

SB 357 sought to clarify a place of worship’s ability to permit the licensed carrying of guns on their premises and to expand church run schools’ ability to permit gun possession on their premises and church run schools’ exclusion from the requirement to comply with the prohibition against weapons in school zones statute.