SB69: SB69 "Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act"; enact

Third-party litigation financing happens when an outside investor pays a plaintiff's legal costs in exchange for a cut of any settlement or judgment. Georgia currently has no specific law regulating this industry. This bill creates a new licensing and registration system inside the Department of Banking and Finance for companies that provide this financing, called litigation financiers. It bans financiers with ties to foreign governments or sovereign wealth funds, sets rules for what their contracts must say, caps how much they can collect, and bars them from directing a lawsuit's strategy. The bill also makes it a felony to act as an unregistered litigation financier and lets the Attorney General or local prosecutors pursue charges. It allows the other side in a lawsuit to find out whether a litigation financing agreement exists through discovery, though the terms usually cannot be shown to a jury. Separately, the bill changes Georgia's seat belt law so that a person's failure to wear a seat belt can now be used as evidence in a civil case, where before it could not. Most provisions take effect January 1, 2026, with some parts effective as soon as the Governor signs the bill.

• Creates a new licensing system requiring anyone who provides litigation financing in Georgia to register with the Department of Banking and Finance (new O.C.G.A. Chapter 7-10).
• Bars people or companies with ties to foreign governments, foreign principals, or sovereign wealth funds from registering as litigation financiers.
• Prohibits litigation financiers from directing lawsuit strategy, paying referral fees to attorneys, or collecting more than the plaintiffs' own recovered share after attorney fees and costs.
• Makes it a felony, punishable by one to five years in prison or a fine up to $10,000, to act as an unregistered litigation financier.
• Allows parties in a lawsuit to discover the existence and terms of a litigation financing agreement, though such information generally cannot be shown to a jury at trial.
• Changes Georgia's seat belt law so that failing to wear a seat belt may now be used as evidence in civil lawsuits, reversing the prior rule that barred such evidence.

Litigation funding companies and their investors, consumers and plaintiffs who use outside financing to pursue lawsuits, attorneys and law firms representing them, the Department of Banking and Finance, and drivers or passengers involved in civil lawsuits over car crashes.

Georgians who borrow against a future lawsuit payout would deal with a licensed, more transparent industry with capped fees and required disclosures, and unlicensed funders could face felony charges. Meanwhile, drivers or passengers not wearing seat belts could see that fact used against them in court, potentially reducing damages they receive after a crash.

• Section 2 creates Chapter 10 of Title 7, requiring litigation financiers to register with the Department of Banking and Finance and disclose ownership, foreign affiliations, and business details.
• O.C.G.A. § 7-10-2 bars registration for those affiliated with foreign governments, foreign principals, or sovereign wealth funds, and requires amended registration within 30 days of any change.
• O.C.G.A. § 7-10-4 prohibits financiers from directing litigation strategy, paying or accepting referral fees, or collecting more than the plaintiffs' recovered share after fees and costs.
• O.C.G.A. § 7-10-5 makes financiers providing $25,000 or more potentially jointly and severally liable for sanctions for frivolous litigation and requires indemnification of plaintiffs in contracts.
• O.C.G.A. § 7-10-6 requires written contracts with specific disclosures in 14-point bold font, including a five-business-day right to cancel without penalty.
• O.C.G.A. § 7-10-9 makes acting as an unregistered litigation financier a felony punishable by one to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, or both.
• Section 3 amends the Georgia Civil Practice Act (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-26) to allow discovery of litigation financing agreements in pending lawsuits, but such information is generally inadmissible at trial.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1 so that failure to wear a seat belt may be considered as evidence in civil actions, reversing the prior bar on such evidence.

1. 2025-04-21Effective Date 2026-01-01
2. 2025-04-21Act 10
3. 2025-04-21Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-31House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-03-28Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senate)
7. 2025-03-27House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-03-27House Third Readers (House)

• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)Primary sponsor
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Brandon Beach (R, SD-021)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 27, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #104

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 27, 2025

   98 yea, 69 nay (3 not voting, 10 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #323

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute As Amended: Senate Vote #336

4. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2025

   120 yea, 42 nay (6 not voting, 12 absent)

   Agree To Sam To Hsub: House Vote #360

• litigation financing
• consumer protection
• banking and finance regulation
• civil lawsuits
• seat belt law