2020 Legislative Update | Days 14-28
The General Assembly has been moving at full throttle headed into Crossover Day, which was Thursday, March 12. By Crossover Day (Day 28), all active legislation must pass in one chamber in order to continue through the legislative process this session. Crossover Day is always a late night at the Capitol, with lawmakers often working past midnight. Any legislation that did not “crossover” by Thursday will probably not become law in 2020.
The House and Senate passed the final amended budget on Thursday that will fund the state through June 30. Notably, many of the cuts made to the Georgia Public Defender Council budget were restored so the agency will not have to cut back on services. The Legislature, in consultation with the governor, also took $100 million out of the state’s rainy-day fund to combat the current COVID-19 crisis.
In response to COVID-19, the General Assembly suspended the legislative session indefinitely after Friday, March 13 (Legislative Day 29). The House and Senate will reconvene for the 30th Legislative Day at a future date to be set by the Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House.
Below is a summary of legislation of interest to Bar members that has been active this session. Many of these bills did not make the Crossover Day deadline, while others will continue to proceed through the legislative process.
“Tort Reform” Legislation
Over the course of the past few weeks, a number of bills that arose out of the Senate’s “Cost of Doing Business” study committee report were heard in legislative committees. Ultimately, only two of these bills passed before the Crossover Day deadline. The rest are no longer eligible to continue through the process this year.
To Be Continued . . .
SB 374 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-Macon), amends O.C.G.A. 9-11-67.1, which addresses settlement demands in personal injury actions. The bill would apply the statutory settlement demand criteria to all personal injury actions, not just those arising from motor vehicles. The Senate voted on the bill on March 2, where it passed by a vote of 35-19.
SB 373 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-Macon), 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. SB 373 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed by a vote of 53-0 in the Senate and has been assigned to the Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee in the House.
Not Moving Forward . . .
SB 415 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), would 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 require jury charges to be in writing, require disclosure of third-party funding agreements, and amend 9-11-67.1 dealing with time-limited demands. SB 415 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed out of the Senate’s Insurance and Labor Committee on March 10 and was the subject of several hours of debate on the Senate floor on Tuesday afternoon. Ultimately the Senate voted to table SB 415 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] and did not have the requisite votes to remove the bill from the table on Crossover Day. Therefore, this legislation will not move forward during the remainder of the session.
SB 390 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), is a more extensive version of SB 415 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] and includes 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 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] 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 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Andy Welch (R-McDonough), creates disclosure requirements for medical funding providers. HB 484 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] did not pass out of the House Judiciary Committee by the Crossover Day deadline.
Sovereign Immunity
HR 1023 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Andy Welch (R-McDonough)—This proposed Constitutional Amendment would allow any person who suffers an injury in fact to petition the courts for declaratory relief from acts of municipalities or officers or employees thereof done outside the scope of lawful authority or in violation of the laws of the state or the Constitution of the United States. The amendment would not allow actions filed that name individuals, officers or entities other than as expressly authorized in the amendment. HR 1023 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed unanimously in the House and was favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It awaits a final vote on the floor of the Senate.
State Bar Bills
HB 785 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Joseph Gullett (R-Dallas), established a framework for remote online notarization in Georgia. Stakeholders working on the bill could not ultimately come to an agreement on certain language and the bill did not get out of committee or pass in the House by the Crossover Day deadline. The bill sponsor, Rep. Gullett, hopes to create a House study committee to explore the most efficient and effective way to bring this technology to Georgia while working within the current notary requirements under Georgia law.
HB 865 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Mitchell Scoggins (R-Cartersville)—This legislation, which is part of the State Bar’s legislative package, revises Title 53 of the Georgia Code dealing with wills, trusts and administration of estates. HB 865 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed the House on March 12 by a vote of 150-12.
SB 464 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-Macon), creates the Georgia Uniform Mediation Act, which would apply many of the same protections and rules that apply to court-ordered mediation to private mediations. SB 464 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed in the Senate by a vote of 53-0 on Crossover Day.
Family Law and Juvenile Bills
HB 440 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Mandi Balinger (R-Canton), also known as the “Raise the Age” bill, would give juvenile courts jurisdiction over criminal cases where the accused is 17 years or younger—under the present statute, juvenile courts only hear cases where the accused is 16 years or younger. The change would not apply to juveniles who have been charged with murder, sexual battery, armed robbery or other serious crimes. The House Juvenile Justice Committee passed the bill on March 8, but it did not receive a vote on the House floor by Crossover Day.
HB 1068 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula), would revise the statutory form used to petition for an equitable caregiver relationship by adding a fifth enumerated requirement that a Plaintiff would have to demonstrate to the court. HB 1068 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed in the House Juvenile Justice Committee on March 11 but failed to get a vote on the House floor by the end of Crossover Day.
Other Legislation of Interest
SB 315 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta), is intended to address a recent Court of Appeals of Georgia ruling in Landmark v. ALA Construction II that extinguished all rights, including contract rights, for failure to file an Affidavit of Non-Payment. SB 315 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed 53-0 in the Senate on Feb. 21. It has been assigned to the Regulated Industries Committee in the House.
HB 230 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] , sponsored by Rep. Scott Holcomb (D-Atlanta), would create a new type of corporate entity called a “Benefit Corporation” under Georgia law. A benefit corporation allows for a particular public cause to be a charter purpose of the corporation in addition to the traditional corporate goal of maximizing profit for shareholders. Similar legislation has been enacted in 36 other states. HB 230 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed in the House in 2019. In February, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted favorable on the bill and it is now waiting for a vote in the full Senate.
HB 968 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula)—In the wake of an October 2019 Court of Appeals decision called Southern States Chemical v. Tampa Tank , this legislation seeks to clarify O.C.G.A. 9-3-51 so that the eight-year statute of repose does not apply to actions for breach of express contractual warranties. The legislation would apply to causes of action that have accrued on or after Jan. 1, 1968. HB 968 [ www.legis.ga.gov ] passed the House by a vote of 165-0 on March 2 and has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For a look at the State Bar’s 2020 legislative package, visit the website [ www.gabar.org ] . We plan to keep Bar membership in the know with weekly updates like this one covering legislation that impacts the practice of law. For questions about the legislative session or to plan a lobby day at the State Capitol, please reach out to Christine Butcher Hayes, director of governmental affairs, at christineh@gabar.org [ mailto:christineh@gabar.org ] .