ATLANTA — The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives narrowly passed GOP-backed tort reform legislation Thursday over objections from Democrats that the bill is both unnecessary and would reduce Georgians’ access to the courts.

Senate Bill 68 passed 91-82 – the minimum number of votes needed to approve legislation in the 180-member House – with several House Democrats supporting it and several Republicans voting against it. The bill cleared the Senate last month, also primarily along party lines.

Gov. Brian Kemp has made tort reform his top priority for this year’s legislative session.

“Today, the Georgia House took another step toward delivering much-needed reform to our state’s current litigation environment,” House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said after Thursday’s vote.

“The common-sense solutions provided by Senate Bill 68 protect the rights of Georgians who have been harmed, while ensuring that the scales of justice in our courtrooms are fair and balanced. We look forward to working alongside the Senate to champion this critical lawsuit reform across the finish line.”

The bill’s 10 sections include provisions establishing “premises liability” guidelines for when plaintiffs can sue business owners after suffering injuries during the commission of a crime by a third party outside the owner’s control. It also lets defense lawyers introduce into evidence whether a plaintiff injured in an auto accident was wearing a seat belt and requires plaintiffs to seek economic damages based only on the actual costs of the medical care they receive.

Such reforms in Georgia’s civil justice system are needed to curb a growing number of excessive jury awards that are driving up liability insurance premiums, which is hurting businesses’ bottom lines, Rep. Chas Cannon, R-Moultrie, told his House colleagues.

“Reducing frivolous lawsuit and excessive jury awards will stabilize insurance costs, enabling businesses to invest in growth and create jobs,” he said.

But Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, who also chairs the Liberty County Development Authority, said he’s never had a prospective business tenant he was recruiting complain about high insurance premiums, despite the American Tort Reform Association having named Georgia as the nation’s No.-1 “judicial hellhole” in its annual report on states with the worst climate for tort claims.

Williams said tort reform advocates’ characterization of Georgia’s legal climate flies in the face of the state’s perennial status as the best state in which to do business.

“You can’t say for 11 straight years you’re the best place in the nation to do business … and are a hellhole for insurance,” he said.

Rep. Shea Roberts, D-Atlanta, said there’s no guarantee that passing the bill would lower the costs of liability insurance.

“There isn’t a single line in this bill requiring insurance providers to reduce premiums,” she said.

The House made a series of changes in the Senate’s version of the measure based on input during more than a dozen hours of testimony, including a carveout aimed at ensuring the bill won’t affect the rights of victims of sex trafficking to file lawsuits.

Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Atlanta, said the carveout means those who suffer from sex trafficking would be treated differently from those victimized by other sex crimes.

“What about a rape victim? What about a victim of sexual assault committed in the stairwell of an apartment complex?” she asked. “Why wouldn’t we want other victims of crime to be able to recover damages?”

House Majority Whip James Burchett, R-Waycross, took exception to Evans’ characterization of how the bill would affect victims of rape.

“There’s not one line in this bill that does not allow a rape victim to bring a claim,” he said.

Evans also criticized a provision in the bill she said would make it harder for victims of crime committed on the premises of a business to bring a lawsuit against the company’s owner. Any crime committed on a business premises would have to result from a defective physical condition the owner was aware of – such as a broken lock, broken window, or faulty security system – in order for the victim to sue, she said.

Other opponents said the legislation would put Georgians at a disadvantage in the civil justice system.

“The courtroom is where everyday citizens, the Davids with a slingshot, are on an equal footing with Goliath,” said House Minority Caucus Chair Tanya Miller, D-Atlanta. “This is an attack on the very fundamental principles that make this country what it is.”

But Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, who chaired the House subcommittee that took testimony on the bill, said it would make the system fair to both victims and business owners.

“I just don’t think we can do nothing,” he said. “People in our state are telling us they’re having serious problems.”

The bill now goes back to the Senate to weigh in on the changes made by the House.