# Georgia SB 69: "Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act"; enact

Georgia SB 69, "Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act"; enact, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by John Albers (Republican), Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Lee Anderson (Republican) and 24 others; status signed, last action 2026-01-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB69-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia SB 69
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: "Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act"; enact
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-01-30
- Last action: 2026-01-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: John Albers (Republican), Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Lee Anderson (Republican), Brandon Beach (Republican), Matt Brass (Republican), Max Burns (Republican), Bill Cowsert (Republican), Clint Dixon (Republican), Greg Dolezal (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Frank Ginn (Republican), Steve Gooch (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Marty Harbin (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), Billy Hickman (Republican), Mike Hodges (Republican), John F. Kennedy (Republican), Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican), Randy Robertson (Republican), Ed Setzler (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), Larry Walker (Republican), Ben Watson (Republican), Sam Watson (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Rules, Judiciary, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 4 (322 yes, 111 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 8

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Lawsuit funders cannot control your case: benefit, medium. Lawsuit financiers cannot control case decisions, give legal advice, mislead consumers, withhold completed contracts, or require consumers to give up legal remedies. They cannot steer consumers to service providers or use banned referral payments; case service providers cannot hold financing intere…
- Lawsuit funders must cover adverse costs: benefit, medium. Financiers must cover adverse costs, attorney fees, damages, and sanctions ordered against plaintiffs, claimants, and their legal representatives. Coverage excludes losses the financier shows were caused by those people's intentional misconduct. A financier committing $25,000 or more may also share…
- Clearer lawsuit financing contracts and cancellation: benefit, low. Lawsuit financing contracts must be fully written and complete at signing, with the financier's name and business address on the first page. You or your legal representative can cancel without penalty within five business days after signing or receiving money, whichever is later. Cancellation requi…
- Some lawsuit funding avoids financing rules: benefit, low. The law exempts specified nonprofit, business-activity, and lender financing from its lawsuit financing rules. Qualifying nonprofits must receive no interest, fees, or other compensation and generally no repayment from case proceeds, subject to an in-house counsel exception. Qualifying business-act…
- Financing violations carry fines and prison: cost, low. A financier's violation makes the financing agreement void and unenforceable by the financier or anyone succeeding to its rights. A person who willfully violates the law commits a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. The penalty can also include a fine of up to $10,000, either alone or…
- Lawsuit funders face registration and charges: cost, low. Lawsuit financiers must register before offering or entering financing agreements in Georgia, and their registration filings are public records. They must update filings within 30 days after a change or after information becomes inaccurate or incomplete. The Department of Banking and Finance may de…
- Seat belt use affects crash claims: mixed, medium. Courts may consider seat belt nonuse when deciding negligence, causation, assumed risk, or each person's share of fault. This evidence may reduce payment for motor-vehicle damages, but it must follow other evidence rules. Seat belt nonuse cannot be used to cancel insurance coverage or raise an insu…
- Parties gain access to financing terms: mixed, low. Parties can seek the existence and terms of lawsuit financing agreements connected to a pending case through evidence gathering. An agreement involving someone outside the case is covered only when it provides at least $25,000 in funding. This gives parties access to funding details while exposing…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: John Albers (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Lee Anderson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Brandon Beach (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Matt Brass (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Max Burns (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Bill Cowsert (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Clint Dixon (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Greg Dolezal (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Drew Echols (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Frank Ginn (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Steve Gooch (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Russ Goodman (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Marty Harbin (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Bo Hatchett (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Billy Hickman (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Mike Hodges (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: John F. Kennedy (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Chuck Payne (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Randy Robertson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Ed Setzler (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Shawn Still (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Larry Walker (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Ben Watson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Sam Watson (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Rick Williams (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: James Burchett (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-03-31 | House | Agree to SAm to HSub | pass | 120 | 42 | 6 |
| 2025-03-28 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE AS AMENDED | pass | 52 | 0 |   |
| 2025-03-27 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 98 | 69 | 3 |
| 2025-02-27 | Senate | PASSAGE | pass | 52 | 0 |   |

## Actions (17)

- 2026-01-01: Effective Date
- 2025-04-21: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2025-04-21: Act 10
- 2025-04-07: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2025-03-31: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- 2025-03-28: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (Senate)
- 2025-03-27: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- 2025-03-27: House Third Readers (House)
- 2025-03-27: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- 2025-03-03: House Second Readers (House)
- 2025-02-28: House First Readers (House)
- 2025-02-27: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- 2025-02-12: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2025-02-11: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- 2025-02-03: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2025-01-30: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 69/AP* (v11): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/238603)

## 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
- [SB 69/AP* (v11) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/238603)

## 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)
- [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills)
- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB69-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).