Sally’s Senate Snapshot 2026 #1
First of Session Jitters
I get the jitters before the start of every new legislative session. When I reflect on the years I’ve been in the Senate, there’s reason to be anxious! My first year, the abortion ban was slammed through. The next year we shut down early due to the pandemic, only to come back to a heavily guarded Capitol following January 6th. Each year the volume of horrid bills that pass increases. So yes, there’s a reason for the lump in my gut.
Monday, as I walked from the parking garage to the Capitol, those jitters started to fall away, replaced by a sense of stability — a realization that no matter how crazy times get, some things at the Capitol never change. That’s about the time I saw Phil Lunney, standing at the steps as he always does, enthusiastically greeting passersby.
Phil is a North Fulton Democrat. I first met him in 2017 when I launched my congressional campaign for Georgia’s 6th district. Trump had just been elected President for the first time, and Democrats were figuring out how to organize. Phil stood out to me because I liked his progressive outlook.
I decided to ask Phil why he stands there at the steps every morning — no matter how hard it’s raining, or how biting cold the wind is — greeting everyone who passes by. He said it’s because he’s a cheerleader for those of us who are serving as part of the minority party — he knows how hard our work is and he just wants to support us.
Phil helped my jitters go away this first week so I could get to work.
Changing Senate Players
Since the close of the 2025 legislative session, ten senators (including three Democrats) have announced runs for higher office. Another Senator left to be Trump’s U.S. Treasurer (you can look for former Sen. Brandon Beach’s name on freshly minted dollar bills). That means lots of change in leadership and several newly called special elections.
On the Democratic side, we welcome newly-elected Sen. Jaha Howard to our Senate Democratic Caucus, who replaced former Sen. Jason Esteves. By the way, if you haven’t personally met Jason Esteves, who is running for Governor, please try to do so. I have endorsed Jason because I believe he is the smartest candidate, as well as the most capable and personable.
Flip the Georgia Senate! Senate District 18, centered around Macon, was held by Senator John F. Kennedy (yes, that’s really his name, but he’s a Republican) who resigned to run for Lieutenant Governor, triggering a January 20 jungle primary with five Republicans and one Democrat. That lone Democrat is LeMario Brown, Mayor Pro-Tem of Fort Valley and a respected local leader with deep roots in the district. Saturday, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly joined LaMario to canvas the district!
Sen. Colton Moore, who was kicked out of the Senate Republican Caucus for inciting a civil war, resigned from the Senate this week to run for the congressional seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene. The date of this election is March 10.
Narrowing Republican Senate Majority: Until these seats are filled, Republicans hold just 31 Senate seats — their smallest margin over Democrats in 20 years. In the Senate, it takes 29 votes to pass a bill. Republicans will need to stay in their seats this session to pass their bills!
New Committee Assignment!
Turnover brought a handful of new committee assignments, and I am thrilled to have been appointed to the Family & Children Committee, which oversees the health and wellbeing of children in state custody and support for foster parents. As a social worker — and someone who has spent years fighting for kids and families — this assignment is a natural fit and I am excited to get to work.
Republican Gun Policy — Abolish Local Control
For our only floor vote this week, Sen. Colton Moore was given the chance to move one of his bills forward before resigning to run for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s seat. It was a doozy.
SB 204 expands Georgia’s firearms preemption law by prohibiting local governments from regulating gun storage — directly targeting ordinances like Savannah’s, which made it a crime to leave a firearm in an unlocked vehicle. SB 204 passed along party lines. So much for Republicans being for local control.d
What’s Up with Governor Kemp’s Lame Duck Session?
Wednesday morning I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30am to catch a 6am MARTA bus from the Capitol to the Mercedes Benz Stadium for the Annual Georgia Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues breakfast, where we heard previews from the Speaker, the Lt. Governor and the Governor. No one knew what Governor Kemp had planned for his last legislative session as Governor, so I was very curious to find out what he had up his sleeve. Not much, actually. And sadly, no mention of Georgia’s pending healthcare crisis.
The next day Governor Kemp took the spotlight again for his Annual State-of-the-State address. There were a couple of surprises — $2000 raises for state employees and $325 million to establish an endowment for a Need-Based scholarship for higher education — something Sen. Nan Orrock and I have been advocating for the last several years. In Georgia, we take our wins when we turn Democratic ideas into Republican initiatives.
Affordability: Same Finish Line, Different Lanes
Speaking of wins, affordability is now the GOP’s new 2026 catch-phrase! Georgia Senate Democrats have long focused on how to utilize state government to make life more affordable for Georgians.
But the Senate Republicans are marketing tax cuts as affordability. Lt. Governor Burt Jones wants to eliminate the income tax and the Speaker of the House Jon Burns wants to lower property taxes. And it’s no surprise that neither has presented a plan for making up for lost revenue, except perhaps by utilizing Governor Kemp’s $10 billion stash in state reserves.
Tuesday morning, the Senate Democratic Caucus was briefed on the impact of these tax plans by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. I will do a deep dive analysis in a future Snapshot when more details are available, but I’ll say for now that income tax cuts for people struggling to make ends meet actually won’t help them much, and they could end up with a higher tax bill.
Drafting Kids’ Online Safety Bills
With a light floor schedule, I was able to begin laying the groundwork for my legislative agenda. This fall, I co-chaired the Senate Study Committee on Online Safety for Kids, and I’m now translating those recommendations into a series of bills. Unfortunately, in December President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) threatening to punish states who regulate AI. I’ve spent time this week with attorneys trying to understand how they think the EO exposes Georgia to risks should we regulate AI companion chatbot products. They seem to be missing the bigger picture — that we are putting an entire generation of children at risk. I’ll keep fighting for kids and families.
GPB Lawmakers
Tuesday night I was invited to be a guest on GPB’s “Lawmakers” with Donna Lowry to address the work of my Study Committee on “Keeping Kids Safe Online.” Link here for the interview. Appearing on Lawmakers on the second day of session is quite an honor. Taking on the monied interests of Big Tech has put me in the spotlight of Georgia politics. Reporters are beginning to ask me daily how those bills are coming!
Starting on a Sad Note (Anne Isenhower)
After I got over my beginning-of-session jitters, I took to the well to deliver a Point of Personal Privilege honoring my dear friend Anne Isenhower. On January 1st, our community suffered the heartbreaking loss of our beloved neighbor, supporter, and friend, following the death of her son, Max, last month. This week, I paid tribute to Anne and Max on the Senate floor and asked my colleagues to join me in honoring her with a moment of silence. We carry them with us.
What Can We Do About ICE?
Heavy news hung over the Capitol this week following the tragic killing of Minnesota mom Renee Good. Against that backdrop, Senate Democrats announced three bills aimed at transparency, due process, and constitutional accountability when ICE operates in Georgia:
- SB 389 — Unmask ICE: Requires ICE agents to remove masks and clearly display badges during enforcement actions.
- SB 391 — Protect Safe Spaces: Requires a judicial warrant before ICE agents may enter schools, libraries, hospitals, houses of worship, or domestic violence shelters.
- SB 397 — Civil Accountability: Gives Georgians a clear cause of action to sue ICE agents who violate constitutional rights.
Mark Your Calendars
The Senate and House must agree on a legislative calendar and pass a calendar resolution. Fortunately, this happened on Monday. I actually first saw the proposed calendar last Sunday the same way the public did — from a reporter on X. Crossover Day is scheduled for March 6 and Sine Die is April 2. Anyone wanting to be on the ballot for the upcoming election cycle must sign-up, or “qualify” the week of March 2 – 6. By the end of session, primary elections will be in full swing.
My 2026 Staff
Once again, Amy Swygert is serving as my Chief-of-Staff. Amy has been with me since I joined the Senate in 2019. Kathlene Dorking is still my administrative assistant, and this is her third legislative session. In addition, we have an intern from Georgia Gwinnett College, Ru Ferguson.
- Amy Swygert: amysenate40@gmail.com
- Kathlene Dorking: kathlene.dorking@senate.ga.gov
- Sally’s Personal Email: sally@sallyharrell.org
On the Horizon
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Next week is Budget Week. While we won’t be in session, Governor Kemp, the State Economist, and every state agency head will present their budgets to the joint House and Senate Appropriations Committees. If you want to see how well our state government is — and isn’t — working, this is where you find out. You can watch all presentations on the Georgia General Assembly website.
Stay tuned until next week when we bring a summary to you of these hearings in my 2nd Snapshot of 2026!
