Georgia House votes to extend COVID-19 liability protections

ATLANTA - Georgia's House of Representatives voted Tuesday to extend COVID-19 liability protections for governments, healthcare providers, and businesses.

Lawmakers originally approved the measure last summer, but it is currently set to expire on July 14, 2021. With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the House voted to extend that sunset provision through July 14, 2022.

The "Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act" prevents someone from being able to sue a government, healthcare provider, or business if they are exposed to COVID-19.  The law does provide exceptions for gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, reckless infliction of harm, or intentional infliction of harm.  

The bill passed 99 to 68 and the vote fell largely along party lines. Republicans said it was an added layer of protection for businesses struggling due to the pandemic, but Democrats said it fails to protect workers.

"There's not one time that the author said anything about the workers," said Rep. Dewey McClain, D-Lawrenceville. "Only thing he said was business, business, business, business, business, business, business, but he didn't say one thing about the working men and women."

State Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, pushed back. A small business owner himself, Carpenter said he had not initially planned to speak about the bill.

"As I sat there and listened to people talk about how you know, we've got employers that don't care about their employees, after what all my industry's been through and my companies, I know," Rep. Carpenter said. "The last thing we need right now are frivolous lawsuits. That's like a nail in the coffin for a lot of Georgia businesses."  

Carpenter argued the bill also protects employees because it makes sure the companies they work for do not go out of business.

The legislation now heads to the Senate for their review.  

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