Sex trafficking victims testify against Brian Kemp’s litigation overhaul

Over five hours on Monday, House lawmakers heard wrenching testimony from sex trafficking victims who warned the proposal could make it impossible to hold hotels and businesses accountable for turning a blind eye to their abuse. A half-dozen survivors of sex crimes pleaded with lawmakers to carve out an exception in the bill that ensures victims can seek damages from property owners.

Chanda Santana, who runs an Athens nonprofit that helps sex trafficking survivors, said many of the women she assists are victimized by “profiteers of pain” like motels whose workers ignore warning signs or, worse, are complicit.

“If we pass this bill without an exception to hold motels accountable, we’re telling survivors their pain isn’t worthy of justice,” she said.

And Jon Tonge, an attorney who specializes in filing civil litigation against businesses that profit from sex trafficking, warned the bill would all but eliminate those lawsuits in Georgia’s court system.

“With the bill as currently written, there will never be another survivor who files a case in Georgia courts,” he said. “It would be malpractice.”

Their words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Several GOP committee members told us they were seeking ways to sharpen a carveout in Kemp’s proposal as it heads toward a House floor vote within days.

Their message could touch a nerve with Kemp, too. His wife, Marty Kemp, has made it her mission to crack down on sex trafficking and has spearheaded the passage of a raft of legislation to toughen penalties on offenders and help victims of the horrific crime.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Business leaders and their allies, meanwhile, said that soaring insurance rates, frivolous lawsuits and stifling settlements have strained the economy and forced some to fire staffers and reduce services.

Some in the room did a double take when John Fervier, a Waffle House vice president who also chairs the State Election Board, said Georgia accounts for about 20% of the chain’s restaurants but 83% of its legal costs.

“Costs like that negatively affect Waffle House’s long-term growth strategy,” he said. “This bill creates the right balance to protect our citizens’ constitutional rights but also bring justice for those of us that try to do the right thing.”

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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

GOOD MORNING! We’re 24 days away from Sine Die, the final day of the legislative session. Here are four things to know for today:

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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

GEORGIA 2026. The dominoes are already falling now that U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath has set the stage for a run for governor, which would leave her west metro Atlanta congressional seat open.

The list of potential Democratic candidates for the deep blue district now includes state Sen. Sonya Halpern, state Reps. Kimberly Alexander and David Wilkerson, and former state Rep. William Boddie.

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Credit: AP file photo

Credit: AP file photo

PESTICIDE FIGHT. The battle over the popular pesticide known as Roundup has made its way to the Georgia Legislature, prompting a fierce debate about how to protect both the food supply and public health.

But as last week’s vote in the state Senate shows, Georgia’s agriculture industry likely has enough power to push the bill past concerns about a chemical that some studies have linked to cancer.

Senate Bill 144 would protect companies from lawsuits if their product displays a label approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has said that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is safe to use as directed. The bill contains an exception for companies that knowingly withhold information about health risks.

The bill would apply to Bayer, the German company that makes Roundup.

“It’s not the government’s job to clean up Bayer’s mess by siding with it over citizens and giving it a pass,” said state Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta.

But the bill earned bipartisan support in the state Senate last week, passing 42-12. That included “yes” votes from Democrats in nonfarming districts, including state Sens. Josh McLaurin of Sandy Springs and Jason Esteves of Atlanta, who is considering a run for governor in 2026.

“I buy the argument that if the chemical is pulled off the market, we could have a real issue with yield,” McLaurin said.

As the bill heads over to the House, advocates are passing around new polling from the Modern Ag Alliance that shows 90% of farmers and 67% of Georgians oppose “litigation that could limit access to crop protection products.”

The survey was based on 500 online and phone interviews. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38 percentage points.

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Credit: AJC

Credit: AJC

ELECTION DAY, TAKE TWO. Jaha Howard won the Democratic primary for Cobb County Commission District 2 in May last year. Today, he’ll try to do it again.

Howard’s 2024 victory was thrown out after a judge ruled the county’s electoral map unconstitutional, the result of a power struggle between the Democratic-controlled commission and the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

Howard made it through the rescheduled Democratic primary last month, but this time he finished second to former state Rep. Erick Allen. The two men face off today in a runoff election.

Both men are familiar to voters. Howard is a former member of the Cobb County Board of Education. He owns a dental practice in Atlanta and was an unsuccessful candidate for state superintendent of education in 2022.

Allen spent two terms in the state Legislature before his unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor in 2022. A management consultant, Allen is also chair of the Cobb County Democrats.

The winner will face Republican Alicia Adams in the general election on April 29.

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

UNDER THE GOLD DOME. It’s the 30th day of the legislative session. Some of today’s happenings:

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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy review what bills survived Crossover Day in the state Legislature. Plus, an in-depth look at Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to overhaul civil litigation rules. Then, Falak Sabbak, a former Democratic operative now an assistant vice president with McGuireWoods consulting, talks about why she supports the measure.

Be sure to download the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

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OFF THE MENU. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled more than $1 billion for schools and child care facilities to purchase fresh food from nearby farms and ranches, Politico reported late Monday.

Georgia was one of 40 states participating in the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, after a bipartisan announcement in 2023. At the time, Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff called it a “win win” for the state’s farmers and students. Meanwhile, State School Superintendent Richard Woods, a Republican, said the funds would “allow our school nutrition programs to provide more Georgia foods for Georgia’s students.”

Last year, the Georgia Department of Education reported that a pilot project helped more than 80 county school districts buy Georgia Grown products for school meals for about 900,000 students.

A UDSA spokesman confirmed to Politico that fiscal year 2025 funding for the program has now been canceled. “These programs, created under the former Administration via Executive authority, no longer effectuate the goals of the agency,” the spokesman said.

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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this afternoon on legislation to fund the federal government through September to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week.

So far, it appears most House Republicans are falling in line to support the package backed by Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump. That includes the House Freedom Caucus, whose members have been skeptical of similar continuing resolutions in the past.

“Contrary to Congress' longtime abuse of this legislative tool, this CR is a paradigm shift,” the group said in a statement endorsing the plan. “This bill will reduce and then freeze spending for the next six months to allow President Trump and his Administration to continue their critical work within the Executive Branch to find and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”

But with Democrats largely opposed and the GOP holding just a two-vote majority, it is still unclear if there are enough votes to pass the bill today.

Kentucky Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie has stuck by his long-running opposition to these stopgap continuing resolutions that keep funding flat instead of reducing government spending.

He could be joined by U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, whose team told us last night he is a “lean no” on the bill. With reports that Trump is making calls to dubious Republicans, that could easily change to a “yes” later today.

If McCormick votes against the bill with Massie, and if Democrats remain united in their opposition, the likelihood of a shutdown increases.

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Credit: AP

Credit: AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

GITMO MIKE. U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and other House Republicans made a quick trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Monday to look at the facilities that President Donald Trump wants to use as an immigration detention center.

The Jackson lawmaker’s team tells us he will be reporting back to the White House on conditions at the military base formerly used to house alleged terrorists. They also will share ideas on what resources Congress can provide to help use the property as Trump wants.

While at Guantanamo Bay, Collins and the others met with military leaders and civilian workers. When he arrived back in Washington for evening votes, he endorsed Trump’s request to boost funding to convert the base.

“We need to give President Trump every dollar he asks for to get these people out and save our nation,” Collins wrote. “The next time I’m in GITMO, I want to see it full.”

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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthday:

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.