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Georgia House passes tort reform bill | Georgia

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-20 14:05:00

(The Center Square) – Sweeping tort reform legislation in Georgia on Thursday passed the House of Representatives 91-82, with some Republicans voting against it and three Democrats supporting it.

Senate Bill 68 would limit some liability awards and protect businesses from lawsuits for acts outside of their control. The goal, according to the bill’s backers, is to ease high insurance premiums blamed on high jury awards in civil cases.

Rep. James Burchett, R- Waycross, said one business owner told him he was afraid to put his business name on his trucks for fear of a lawsuit.

“They’ve built these family-owned businesses their whole life,” Burchett said. “It takes one, it takes one piece of litigation to take everything away from them.”

Democrats have questioned Republican claims that the bill would drive down insurance costs. Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, said not one insurance company nor did Insurance Commissioner John King testify before a House subcommittee.

King told a Senate committee he couldn’t say when rates would decline if the bill passes.

“I don’t think you’ll see an immediate one year reduction because the companies are going to watch. This has a lagging effect,” King said. “I think it is going to be a slow decline but at least we can stop the rates from increasing at the rate that they’re increasing.”

The vote comes after a compromise on some portions of the bill, including one that would exempt victims of sex trafficking from some of the new stringent terms in the legislation. Evans said the bill is unfair to other rape victims who were not trafficked.

“There’s not one line in this bill that does not allow a rape victim to bring a claim,” Burchett said. “It’s disingenuous to say so. No one in the chamber would support a bill that does that.”

Georgia ranked fourth in the American Tort Reform Association’s “Judicial Hellholes” report, dropping from the top spot only because other states had a larger volume of “abuses,” the organization said. Nuclear verdicts cost Georgians a “tort tax” of $1,372.94 each year, according to the association and costs the state 137,658 jobs annually.

The bill goes back to the Senate for approval of the amended legislation. Gov. Brian Kemp threatened lawmakers with a special session if the bill does not pass.

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News from the South - Georgia News Feed

Remaining mall shooting suspects face judge, youngest suspect makes public debut

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www.wsav.com – Kaley Fedko – 2025-09-03 22:41:00

SUMMARY: In Savannah, Georgia, 20-year-old Aujawan Hymon and 16-year-old Dahmil Johnson, the final suspects in the Oglethorpe Mall shooting, appeared in court. Johnson made his first public court appearance, supported by his lawyer. Defense attorneys argued insufficient evidence links the shootout to Tina Smith’s death, attributed to heart complications during the chaos. They moved to dismiss felony murder charges, calling them an overreach, but Judge Crystal Harmon denied the motions, citing probable cause. The shooting reportedly began after a scuffle involving a gold chain. Both face felony murder, assault, and firearm charges, with additional weapons charges. The State aims to indict all six suspects by October 1.

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National Guard deploying to more states | FOX 5 News

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www.youtube.com – FOX 5 Atlanta – 2025-09-03 20:07:39

SUMMARY: President Trump plans to deploy the National Guard to Chicago to combat rising crime, despite opposition from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who dispute the severity of the crime issue and reject federal troops. Chicago recently experienced a violent Labor Day weekend with 37 shootings and eight deaths. Trump cites a nearly 90% crime reduction in Washington, D.C. after National Guard deployment as justification. Some residents support federal intervention, while others and Democratic leaders criticize it as political and unnecessary. Trump is also considering sending troops to New Orleans and other states to address crime.

Despite pushback from state leaders, President Trump said he is moving forward with deploying the National Guard to fight crime in more cities. Now, FOX 5 News is getting a better understanding of when this might happen.

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After more than 50 years, Augusta’s Villa Europa is closed

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www.wjbf.com – D.V. Wise – 2025-09-03 06:35:00

SUMMARY: Augusta’s historic Villa Europa restaurant is temporarily closed due to financial and regulatory challenges, including obligations to the Department of Revenue and pandemic impacts. The Schaffer Neises family, who operated the German-Italian American eatery for over 50 years, expressed gratitude to patrons and hope for future investors to continue the legacy. While the restaurant remains closed, their food truck, Villa Wagen, will operate when possible, though its future is uncertain. The family will serve at the Germany tent at this year’s Arts in the Heart for the last time and is working on a cookbook to preserve Villa Europa’s recipes and stories.

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