What happened: Leaders in South Carolina and Georgia are aiming to pass a series of tort reform bills this year that would make their respective states more economically competitive and a less costly place to do business.

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In South Carolina, Senate Bill 244 is one of several tort reforms bills now being debated in the statehouse.

• South Carolina-based think tank Palmetto Promise Institute commented on the critical need to pass tort reform in the state, saying, “The lawsuit industry in South Carolina is out of control. Drive down any highway in our state, and you’ll see it lined with billboards for trial lawyers. The sheer quantity [is] a clear sign that something in our state is sorely wrong.”
• Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC) addressed the issue during his State of the State address on Jan. 29. He said: “Future economic prosperity requires that our state’s civil justice system allows fair and prompt enforcement of our laws and proper redress of injury … Individuals and businesses, both large and small, are becoming unduly penalized for the actions of others – too often through crippling financial judgments and skyrocketing insurance premiums.”

In Georgia, Senate Bill 68 – critical tort reform legislation – last week passed the State Senate on a 33-21 vote and will now move to the House. 

• According to the American Tort Reform Association, the bill addresses “numerous issues to improve the state’s civil justice system, including reforms to address ‘phantom damages’ and ‘jury anchoring’ as well as empowering juries with critical evidence regarding seat belt use in cases involving vehicle crashes.”

TLR Thoughts: More than 30 years after TLR first started reshaping Texas’s tort environment, South Carolina and Georgia are following in Texas’s footsteps in prioritizing tort reform. But our work in Texas is not done. This legislative session, TLR is advocating for legislative reforms that will restore fairness and transparency to the legal system, return stability to the insurance market and preserve Texas’s prosperous economy – the eighth largest in the world. Learn more at www.lseatx.com.

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