# Georgia HB 1185: Courts; certain shareholder claims to be brought before the Georgia State-wide Business Court; provide

Georgia HB 1185, Courts; certain shareholder claims to be brought before the Georgia State-wide Business Court; provide, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Chuck Efstration (Republican), Matthew Gambill (Republican), Stan Gunter (Republican) and 3 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1185-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia HB 1185
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: Courts; certain shareholder claims to be brought before the Georgia State-wide Business Court; provide
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-04
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: Chuck Efstration (Republican), Matthew Gambill (Republican), Stan Gunter (Republican), Rob Leverett (Republican), Devan Seabaugh (Republican), Will Wade (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Judiciary, General Bill
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 6 (324 yes, 200 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 8

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Investors gain access to business records: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, limited partners can inspect filed federal, state, and local income tax returns for each year. Limited liability company members can obtain those returns and true, complete financial statements on reasonable demand. Other information must be just and reasonable, and requeste…
- Directors gain broader business decision powers: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Georgia corporations can authorize broader factors in directors’ decisions through their articles of incorporation. Directors can consider workers, customers, suppliers, creditors, communities, and other relevant factors when deciding the corporation’s best interests. This a…
- Small investors face lawsuit ownership thresholds: cost, medium. For suits started on or after July 1, 2026, publicly listed corporations can set ownership thresholds in their articles or bylaws. The thresholds apply to shareholders suing on the corporation’s behalf and cannot exceed 1% of the specified outstanding shares. Publicly listed limited partnerships ca…
- Investor lawsuits face expense recovery limits: cost, low. These expense rules apply to proceedings started on or after July 1, 2026. In suits brought for a corporation, extra or amended shareholder disclosures do not count as a substantial benefit for expense awards. In limited partnership suits, plaintiffs cannot recover expenses or lawyer fees when chan…
- Investor record requests face legal limits: cost, low. For proceedings started on or after July 1, 2026, certain lawsuits do not qualify as proper reasons to seek business records. This covers active or pending suits brought for the entity that the requester brings or is reasonably expected to bring. It also covers active or pending civil suits where t…
- Business disputes gain specialized court options: mixed, low. For cases started on or after July 1, 2026, the Georgia State-wide Business Court has expanded authority over internal business disputes. Corporations can require that court in their articles or bylaws, including for shareholder claims challenging disclosures. The court cannot reject transfers or s…
- Business litigants face new transfer deadlines: mixed, low. These deadlines apply to eligible cases started on or after July 1, 2026. When all parties agree, they have one year after filing to move a case to Business Court, up from 60 days. A party has 90 days, up from 60, to request transfer based on the initial claim. That clock starts when all defendants…
- Companies can limit officers’ damage payments: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Georgia corporations can limit officers’ personal money damages through their articles of incorporation. The limits apply to damages owed to the corporation or its shareholders. They cannot cover stolen business opportunities, intentional misconduct, knowing legal violations…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Chuck Efstration (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Matthew Gambill (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Stan Gunter (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Rob Leverett (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Devan Seabaugh (Republican), House
- Sponsor: Will Wade (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Bo Hatchett (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-31 | House | Agree to Senate Amendment | pass | 97 | 65 | 10 |
| 2026-03-27 | Senate | ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT #4 BY THE SENATOR FROM THE 19TH | pass | 37 | 9 | 5 |
| 2026-03-27 | Senate | PASSAGE AS AMENDED | pass | 45 | 2 | 4 |
| 2026-03-25 | Senate | MOTION TO TABLE | pass | 27 | 23 | 3 |
| 2026-03-25 | Senate | MOTION TO RESOLVE DEBATE | fail | 14 | 35 | 4 |
| 2026-02-25 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 104 | 66 | 4 |

## Actions (18)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-11: House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- 2026-05-11: Act 460
- 2026-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-31: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- 2026-03-27: Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- 2026-03-27: Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Senate Tabled (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-03-20: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-02-25: House Passed/Adopted (House)
- 2026-02-19: House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- 2026-02-06: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-02-05: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-02-04: House Hopper (House)

## Bill text

- HB 1185/AP* (v11): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248645)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [HB 1185/AP* (v11) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248645)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1185-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).