Friday, Feb. 18, 2005

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Limits on medical malpractice suits high point so far for GOP legislature

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com

Republican lawmakers aren’t ready to pop the corks on the champagne bottles just yet, but they were celebrating nonetheless this week as the 40-day General Assembly session passed the midpoint.

Progress is being made ahead of schedule on the proposed $17.5 billion state budget, and lawmakers decided this week to go ahead and proceed with challenging the makeup of the Georgia’s 13 U.S. Congressional districts.

On Wednesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law one of the most sweeping pieces of legislation in years: Senate Bill 3, a tort reform package that greatly restricts the amount of monetary damages that can be awarded to plaintiffs in medical malpractice suits. Both the House and Senate signed off on the measure just days earlier.

“Due to the rising costs of lawsuits, many of our state’s OB/GYN physicians have been forced to leave their practice,” Perdue said before signing the bill at Northside Hospital, the nation’s leading hospital for births.

“These reforms will help our medical community continue to provide and care for expectant mothers in our state. They will also ensure that frivolous litigation does not further limit the availability of quality medical care for all Georgians.”

Among the bill’s opponents was Sen. Valencia Seay, D-Riverdale, of the 34th District in covering part of north Fayette. She said the law was hurried out of the Senate with little time for debate, avoiding getting bogged down with amendments.

“I feel the actions taken on the floor of the Senate were a blatant violation of open government and did a disservice to the people of Georgia,” Seay said in her weekly update to constituents. “By voting to close debate, the legislative process was not allowed to take its course, and a bill was passed through that shows support for a formula that caps the value of a human life.”

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, was passed by the Senate and headed to the House Wednesday. The bill changes the allocation of federal and state funds for public roads. It would exempt those monies that are spent on interstate construction from the current formula, which essentially divides the money equally among Georgia's 13 congressional districts.

"I believe Senate Bill 4 will provide for allocation of highway funds more fairly, protecting communities that have interstate systems in them from being penalized," said Seabaugh. "This legislation will ensure districts that undertake a major interstate project will still have money available for critical local road projects. Local projects now will not be overshadowed by large federal projects. I am thrilled that my Senate colleagues joined with me in passing this legislation."

But Perdue’s Faith & Family Services Act, to allow religious organizations to receive taxpayer dollars, failed its first test by three votes in the state Senate Thursday. The bill likely will return to the floor for a vote to reconsider Monday.

Other legislation worth noting:

• The rest of the state may take Peachtree City’s lead under the Georgia Smokefree Air Act, which is expected to be up for a vote in the Senate next week. Like the local ban adopted last year, the statewide law will limit smoking in most all public buildings, including restaurants, bars, offices, hotels and stores.

• Strip club billboards would be outlawed under a bill introduced Thursday by five Republicans in the state House. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Steve Davis, a Republican from McDonough, called the billboards “an embarrassment to this state.” A similar ban in Missouri was passed last year. If Davis' bill was passed, it would likely set up a legal fight.

• A bipartisan group of House members introduced a bill Wednesday requiring that school kids get weighed twice a year and the progress be included on their school report cards. Arkansas already tracks children’s weight that way.

• Low-combustion fireworks like sparkers would be made legal in Georgia again, but only for buyers over 18, under a bill OK’d by the Senate Thursday. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, said Georgia was one of only five states in the nation that banned sparklers.