Georgia political group launches ads backing Gov. Brian Kemp’s push to limit lawsuits

The Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, is reportedly planning an advertising campaign in support of his efforts to make it more difficult for citizens to file lawsuits and obtain significant financial judgements.

Limits, according to the organisation Hardworking Georgians, would lower insurance prices, make it simpler for enterprises to obtain insurance, and help them defend themselves in court against legal claims.

The group claims it will invest over $100,000 in state-specific advertising.

The specifics of Kemp’s proposal are still unknown, but it is likely to include limiting claims brought against property owners for damages caused by other parties on their property.

Kemp announced his plan to back lawsuit limits in August at a meeting of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

“For too long, Georgia tort laws have encouraged frivolous lawsuits that hamstring job creators, drive up insurance costs for families already struggling to make ends meet, undermine fairness in the courtroom, and make it harder to start, grow, and operate a small business,” Cody Hall, the group’s executive director and Kemp’s top political aide, said in a statement.

In addition, Kemp contends that litigation restrictions may help inflation-strapped households save money by, among other things, reducing Georgia’s expensive auto insurance premiums.

The Georgia General Assembly hasn’t moved much on lawsuit restrictions in recent years, but Lt. Governor Burt Jones and House Speaker Jon Burns might be more receptive than other Republican leaders.

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In a 2005 tort reform law, Georgian lawmakers set a ceiling on noneconomic damages, including pain and suffering. However, in 2010, the state’s Supreme Court struck down such limits as unconstitutional.

Kemp was able to start new initiatives this year because he nearly entirely succeeded in enacting the agenda he intended when he was reelected.

Since he was reelected, Kemp has kept up his massive fundraising efforts. The Georgians First Leadership Committee, a second organisation associated with Kemp that is permitted by state law to solicit unrestricted donations, raised more than $5 million from February through June of this year.

The majority of money came from a $3.75 million donation from Kemp’s gubernatorial campaign, although some significant businesses and trade associations, some of which supported lawsuit limits, contributed $25,000 to the cause.

Kemp is also hoping to beat some Democrats in the forthcoming 2024 elections by supporting some Republican state legislators with the money.

Because of an ongoing rift between himself and the state Republican Party, which is now mostly dominated by supporters of the former president Donald Trump, the incumbent is still raising money. Kemp is urging contributors to support him instead, which will help him if he decides to run for president or the Senate in the future.