Georgia Governor Brian Kemp spoke about his tort reform efforts on WDUN’s “The Martha Zoller Show,” which has been a point of emphasis this legislative session.
“I just want it to be fair,” Kemp said. “We cannot continue to live with 20-to-30-percent increases on liability insurance.”
The core issue for Kemp is that other states competing with Georgia’s economic prowess are using “our legal environment against us.”
“I hear from people every week about insurance cost, frivolous lawsuits,” Kemp said. “We need to be on parity with other states around us … that we compete with everyday in the marketplace for good paying jobs and new opportunities in our state.”
Kemp did also say that the juries should be empowered to make good decisions. That is opposed to decisions that can be harmful to small businesses and business owners in the state.
“We are protecting the rights of all Georgians that have access to our civil justice system and ensure that those that have been wronged receive justice and are made whole,” Kemp said.
He said the reform will look to strike a balance between businesses who may be held liable and those who are wronged and take their issues to civil court.
Kemp shifted focus to Hurricane Helene and relief efforts.
“I wrote a letter to President Trump the other day about extending the 100-percent payment for debris removal,” Kemp said. “We’ve never seen a storm this big.”
Kemp added there was a $614-million package in his proposed budget to the legislature for hurricane relief.
When asked what he will do next, Kemp said he is focused on his day job, with his focus outside of his family and business being his governorship and being the chair of the Republican Governors Association.
“We’re cutting taxes and we have budget surplus,” Kemp said. “So it’s important we continue to elect leaders like that.”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/2/1284676/governor-kemp-talks-tort-reform-hurricane-relief