CIVIL JUSTICE REFORM

Every year the courts in Georgia see an increasing backlog of litigious “tort” or injury lawsuits. It seems to have become socially acceptable to sue for everything and to sue anyone perceived to have the ability to pay regardless of fault. Excessive and unnecessary litigation costs taxpayers almost $250 million a year in the form of higher insurance premiums and higher costs for goods and services. This litigious environment is also negatively impacting our state's ability to attract new businesses that would bring new jobs to our state. Georgia's litigation laws deter new businesses from coming into our state keeping much needed jobs out. Fear of lawsuits lacking merit is also forcing doctors to close their practices and stop performing high risks services like delivering babies.

In a historic move, the Georgia General Assembly passed sweeping civil justice reform legislation that was signed into law by the Governor on February 16, 2005. Reforms included a cap on non-economic damages awarded to a plaintiff with no limit on economic damages such as lost wages or future medical bills, tighter guidelines pertaining to expert witnesses, and the end of joint and several liability thereby ensuring that each defendant pays their proportionate share of any judgment award.

CHILD SUPPORT REFORM

Georgia's children and families are always the top priority. The needs of our young people are often the driving force behind many of the actions of the state legislature

With the divorce rate in this nation around 38%, the unintended consequences are our children. The State of Georgia and our family courts have made the needs of these children their top priority. Unfortunately, the system in place unnecessarily burdened the non-custodial parent leaving some unable to provide for their children or themselves. During the 2005 legislative session, long overdue reforms were made while still making the care of our youth the top priority. In the important matter of determining financial child support, Georgia has adopted an income shares model taking into account the income of both parents and recognizing the additional financial contribution associated with substantial visitation of the non-custodial parent. These and other new reforms will help ensure that Georgia's children are taken care of and help to foster stronger ties between children and their non-custodial parents.

BETTER BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Businesses – of all sizes – are the backbone of state's economic structure. Businesses bring jobs, payroll, and health insurance plus many other benefits for Georgians, and they bring income taxes and additional business to the state. It is only natural that we would want to treat our businesses as our friends and create an environment in our state where every business can thrive.

During the 2005 legislative session, several measures were passed improving the climate in which Georgia's businesses operate.

EMINENT DOMAIN

The right to own property is constitutionally protected and it is incumbent upon elected officials at all levels of government to ensure that right is not infringed upon.

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a very perplexing and unsettling ruling regarding the right of local governments to use the power of eminent domain – that is the right to condemn private property, then release that property to a developer for an alternate use. While historically the power eminent domain has been restricted to a narrowly defined purpose only to be used for such projects as roads or schools that would benefit the community as a whole. The Supreme Court ruling seeks to expand that definition to include the use of eminent domain powers for economic development.

Georgia's Republican leadership has vowed to fight for private property owners' rights. In a joint news conference on June 29, 2005, Speaker Glenn Richardson joined Governor Sonny Perdue along with members of the House and Senate leadership calling for greater protections for individual private property owners and condemning the abuses of eminent domain powers for economic development or tax revenue purposes.

ETHICS REFORM

For years under the previous Democratic Leadership, Georgia's Ethics Laws were regarded as the most lenient in the nation allowing legislators to leave public service one day and return as a powerful lobbyist the next. There was no nepotism ban, minimal fines which did not discourage wrongdoing, no written advisory opinions from the Ethics Commission, and filings to the Ethics Commission were not readily available on the web.

After years of inaction by Georgia's ruling Democratic Party, one of the first orders of business for the new Republican House under the leadership of Speaker Glenn Richardson was ethics reform. Former legislators are now required to wait one year before returning to the Capitol as a lobbyist and lobbyists are now prohibited from serving on any board, authority or commission for a period of one year after lobbying the organization. For the first time in Georgia , there is a ban on nepotism. Fines for ethics violations have been increased from $1,000 to $10,000. The Ethics Commission must now publish advisory opinions and make them available on their website along with all past and future orders. The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee comprised of both House and Senate members was created to investigate ethics complaints against members of the legislature.

STRENGTHENING GEORGIA'S SEXUAL PREDATOR LAWS

Georgia's children and Georgia's families continue to face threats from sexual predators and sexual offenders. Internet chat rooms, school classrooms, playgrounds, shopping malls, neighborhood parks and even our own homes have hidden dangers lurking everywhere. Georgia's House Republican leadership is committed to closely examining our state's laws regarding sexual predators and sexual offenders, and strengthening those laws to protect our citizens.

Areas being discussed for legislative action include: