House Bill 311, sponsored by Rep. Andy Welch (R-McDonough) and
passed by both the House and the Senate, was recently vetoed by
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. Generally speaking, the purpose of the
Bill was to reduce the government's ability to claim sovereign
immunity and allow Georgia citizens the ability to seek judicial
relief against public entities and officials that they believe have
committed unconstitutional and unlawful acts.
House Bill 311 was the General Assembly's response to a 2017
abortion rights case in which the Georgia Supreme Court held that
Georgia citizens could not seek injunctions or declaratory
judgments against a government's implementation and enforcement
of a law without the government's consent.1 The full text of the Bill can
be found at
http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20192020/HB/311
(last visited May 13, 2019).
