ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp is determined to pass a measure to limit lawsuits and curb giant jury verdicts this year, even if it takes dragging Georgia lawmakers back to Atlanta for a special legislative session.

Kemp delivered that warning in unambiguous terms Thursday to hundreds of lawmakers during his annual State of the State address, using his time in the spotlight to make clear he was resolved to end a decades-long political battle within months.

“There is always room for compromise, but there will be no room for excuses, half-measures or failure,” Kemp said. “Whether it’s this legislative session, or a second one later this year, we will achieve meaningful, impactful tort reform.”

A mix of gasps and applause from the chamber greeted that threat, as supporters quickly stood in applause.

The second-term Republican outlined few specifics about his proposal beyond vague promises would “strike the right balance.” But he sought bipartisan support to address an “unsustainable” legal system he said hinders businesses and drives up insurance rates.

“Giving working people and small business owners a chance at the American dream is about who we are as a state, not what political party we support,” said Kemp, invoking past consensus-driven votes on hate crimes legislation and human trafficking crackdowns.

The lawsuit overhaul effort will face bipartisan opposition, too, from well-financed opponents who argue the rewrite would deny Georgians of their legal rights to fight powerful corporations in court and could have a muted impact on insurance fees.

“It isn’t accurate to say that jury verdicts are the sole reason for why insurance rates are rising,” said state Rep. Tanya Moore, one of the House’s top Democrats. “I’d like to see a robust discussion on whether insurance companies are forced to be transparent when they raise their rates on citizens.”

Before Kemp entered the House, a scuffle broke out as far-right state Sen. Colton Moore sought to defy an order by House Speaker Jon Burns blocking him from entering the chamber for “vile” remarks about Burns' predecessor. Moore was briefly knocked to the ground and arrested by a Georgia State Trooper after he repeatedly tried to enter the ornate House chambers.

The governor didn’t address Moore’s arrest during his speech.

As in his other addresses, Kemp peppered his remarks in the Georgia House with critiques of federal spending policies such as “trillion-dollar deficits or endless continuing resolutions.”

As he announced a roughly $1 billion new plan to shave the state’s income tax over the next two years, on top of a previously announced $1 billion tax rebate, Kemp said he would take a conservative approach to tapping Georgia’s $16.5 billion surplus.

“Just because we take in more money,” he said, “doesn’t mean we need to create new big government programs to fund for eternity.”

A crossroads

Kemp’s address comes at a crucial moment in his political career, with two years left in the Governor’s Mansion and major decisions about his future ahead.

As he weighs a potential U.S. Senate bid in 2026 or a run for the White House, Kemp’s national clout is growing. He was recently elected chair of the Republican Governors Association and reforged a tenuous alliance with President-elect Donald Trump after years of discord between the two.

And he remains one of the most popular political figures in Georgia. About 61% of registered Georgia voters, including more than 40% of Democrats, approved of his job performance in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released this week.

But political capital is a precious resource, and this year might be Kemp’s last to push through complicated and divisive legislation. By 2026, the races for his job and other statewide offices will be in full swing, and Kemp will have to contend with the all-out jockeying.

It’s one reason Kemp issued the threat to summon lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session if his demands are unmet. State law gives the governor the ability to ask lawmakers to take up specific policy issues in special sessions, although Kemp has used that power sparingly.

Ahead of Thursday’s speech, Kemp had already unveiled other parts of his agenda. He outlined a plan to refund more than $1 billion to Georgians when they file taxes this year, promised to spend $600 million on state prison upgrades and proposed more than $1 billion in infrastructure spending.

He also unequivocally shut the door Wednesday on a full-scale Medicaid expansion for the rest of his term in office earlier this week, instead doubling-down on his more limited health care plan for poor Georgians.

But he’s been tight-lipped for months about the specifics of his plan to overhaul litigation rules, aside from frequent vows that it will be his foremost priority this legislative session. His office said the details are expected by the end of the month.

“The governor last year said this was his top issue, and all we got was a delay,” said state Rep. Sam Park, a senior House Democrat. “Big talk, but where are the details? Where’s the bill?”

‘Get off the sidelines’

Long atop the Republican wish list, the political battle over what supporters have branded “tort reform” has stretched across a generation, and a rewrite became one of the first major victories for the GOP in 2005 after the party took control of both legislative chambers.

But the courts gradually chipped away at many of the changes, including a unanimous 2010 Georgia Supreme Court ruling that struck down a $350,000 cap on jury awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases.

Reviving the law won’t be easy. This battle pits powerful trial lawyers and patient advocacy groups who cast a rewrite as a threat to the civil justice system against equally mighty business groups who say the changes will spur economic growth.

But Kemp has prepared for the policy clash for the better part of his second term. After announcing this legislative drive to surprised business leaders in 2023, he called off the push at the start of last year’s legislative session to lay the groundwork for this one.

Now, he’s readied a well-financed campaign, and has support from outside groups such as Competitive Georgia, which recently launched a seven-figure digital blitz. And he’s ratcheted up the pressure on lawmakers, even encouraging Georgia Chamber members at an event this week to lobby politicians sitting beside them at crowded tables to back the effort.

His most frequent argument, however, involves linking Georgia’s economic future with the fate of his proposal. To his captive audience on Wednesday, Kemp invoked stories of physicians targeted by “baseless or excessive lawsuits” and mom-and-pop stores struggling with soaring costs.

“If we take seriously our mission to keep Georgia the best places to live, work and raise a family for the next generation,” he said, “we have to get off the sidelines and get to work.”

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