Introduction
On April 16, 2012, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law House Bill 822, thereby enacting the new “Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act,” while also making significant revisions to the existing “State False Medicaid Claims Act” of 2007.
The new law significantly expands the ability of the Georgia Attorney General’s Office (the “Attorney General”) or private qui tam whistleblowers, acting on behalf of the government, to bring civil false claims actions against an individual, firm, corporation, or other legal entity. Specifically, the Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act (the GTPFCA or the “non- Medicaid FCA”) broadens liability for state false claims in order to reach non-Medicaid claims involving the money or property of state or local government, including counties, cities, towns, school boards, and any “other political subdivision of the state or of such local government,” including the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). Notably, the new non-Medicaid FCA only permits civil actions by qui tam whistleblowers who have received written approval by the Attorney General to bring a case.
Please see full publication below for more information.