Georgia Governor Signs Important Lawsuit Transparency Legislation: Georgia First in Nation to Tackle Implied Rights to Sue

/PRNewswire/ -- The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) today lauded the Georgia legislature and Gov. Sonny Perdue as he signed S.B. 138 into law, requiring transparency in the legislative creation of new rights for private individuals to sue. ALEC is the nation's largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators, and its model legislation, the Transparency in Lawsuits Protection Act, was the basis for the new Peach State law.

"Often goaded by plaintiffs' lawyers," explained ALEC Civil Justice Task Force Director Amy Kjose, "courts sometimes infer from vague legislative or regulatory language new rights to bring private lawsuits. These so-called 'implied causes of action' can bog down court dockets with frivolous litigation and otherwise work to undermine economic growth and job creation."

The Transparency in Lawsuits Protection Act asks legislators to answer directly the primary question judiciaries consider in the creation of an implied cause of action: Did the legislators intend to create a new right to sue?

"In order to avoid confusion and uncertainty," Kjose continued, "S.B. 138 requires the legislature to qualify legislative intent from the get-go. Consumers, businesses, and their lawyers deserve to know when and where they can statutorily sue or be sued. The enactment of S.B. 138 ends the costly game of trial and error within Georgia's legal system."

S.B. 138 passed with very strong majorities in both the Georgia Senate and the House of Representatives.

Victor Schwartz, a renowned tort law scholar and Private Sector Co-Chair of ALEC's Civil Justice Task Force, offered praise for all involved, saying that, "Bill sponsor Sen. Wiles, House advocate Rep. Ehrhart and Gov. Perdue are to be congratulated for making Georgia the first state to require its legislators, if they intend to create a new way to sue, to say so plainly and directly. Other states should follow suit in ending implied causes of action, or as I like to call them, hidden trial lawyer earmarks."

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation's largest nonpartisan, individual membership organization of state legislators.

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GBPI: Senate to Consider Bipartisan Tax Transparency Bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee will take up Senate Bill (SB) 206, introduced by Senator Greg Goggans, Chair of the Community Health Appropriations Subcommittee, on Tuesday March 3rd.

The bill would require a regular accounting of tax breaks to bring more transparency and accountability into tax decisions. Bill cosponsors include Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, Appropriations Chair Jack Hill, Senate Minority Caucus Chair Tim Golden, and Senator Bill Cowsert, the Governor's floor leader.
"Over the past six years the Senate has taken the lead in budget transparency and accountability," said Sen. Goggans (R-Douglas). "For too long we've been operating in the dark in regards to tax policy. As with budget decisions, it is time that our tax decisions are accountable to citizens."

SB 206 requires that tax expenditures are made known, benefiting not only the public, but lawmakers who until now have not known the cost and effectiveness of tax preferences passed over the years. Tax expenditures grant special tax relief designed to encourage certain kinds of taxpayer behavior or to aid taxpayers in special circumstances. Expenditures help either a particular business, industry, or group of people by exempting them from a class of taxes or by providing credits, which in turn directly reduces state revenues.

"We made significant progress in budget transparency last year in passing Senate Bill 300," said Senator Rogers (R-Woodstock). "Good government demands transparency in budgeting, but also in taxing. As stewards of the public's money we need this information to understand the ramifications on all taxpayers of particular tax choices."

As Georgia faces a $2.5 billion budget deficit and staggering unemployment rates, this bill provides opportunities to review tax relief provisions and understand financial ramifications of existing and proposed expenditures. Currently only budget items face annual scrutiny and performance measures, although tax expenditures have the same potential to impact revenue.

"As Georgia decides how to respond to its growing needs, all sources of spending must be on the table, and lawmakers must assure Georgians that tax expenditures on the books today make sense for Georgia during a recession and into the future," said Senator Golden (D-Valdosta).

The tax expenditure report proposed in SB 206 is recommended by Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI), Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, and Pew Center of the States, which measures states' performance and management. Thirty-nine states have such transparency.

"The bipartisan support for SB 206 shows that the principles of good government are held by both political parties," said Alan Essig, executive director of GBPI. "Although there may be honorable disagreements over policy, there is agreement that policy decisions should be made based on accurate and timely information. SB 206 gives policy makers such information."

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