On Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp put lawmakers on notice that rewriting Georgia’s litigation rules was a top 2025 priority. On Wednesday, he collected a pile of cash to push that proposal.

The Republican took in more than $1.2 million at a fundraiser at Canoe, the swanky Atlanta restaurant, that will funnel into his leadership PAC to advocate for the overhaul.

Attendees included hospital executives, small business owners, corporate heavyweights and others who back the decades-long fight to limit certain types of lawsuits, curb large jury awards and encourage more out-of-court settlements.

“The entire business community has become deeply concerned with the growing unpredictability of civil case verdicts in Georgia,” said Chris Clark of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, one of the most influential advocates seeking a rewrite.

The governor has been laying the groundwork to rewrite the state’s litigation rules for much of his second term, putting his political capital on the line.

He’s following in the footsteps of his political ally, former Gov. Sonny Perdue, who signed an extensive rewrite of the litigation rules after Republicans won control of the General Assembly in 2004.

That legislation capped medical malpractice pain-and-suffering awards at $350,000, added tougher standards for expert witnesses and offered new incentives for patients to settle out of court. But courts have chipped away at the law since then.

Gov. Brian Kemp, center, speaks to state lawmakers and small business leaders in August during a roundtable discussion on civil litigation policies impacting the state's business climate at Sampson Tours headquarters in Atlanta. The governor has held roundtable meetings across the state that have featured insurance providers, physicians, hospital administrators and small business owners to build support for changes to the state's rules on civil litigation. (Natrice Miller/ AJC)

Doctors and hospitals say the measures, which they view as “tort reform,” would help lure more physicians to Georgia, and business executives promise that speedier out-of-court settlements and limits on jury awards would help lower insurance premiums and cut legal costs.

They’re opposed by trial lawyers and patient advocacy groups — who count many Democrats but also some Republicans among their ranks — who say a rewrite would rob Georgians of their legal rights to fight powerful corporations in court.

“The American jury system has proven to be the bedrock of our democracy, and Georgia’s civil justice system is no exception,” said Madeline Simmons of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, who said her group would “fight to preserve access to our state’s courts.”

Kemp isn’t taking the skirmish ahead lightly. With only two years left in office, and a 2026 race to succeed him already underway, he pulled back on the broader fight earlier this year to mount an all-out campaign.

He’s held roundtable meetings across the state that have featured insurance providers, physicians, hospital administrators and small business owners to build support for the change.

And he’s backed by outside groups that plan to bolster their case. One newly formed group is called Competitive Georgia, which is made up of several hundred business owners who financed a seven-figure digital campaign that recently launched.

Another, Georgians for Lawsuit Reform, is also working to seed the ground for the initiative.

“The governor has been clear that this is his top legislative priority next year and that he’s all in,” said Cody Hall, a key Kemp political adviser. “And there is a broad coalition fully behind him to get meaningful tort reform across the finish line.”