---
title: HB 678. Local government; authorities with less than state-wide jurisdiction shall have the same sovereign immunities as provided to counties; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb678
cite_as: HB 678, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb678
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb678.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb678/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70979
date: 2025-02-28
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb678.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 678
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Scott Hilton
  - Deborah Silcox
  - Kasey Carpenter
  - Clint Crowe
  - John LaHood
  - Tim Fleming
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB678/2025
upstream_id: 1987876
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - sovereign immunity
  - local government liability
  - personal injury lawsuits
  - special-purpose authorities
  - tort law
---

# HB 678. Local government; authorities with less than state-wide jurisdiction shall have the same sovereign immunities as provided to counties; provide

## Text

House Bill 678
By: Representatives Hilton of the 48th, Silcox of the 53rd, Carpenter of the 4th, Crowe of the
118th, LaHood of the 175th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 80 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
general provisions applicable to counties, municipal corporations, and other government
entities, so as to provide that authorities with less than state-wide jurisdiction shall have the
same sovereign immunities as provided to counties; to provide a definition; to provide that
officers and employees of such authorities in the conduct of their official duties shall have
the same official immunities as provided to officers and employees of a county performing
duties on behalf of such county; to provide for legislative intent; to provide limitations on the
amounts and types of damages and interest recoverable against an authority; to provide for
applicability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 80 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
provisions applicable to counties, municipal corporations, and other government entities, is
amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"36-80-32.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'authority' means any:
(1) Instrumentality of the state or a county, municipality, or a joint undertaking thereof
that has less than state-wide jurisdiction and was created to fulfill a specialized public
purpose; or
(2) Other legally created organization that has authority to issue debt for a public purpose
independent of the state, a county, or municipality with less than state-wide jurisdiction,
regardless of whether such instrumentality or organization was created by a local
constitutional amendment, general law, or local law.
(b) An authority shall be deemed to be providing a public service and exercising public
duties and, notwithstanding any provisions of an authority's enabling legislation to the
contrary, shall have the same sovereign immunity and exemption from liability for torts
and negligence as a county, and the officers, agents, and employees of such authority when
in the performance of the work of the authority shall have the same immunity and
exemption from liability for torts and negligence as the officers, agents, and employees of
a county when in the performance of their public duties or work of the county.
(c) It is the specific intent of the General Assembly that tort claims against authorities shall
be subject to the limitations on liability of the state found in Article 2 of Chapter 21 of
Title 50, 'The Georgia Tort Claims Act.' In any civil action or claim for damages brought
against an authority, no claimant shall recover a sum exceeding $1 million from any single
authority because of a loss arising from a single occurrence; and any single authority's
aggregate liability per occurrence shall not exceed $3 million. The existence of these caps
on liability shall not be disclosed or suggested to the jury during the trial of any action
brought against an authority.
(d) No award for damages against an authority shall include punitive or exemplary
damages or interest prior to judgment.
</ins>
<ins>(e) In cases where judgment is obtained against an authority, the judgment shall bear
interest from the date judgment is entered at the rate of 7 percent per annum; provided,
however, that any recovery of interest shall be included within the applicable aggregate
amount per occurrence as set forth in this Code section.
(f) Trial of tort claims against an authority shall be conducted by a judge with a jury;
provided, however, that the parties may agree that the same be tried by a judge without a
jury.
(g) The provisions of this Code section shall only apply to acts or omissions occurring on
or after July 1, 2025.
(h) This Code section shall not be construed as a waiver of immunity as required by
Article IX, Section II, Paragraph IX of the Constitution of the State of Georgia. Any such
waiver must be pled and proven by the claimant as provided by law."
</ins> SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

House Bill 678 would give local authorities, such as special-purpose agencies with less than statewide reach, the same legal immunity from lawsuits that Georgia counties already have, capping damages at $1 million per claim.

### Plain-language summary

Right now, local authorities created for specialized public purposes, like development authorities or hospital authorities, do not automatically get the same lawsuit protections (called sovereign immunity) that Georgia counties have. This bill changes that by adding a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 36-80-32).
It defines 'authority' broadly to include instrumentalities of the state or local governments with less than statewide jurisdiction, or organizations that can issue debt independently. These authorities and their officers and employees would get the same immunity from lawsuits over accidents and negligence (torts) that counties and county workers get. The bill caps damages at $1 million per person per incident and $3 million total per incident, bars punitive damages and interest before judgment, sets post-judgment interest at 7 percent, and says these limits apply only to actions occurring on or after July 1, 2025.

### What it does

- Grants local authorities with less than statewide jurisdiction the same sovereign immunity from lawsuits over torts and negligence that counties currently have.
- Extends the same legal immunity to officers, agents, and employees of these authorities when performing their official duties.
- Caps damages against any single authority at $1 million per claimant per incident and $3 million total per incident.
- Prohibits punitive damages and pre-judgment interest in lawsuits against these authorities, and sets post-judgment interest at 7 percent per year.
- Bars telling juries about these damage caps during a trial.
- Limits the new rules to acts or omissions occurring on or after July 1, 2025.

### Who it affects

The bill affects local special-purpose authorities such as development, hospital, housing, or transit authorities that operate below the statewide level, along with their officers and employees. It also affects Georgians who might sue these authorities for injuries caused by negligence or accidents.

### Why it matters

People injured by the actions of a local authority, such as a transit or hospital authority, would face a $1 million cap on what they can recover per claim and a $3 million cap per incident overall, and could not seek punitive damages, which limits their potential compensation compared to current law.

### Key provisions

- New Code section 36-80-32(a) defines 'authority' to include government instrumentalities and independent debt-issuing organizations with less than statewide jurisdiction.
- Subsection (b) grants authorities and their officers, agents, and employees the same sovereign and official immunity from tort liability that counties and county employees have.
- Subsection (c) sets damage caps of $1 million per claimant per occurrence and $3 million aggregate per occurrence, and bars disclosing these caps to juries.
- Subsection (d) bans punitive or exemplary damages and interest accrued before judgment.
- Subsection (e) sets post-judgment interest at 7 percent per year, counted within the overall damage cap.
- Subsection (f) requires tort trials against authorities to be held before a judge and jury unless both sides agree to a judge-only trial.
- Subsection (g) limits these new rules to acts or omissions occurring on or after July 1, 2025.
- Subsection (h) clarifies the section does not itself waive immunity under the Georgia Constitution; any waiver must still be proven by the claimant.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-28)
- Sponsors: Scott Hilton, Deborah Silcox, Kasey Carpenter, Clint Crowe, John LaHood, Tim Fleming
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70979

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb678.md?full=1