Capitol Chaos: Peak Mayhem Mode
It’s that time — the wild, whiplash-inducing final days of session. Bills are getting gutted, stuffed, and pushed through faster than you can say “committee substitute.” Thank goodness for our hardworking Senate Democratic Caucus staff, including our team of externs, that help us keep track of it all.
Staying Focused in the Frenzy
While everything around us is morphing by the minute, I grounded myself in my legislative agenda. I don’t like it when the legislative process is bypassed, but this year Republicans are only letting a handful of Democratic bills move forward so I’ve concluded that in order to do good, I must play by a different strategy.
Chatbots + Kids = Accountability Now (HB 171): Last week, I worked with the author of HB 171, a bill that criminalizes AI-generated sexualized images of children, to add a key amendment: chatbot websites targeting kids could face criminal penalties for sexually-explicit content. The notoriously tough Senate Judiciary Committee tweaked the base bill (to the author’s dismay), but my amendment survived. The bill passed the Committee. Let’s hope it’s on the Senate floor next week.
Corn + Folic Acid = Health Babies (SB 278): SB 278, my bill to require folic acid in corn masa products to prevent spina bifida, got a rare dedicated hearing in the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee this week. Spina bifida prevention seems like a no-brainer, but we brought in a range of expert witnesses to testify to the costs of spina bifida to patients, their families and the state, the success of food fortification on public health, and the process of how food is fortified. The Ag Chair is very interested in this issue, but cautiously watching for opposition — and potentially for other states to act first.
New Bills: Salvos in the Storm
Amidst the chaos, I filed these bills this week.
Raising the Bar on Voter Challenges (HB 357): It’s time to do away with frivolous voter challenges. My bill requires actual evidence. After bringing the Chair of the DeKalb Election Board to meet with the Senate Ethics Chair to share how much time county elections staff spend on these challenges, the Committee Chair is now a co-sponsor — a huge win! I’m very hopeful he’ll help me push it forward next year.
A Public Health Insurance Option, Georgia-Style (SB 360): If Biden-era enhanced federal Affordable Care Act subsidies expire later this year, insurance costs will skyrocket and over a million Georgians could lose coverage. My bill offers a potential fix: a state-regulated, lower-cost Medicaid public option modeled on Nevada’s successful plan to leverage the state’s purchasing power by requiring insurance companies that bid on the state’s very lucrative Medicaid contracts to offer a public option plan.
Good Faith Grant Study Committee (SR 474): For the last two years, I’ve been working with a small bipartisan group of my colleagues to launch Georgia’s first needs-based college scholarship. We are working diligently to put the funding pieces together. In the meantime, I signed on to a resolution to create a Senate Study Committee — with the Higher Ed Committee Chair’s signature — to keep the momentum going.
Surprise! Bills Popping Up in Committees
The Voting Frankenstein (HB 397): This bill started out in the House as a simple bill about weekend voting in municipal elections and it snowballed into another sweeping elections bill. We heard over the weekend that it contained a provision to limit early voting sites to one per county, but it disappeared before it reached the Senate Ethics Committee. Sadly, bad provisions including limiting absentee ballot drop off on last weekend of early voting, giving more power and independence to the controversial State Elections Board, and nudging Georgia out of the Electronic Registration Information Center (aka ERIC), a data-sharing partnership with other states, despite the Secretary of State’s objections. It passed in a party-line vote and will likely be on the Senate floor next week.
The DEI Disguise (HB 127): SB 120, the ban on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in schools, didn’t make it to the Senate floor by Crossover Day. But surprise! It’s back, reborn as HB 127, a bill that originally sought to increase teacher sick leave. Republicans passed it out of the Senate Education and Youth Committee this week. Until now, we avoided a Senate floor debate on this issue, but it’s likely to happen next week.
On the Senate Floor: The Good, the Bad, and the Backroom Deals
Distraction-Free Education (HB 340): I went to the well to speak to this bill to limit cell phone use in K–8 classrooms. When my kids were in school, having cell phones was new. My husband and I struggled to limit their use but teachers required the use of apps for homework assignments, making it difficult to enforce rules at home. This bill lets local districts decide how to implement it, which gives parents a way to advocate for policies that work best for their kids.
Surprise Pay Raises (HB 86): What started as a bill to change how some judges are paid turned into a fast-tracked Republican amendment proposing to raise the salaries of the Governor and other statewide officials. The media quickly pointed out that paying our Governor $250,000 (up from $175,000) would tie our Governor’s salary with the NY Governor for the highest Gubernatorial salary in the country. However, I recently looked up how much our Chancellor of the University System of Georgia gets paid — $524,000!
The next day, some Democrats tried to amend another judicial salary bill with a pay raise for legislators, a topic that comes up almost every session. Legislators currently make $22,000 plus a daily per diem while in session. As usual, that amendment failed.
We probably need a Study Committee on the salaries of elected officials.
The Budget Battle (HB 68): We had heard for weeks that there were major points of contention between the House and Senate versions of the FY 2026 budget. Those differences were revealed when the Senate version of the $37.7 billion budget hit the floor this week. The Senate jacked up Georgia’s new school voucher program funding (from $45M to $141M) while slashing direct help for low-income schools ($28 million) that the House added. Senate Republicans also want to tap into Georgia’s massive budget reserves instead of using bonds for construction projects. These differences will be worked out in a Conference Committee next week and the final versions will hit both chambers next week.
The Final Countdown: Take Action!
We’re down to three more crazy legislative days: Monday, Wednesday, and Sine Die Friday. In between? Strategizing, regrouping, and bracing for impact.
Several bad bills passed Committees this week.
Call or email the Speaker Jon Burn’s office and ask him to keep the following bills off the House floor. jon.burns@house.ga.gov, 404-656-5052
Religious Freedom Bill (SB 36): offers a license to discriminate based on religious views.
Anti-Transgender Legislation (SB 30 & 39): One bans treatment for trans youth, another bans coverage on state plans.
Call the Lt. Governor Burt Jone’s Office and ask him to keep the following bills off the Senate floor. https://ltgov.georgia.gov/contact-lt-governor, 404-656-5030
Elections Bill (HB 397): Bans the use of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) for that helps keep voter registration lists up-to-date, and limits absentee ballot drop-off the weekend prior to Election Day.
Bans Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) programs in schools (HB 127): Bans school clubs & resource centers that offer specialized support for various groups.
Call the Chairman of Senate Appropriations, Chairman Blake Tillery, to ask him to fund direct support for low-income schools rather than school vouchers. https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/senate/4908/contact, 404-656-5038
Stay alert, stay loud, and buckle up for the final lap.
