Featured photo: “Starry Night at the Waffle House” by Savannah artist Julia Licht
By Eric Curl
Jan. 20, 2025 – Governor Brian Kemp cited Waffle House six times in his State of the State Address last week, when he outlined tort reform as a priority. In addition to touting the restaurant chain’s hash browns, Kemp cited the Norcross-based business, and the amount it and other employers pay in litigation and insurance costs, as an example of why he’ll be advocating for the issue to be addressed.
The goal is shared by the city of Savannah, which included tort reform on its list of priorities for the 2025 legislative session as a way to prevent “frivolous lawsuits.” (In a quick search, I found six premises liability lawsuits, typically “slip and falls” filed in Chatham County Superior Court against city in 2024.)
Kemp also outlined plans to invest more than $500 million to address water and infrastructure needs across the Coastal Empire, including about $146 million in grants and favorable loans for improvements to Savannah’s Industrial & Domestic water Treatment Plant, as reported by the Savannah Morning News.
Kemp’s proposed budget also includes $536,928 for four positions to expand the US Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit in the Savannah region.
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