What Happened on Sine Die? No One Really Knows

CLUSTER-bus bills

This year, Sine Die—the 40th and final day of the legislative session—technically ended at 1:05 a.m.. After going home to get some rest, I woke up and noticed a text from a Senate colleague that had been sent at 12:53 a.m:

“The House just voted down the new version of Senate Bill 447.”

That caught my attention. Anything happening that close to adjournment is usually significant. But I couldn’t remember what Senate Bill 447 was. When I looked it up, I saw that it started as a soil erosion bill—then the House sent it back as a mash-up of several different bills I recognized. But since the Georgia General Assembly website can’t keep up in real time, it will be several days before I can determine the last minute changes.

So I texted my colleagues: What was Senate Bill 447, and what did it become?

No one could answer.

Not one person in a group of experienced legislators knew what that bill had turned into or why it mattered in that moment.

We’re used to last-minute maneuvering on Sine Die. But this year was different. In my 14 years under the Gold Dome, I’ve never seen anything like it. The final hours were so chaotic that even one of my Republican colleagues took to the well and called it out. “What do you call this kind of stuff? I’ve heard y’all use terms like omnibus bill, I’ve heard Christmas tree bill — I call this a cluster-bus bill — that’s what this is — it’s a CLUSTER-bus bill, okay? I mean, it’s just that bad.”

As my Gwinnett colleague Senator Nikki Merritt said, “Last minute rider bills that no one can properly track have become an abuse of our legislative process. Winning at any cost is the goal, instead of good policy and transparency.”

Salvaging Core Campaign Messaging

We expected this legislative session to be all about campaign messaging. The Lt. Governor focused the Senate on eliminating income taxes; the Speaker focused the House on eliminating property taxes. In the end neither completely got their way, because in some instances, the legislative process actually worked.

In January, Speaker Jon Burns rolled out his property tax elimination bill. But this required a constitutional amendment, which required support from two-thirds of the body. Democrats stood firm and the bill failed.

So for weeks, House Republicans pushed HB 1116—the Speaker’s plan to cap property tax growth at 3%. But local governments warned they couldn’t function under that kind of restriction. And in a rare moment, enough Senate Republicans listened to their communities, and the bill failed.

But within minutes during the final hours of Sine Die, they stripped an unrelated bill—SB 33, a THC bill—and replaced it with a scaled-back property tax proposal. The bill was long and complex, and no one had time to read it.

They forced their campaign messaging through—no matter the cost. And when legislation moves that fast, the only responsible vote is no.

Voting Blind

And if the property tax scramble wasn’t enough, what happened with HB 297, and metro Atlanta’s ability to govern its own public transit, showed just how little the legislative process still matters.

HB 297 started out in the House as a bill that reclassifies multi purpose off-highway vehicles. But with only four session days left to go, the Senate Transportation Committee added language that greatly reduces the authority of the Atlanta-region Transportation Link Authority (ATL), renaming it the Transportation Efficiency Authority and changing the 31-member board to a nine-member board appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House.

Senate Democrats spent several days pushing back on this bill, but at 12:38 p.m. on Sine Die, the bill came back from the House with more changes.

We weren’t even given a copy to read.

The Minority Whip made a Motion to Print. Senate Republicans objected—and voted the motion down.

No matter where you stand on transit, every Senator should be able to see a bill before voting on it. That’s the bare minimum. But on a bill that will determine the future of transit, even that standard wasn’t met.

One Duty Fulfilled…

Even in a chaotic final day, the one thing we are constitutionally required to do is pass a balanced budget. There were real concerns that negotiations might fall apart—but at 11:24 p.m., the final $38.5 billion budget for 2027 made it to the Senate floor.

Here are a few bright spots from the FY 2027 budget:

• Pay raises for teachers and state employees, along with long-awaited cost-of-living adjustments for state retirees
• 500 new NOW/COMP waivers for Georgians with disabilities
• Investments in literacy and early education, including funding for a literacy coach in every school and expanded Pre-K
• Mental health funding, including a new hospital and expanded services

It’s a big, consequential document—and one of the few things we got done the way we’re supposed to.

…Another Duty Squandered

This year, we had another job—and we didn’t get it done.

A law passed in 2024 requires Georgia to stop using QR code ballot systems by July 2026. That meant we needed to agree on a new way to count votes.

We didn’t.

All day Thursday, we were waiting on an election bill that never came. I remember sitting at my desk while a colleague gave a long farewell speech late into the night. A Senate doorkeeper leaned over and asked why we weren’t voting on bills.

I knew why. We were waiting on something that wasn’t going to happen.

The House passed one version, SB 214, delaying the deadline until 2028. The Senate pushed a sweeping bill requiring an immediate transition—something county officials warned could create chaos this close to a major election. Republicans couldn’t agree.

Now Georgia risks lawsuits, court orders, or even a special session. County election officials are left without clear direction, and the uncertainty will make their jobs harder at exactly the wrong time.

This should have been a straightforward fix. Instead, politics and conspiracy theories got in the way.

Falling in Line

Thursday morning my Republican colleagues followed their Governor’s orders to kill my bill to prevent birth defects by enriching corn masa flour with a critical B vitamin.

We know this works. When wheat flour was enriched with vitamin B9, babies born with spina bifida dropped by 30%. But Latino babies—whose families rely more on corn-based foods—are still twice as likely to be born with these conditions.

After my bill stalled, I successfully added it to another bill, HB 1138, expanding access to contraceptives. But this week, I was told the Governor would veto the entire bill if my language stayed—and that Republican leadership had the votes to strip it out.

I went to the floor (video below) determined to make sure my colleagues knew what they were doing when they voted on the amendment to “delete line 7 – 99.” I asked my Republican colleagues to vote their values—to preserve life, to protect babies, to reduce our state healthcare costs, and support families. All the things that Republicans say they care deeply about.

Only one did.

It was a stark reminder that too often, the influence of party pressure, lobbying, and money win out over good policy—even when the stakes are this clear.

What’s Next?

I’ll be sending another Snapshot soon with a full rundown of what passed and what didn’t. I just need a few days to figure it out. Hopefully I can!

Call to Action

In the meantime, there’s something all of us can do: support leaders who care more about good policy than political games.

Primary elections are this May. I’ve endorsed Jason Esteves for Governor and Josh McLaurin for Lt. Governor—leaders who are committed to doing things the right way.

Support candidates with your money and time who want to move Georgia forward (I’ll provide you some updates). Volunteer. Get involved. And most importantly—vote and get others to vote.

P.S. Now that session is over, I can accept campaign contributions again. I have an opponent this fall, and I can’t take anything for granted. I will also be financially supporting candidates in other districts that we can flip. Donate at this link https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/sallyharrell-sd40

Senate Storms

Last weekend, even before the new legislative week began, my phone blew up with texts about the District 4 GDOT Board election. Monday morning’s rush hour, with its squall line and ensuing cold front, seemed like an appropriate harbinger of the week to come.

Crosswinds at GDOT

Often called the “fourth branch of government,” the GDOT Board oversees billions of dollars in transportation funding raised from the motor fuel tax, so these Board elections matter. Members are elected by State House and Senate delegations based on congressional districts, and the Commissioner is appointed by the Governor.

I had already committed to supporting former Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson for the Fourth Congressional District seat. Then the calls started coming in—from corporate lobbyists urging me to support someone else. In all my years under the Gold Dome, I’ve never seen corporate lobbyists so interested in a GDOT board race. For me, it raised red flags.

Thankfully, Steve prevailed. Our district will be well represented.

Shifting Fronts

The Legislative Page Program gives students a chance to spend a day at the Capitol delivering messages to legislators while getting a firsthand look at the legislative process. On Monday, I had a young page from Sequoyah Middle School, who was very bright and curious, so I invited her to spend time with me on the floor. I asked her if she had any questions, to which she responded, “Do legislators get along?”

As it turned out, she got to see the best of what this place can be.

HB 535 — Fentanyl: Sen. Josh McLaurin, whom I have endorsed for Lt. Governor, raised a serious concern and offered amendments to improve a Republican authored fentanyl penalties bill. The bill’s language could treat people as traffickers for unknowingly possessing drugs with trace amounts of fentanyl. Josh’s presentation from the well changed minds and the sponsor offered his own amendment limiting the law to meaningful quantities, not incidental traces.

The result was a better, more precise bill that passed unanimously. That’s what the legislative process should look like, but rarely has for the last few years.

By Wednesday, the mood changed. On the floor, Democrats again offered amendments to improve bills—but this time, they were shut down:

• HB 998 (a telecom bill): We proposed restoring a Consumer Utility Council to give Georgians a real voice in rate cases and protecting customers from footing the bill for massive data center buildouts.
• HB 1302 (education/workforce development bill): Democrats offered an amendment to raise Georgia’s $5.15 minimum wage, tied for the lowest in the country.

Time and again, debate was cut off by ruling amendments “not germane” and “calling the question,” shutting down discussion before it could fully unfold. The only way we had to fight back was to filibuster, so we did, which led to a very long day. My last committee meeting ended at 10pm.

Political Fury

Also on Wednesday, Lt. Governor Burt Jones took a rare point of personal privilege to deliver what amounted to an impromptu thinly-veiled campaign speech from the rostrum—complaining about “healthcare monopolies” (alluding to his opponent’s healthcare contracts with the state) wasting taxpayer dollars and suggesting that Senators may not get their appropriations requests for their districts as a result.

The AJC reported this week that the Lt. Governor is holding up the House Speaker’s literacy legislation in the Senate until the House passes a bill that would prevent people holding state government contracts from running for office. This is not the first time the Lt. Governor has held up meaningful legislation for his own personal interests.

Standing Strong in the Storm

By Thursday, Democrats decided to push back on the partisan stonewalling. We voted no on two constitutional amendments:

• HR 251: Making probate judge elections nonpartisan statewide
• HR 1243: Creating a new fund for Next Generation 911 upgrades

Because constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote, Republicans need Democratic support—but neither bill sponsor sought our votes ahead of time. They were very unhappy with our no votes, but it was a clear reminder: this process works best when both parties can participate. Democrats make up about 41% of the Senate. Our constituents deserve a voice too.

Republicans moved to reconsider these votes, so these measures will return to the floor as soon as Republicans can secure the votes, which will require negotiating with the Minority Party.

In Committee: Patches of Sun—and Some Uncertain Skies

We have more Committee days now as we race toward Sine Die. This week, there were some very good bills, and some emotionally charged but flawed bills.

☀️ Patches of Sun

• HB 1009 (Children & Families Committee): Extends Georgia’s K–8 cell phone ban to high school—a key recommendation from the Senate Study Committee I chaired. This bill has strong support from teachers.
• HB 1413 (Higher Ed Committee): Creates Georgia’s first-ever needs-based scholarship, providing up to $3,000 for qualifying students and support for future medical students. I’ve worked on versions of this for years. It’s not as generous as I’d like, but it’s a meaningful first step.

🌥️ Uncertain Skies

• HB 471 (Health & Human Services Committee): Requires new parents to watch a water safety video before leaving the hospital, inspired by a mother who tragically lost her child to drowning. Those first hours after birth are overwhelming, and I’m not convinced that’s the right moment for this information. Pediatricians should offer this information the same way they offer car seat and gun safety information.
• HB 350 (Health & Human Services Committee): Expands Georgia’s safe haven law to allow abandoned newborns to be left in monitored safety devices — temperature-controlled boxes with a bassinet that sets off an alarm to law enforcement or a hospital when a baby is left. The concept of leaving a baby in a box raised serious concerns about oversight, cost, and whether both mother and baby would be better served with human support. The bill is tabled for now.

Bright Spots: Finding Our Footing in the Storm

Even in a stormy week, there were real moments of progress.

Folic Acid Fortification: A Republican House member carrying HB 1138, a bill that allows pharmacists to prescribe certain contraceptives, agreed to add my bill, SB 278, to fortify corn products with folic acid to help prevent spina bifida in Latino babies. She immediately understood its importance, sharing that she took folic acid during her own pregnancies. It felt like a return to the old bipartisan Women’s Caucus during my days in the House when we stood together despite party affiliation. I’m told that HB 1138 is a Speaker priority, so I’m cautiously optimistic this could be SB 278’s path forward.

Education in Prisons: My Senate Study Committee Resolution passed unanimously out of Rules after stalling last year, thanks to a Republican ally who shares this interest. If it follows the usual path, it will move as part of a larger package—and then we’ll see which studies are ultimately funded.

Gas Tax Suspension: In a rare moment of full alignment, the House and Senate quickly passed a 60-day gas tax suspension to help offset rising prices at the pump due to the war in Iran. Governor Kemp signed it into law Friday.

What’s Next

Next week is the final full week before Sine Die on Thursday, April 2. We’ll be in session Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with committee days Tuesday and Thursday. There’s lots more to move through Committee!

What You Can Do

Many of you have asked how to help during these turbulent times. Here are some ways to stay engaged:

• Urge the Lt. Governor to bring the following House bills to the Senate floor :
  • HB 1193: Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026
  • HB 1138: Increasing Access to Contraceptives Act
• Become a Poll Watcher: Both parties rely on trained volunteers to observe elections and report issues. You can sign up here with the Democratic Party of Georgia.
• Join a No Kings Rally (March 28): If you’re concerned about the war or recent actions impacting immigrants, consider showing up to an event near you and making your voice heard.

What’s It Matter to You?
Big Money in State Politics

https://youtube.com/shorts/m3TpIhKx7UU

In 2021, Georgia Republicans passed a law that allows for the creation of Political Action Committees that allow top state leaders, like the Governor and Lt. Governor, to collect unlimited contributions year-round. “Regular” legislators still abide by capped donations, and can’t take money during the legislation session (as it should be). Since 2021, six-figure contributions can, and do, change hands while legislative bills are being considered. This is wrong.

Crossover Day Chaos

Crossover Day is the last day a bill can pass its chamber of origin so it can be considered in the other chamber, continuing its progress toward becoming law. 

Deadlines like Crossover and Sine Die create logjams of bills. This year from the start of session to Day 26, there were about 50 bills that made it to the Senate floor. Then this week, on just two days alone, we voted on over 80 bills.

Clearly this process could be managed better, but if you’re trying to slip something through unnoticed by the public, the chaos can be used to conceal. It also results in sloppy law. Many of the Republican bills we considered this week were filed at the last minute, then rushed through Committee with little public input.

Quality Control

Amending the Majority Leader’s Bill: I started my week trying to fix one of those last minute bills, SB 540 — a bill sponsored by the Senate Majority Leader and aimed at addressing harmful AI companion chatbots. These chatbots are designed to simulate personal relationships that keep users emotionally engaged. Because they pull information from across the internet, they can generate deeply inappropriate responses — including sexually explicit conversations with children. 

After the bill was rushed through Committee, I discovered that some clever language actually exempted social media platforms from having to follow the protections outlined in the bill. In other words, the bill allowed social media platforms to roll out erotic and emotionally manipulative chatbots to kids. 

So last week I convinced the Majority Leader that the bill needed to be amended on the floor. Of course, the Meta and TikTok lobbyists were watching closely, so we kept the bi-partisan amendment very quiet until just before the bill was called up for a floor vote. Both the amendment and the bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support.

Protest Parameters: This week, we debated SB 443, a bill that proposed to increase penalties for the unlawful obstruction of roads during protests. It was a robust debate, with the author clarifying that he did not intend for it to include sidewalks. But the author’s amendment unintentionally removed the existing misdemeanor penalty for unlawfully blocking a sidewalk — leaving the sidewalk obstruction with no penalty at all, which was not the author’s intent.

Another legislator spotted the problem and quickly handwrote a floor amendment to restore the original misdemeanor penalty. But the amendment contained two spelling errors, “misdeameanor” and “inconveince” — which meant the amendment itself needed another amendment to fix it. These mistakes are referred to as “scrivener’s errors,” dating back to copying errors made by medieval scribes.

It was a lighthearted moment with a lot of joking and laughing about the Senator who can’t spell, but it also highlighted how easily mistakes can create real policy gaps when bills move at warp speed. I am always grateful for the keen eyes and skills of many of my colleagues.

Data Centers vs. The Rate Payers

I’ve written before about SB 34, a bill originally designed to protect electricity customers from the enormous costs associated with massive data centers.

Thanks to Georgia Power’s outsized lobbying influence, the bill went through the wringer — first getting watered down in committee and then being shut out of a vote last week when the author tried to amend the consumer protections back in.

The weakened version resurfaced on Crossover Day folded into SB 410, a bill that dealt with tax incentives for data centers. And because SB 410 moved through the Finance Committee, the bill was engrossed, meaning it couldn’t be amended on the Senate floor.

During the floor debate, Republicans hailed the bill as a “consumer protection bill,” while our Minority Caucus Chair laid out the hidden costs. Georgia Power has already received approval from the Republican-led Public Service Commission to double its generation capacity to serve data centers. That expansion could cost $50–$60 billion over the coming decades. Much of that financial risk would ultimately fall on Georgia ratepayers through weak contracts and PSC rules. Although Georgia Power promised rate freezes and “downward pressure” on electric rates for the next three years, the financial impacts of these projects will last decades, far longer than these short-term promises.

For years to come, Georgia families will shoulder the burden while Big Tech companies make billions in profits.

Election Denial Just Won’t Die (But Their Bill Did!)

Another last-minute Republican bill, SB 568, proposed to require massive changes to our system of voting, including the use of hand-marked paper ballots for the upcoming elections.

The Senate Ethics Committee did hear testimony on the bill, and election officials raised serious concerns about the timeline. They warned that making such a major change during a major election year would create confusion and chaos. Several Republican senators heard the same concerns directly from election officials in their own counties.

That pressure made all the difference and the bill failed to get enough votes to pass. But we’ll have to watch this one closely to make sure SB 568 doesn’t pop up as an amendment to another bill.

Democratic Negotiations Ignored

Until Crossover Day, the Senate had not passed a single Democratic bill.

Dozens had been filed, but only six Democratic bills made it through the Rules Committee. Democrats hold 41% of the seats in the Senate, yet only a tiny fraction of our legislation moved this year.

Democrats lack enough votes to stop egregious Republican bills, but we do have the power to stop constitutional amendments because they require two-thirds of the chamber to pass.

Republicans wanted our support to pass SR 668, allowing for local flexibility in creating special tax categories for data centers. So we asked for three things in return for our votes: 1) passage of SB 34 in its stronger, original form; 2) passage of SB 94, restoring the Consumer Utility Council that was cut in 2008; and 3) floor votes of our 6 bills.

Republicans passed their weakened version of SB 34. They refused to bring SB 94 to a floor vote. So we stayed firm and voted against their SR 668. All day long they played the game of Lucy and the football with our 6 bills. It was infuriating.

 What it Takes to Pass a Democratic Bill

One of the bills waiting on the table was SB 278, my bill to require folic acid fortification in corn flour to help prevent spina bifida in the Latino community. I spent the week working the Rules process, including taking advantage of an invitation to dinner with another Democratic senator and two Republicans — including the Rules Chair.

Building relationships is essential when you’re in the minority, and the dinner was a great chance to build some rapport. In fact, the Rules Chair joked with me all week that “Sally is going to save the internet” with my online safety bills. I was thrilled when SB 278 made it through Rules on my birthday.

But on Crossover Day, Democratic bills sat on the table until 9:50 pm. In the end, only three of the six were called up. Sadly, SB 278 wasn’t among them.

In the coming weeks I’ll look for opportunities to attach my bill to another. Or I’ll start over next year. Speaking of next year . . .

Back on the Ballot for Another Term

In the middle of the legislative rush, we had Candidate Qualifying at the Capitol this week.

I officially qualified to run for re-election to the Georgia Senate — and once again I’ll have a Republican opponent in November, this time a MAGA one. 

There’s also encouraging news statewide: Democrats are fired up.

This year, Democrats qualified candidates in 204 state legislative races, contesting 88% of Georgia House seats and 82% of Senate seats — the highest number of Democratic candidates and contested seats under the Gold Dome in at least three decades.

What’s Next 

We’ll be returning to regular business on Monday, but the week after Crossover day is often quiet as House bills begin to work their way through Senate Committees and vice versa. We’ll be in session all week, except Wednesday which is a Committee workday. 

Town Hall: Please consider attending our Legislative Town Hall Monday night this week at the new Brookhaven City Centre, 4001 Peachtree Road, at 6:30pm.

Also, tune in to watch GPB’s Lawmakers Tuesday night at 7pm, where I’ll be a guest presenter.

It’s All About the Money

I got sick this week. I love it when the Capitol is packed with people, and I love coming to the ropes outside the chamber to greet people, but I don’t love the germs.

Being home gave me time to think about how the 2026 legislative session is going so far. Can you believe we’re already at the half-way point?!

What keeps coming to my mind is money. Outwardly, there’s been quite a lot of talk about taxes, but behind the scenes, money is driving the legislative process in Georgia more than ever. The same corporate forces that shape national politics are weighing in not only on Georgia’s legislative process, but also our elections.

Money is also impacting my own legislative agenda this year. Frito-Lay asked me for an exemption for snack foods in SB 278, my bill requiring corn products to be fortified with folic acid to prevent spina bfida. When my team determined we shouldn’t do this, the bill stopped in its tracks. And my legislative efforts to keep kids safe online have brought quite a number of high paid corporate lobbyists to Georgia!

Big Tech Under the Gold Dome

On Tuesday — our first day back after the President’s Day break — I made it to the Senate Children and Families Committee for a hearing on SB 467, which requires app stores to verify a user’s age and obtain parental consent before minors download apps. Several states have passed similar laws, though many are tied up in court.

This was one of the recommendations from the Senate Study Committee on Online Safety that I co-chaired last fall. We knew our recommendation would draw heavy pushback from Big Tech. And it did.

So far, most of the lobbying pressure has been targeted to my Republican colleagues — because everyone knows who holds the power under the Gold Dome. This hearing was my first opportunity to hear directly from Big Tech lobbying groups. They raised concerns about privacy, compliance costs, and the First Amendment.

At one point, a colleague asked, “Why would these companies oppose a bill that protects children?” The answer is simple: they’re protecting their profits.

A Reckoning for Big Tech

A landmark civil lawsuit against Meta and other tech giants moved forward this week in California. Families allege these platforms were deliberately designed to be addictive, despite knowing the harms to young users.

For years, Big Tech has operated with little accountability. Now they’re being questioned under oath in a court of law. Whatever the outcome, that alone feels like progress. This case could pave the way for smarter, less harmful design.

Leadership, Money, and the Levers of Power

In 2021, over Democrats’ strong objections, Governor Kemp and Republican lawmakers created “Leadership Committees” — special PACs for state leaders that can raise unlimited money during the legislative session (none of the rest of us can accept donations during session, and the rest of the year, our donations are capped). The AJC recently detailed how these “unlimited money machines” are fueling the next governor’s race and shaping this session.

When leaders collect six-figure checks from powerful interests, it can influence which bills move — and which stall — under the Gold Dome.

Power Play: The Senate Regulated Industries Committee was set to vote this week on SB 34, a bill from a Rome Republican to protect ratepayers from absorbing power costs tied to massive data centers. The bill has been stuck in committee since last year. The vote was canceled so Republican senators could attend a Trump rally — ironically in Rome — where the President declared the affordability crisis “over.”

According to the AJC, Georgia Power gave $500,000 to Governor Kemp’s Leadership Committee. SB 34 directly affects Georgia Power’s financial interests. When that much money is involved, we need to ask why this popular bill has been slow-walked.

Tax Cuts and Tradeoffs: HB 739, the amended 2026 budget, moved out of Senate Appropriations with both property and income tax cuts included. The AJC reported that an anti-tax group formed late last year gave $526,000 to Lt. Governor Jones’ Leadership Committee just weeks ago. The dots aren’t hard to connect.

The amended budget does include positive investments, like increased resources for mental health services and infrastructure. But it was disappointing to see funding for Georgia’s first-ever needs-based college scholarship cut from the Governor’s proposed $325 million down to $100 million to help pay for tax cuts. At that level, the DREAM Scholarship will cover only a fraction of eligible students and tax cuts for those low-income students won’t cover rising college costs.

HB 739 passed the Senate Friday and now heads to a conference committee to work out the differences between the House & Senate versions.

Big Money on the Ballot

If you want to see the power of Big Money and Big Tech in action, look no further than Georgia’s elections.

Did you hear that Elon Musk got his hand slapped by the Georgia State Elections Board for illegally mailing out filled out ballot applications during the 2024 elections? Yes, Elon Musk’s PAC violated the law created by SB 202 — Georgia’s 2021 voter suppression law.

As you can probably tell from the onslaught of political ads, the governor’s race is already awash in money. The two leading billionaire Republican contenders are pouring millions of their own dollars into their campaigns. On top of that, the Georgia GOP waived its neutrality rule, opening the door for the national party to pour money into picking a favorite in an election that used to be decided by Georgia voters alone.

And then there’s Big Tech. The New York Times reported that Meta is preparing to spend unprecedented sums to influence state elections, creating two new PACs to add to the two it already operates. With AI regulation being debated under the Gold Dome, it’s only a matter of time before that money reaches Georgia.

Reminder: Ballots Still Beat Billionaires

The only force stronger than billionaires and corporate PACs is an engaged electorate.

Every statewide office is on the ballot. Every member of Congress is up for re-election. Every state legislator is on the ballot.

Vote in the May primary. Vote in November. Get others to vote. Vote for leaders who will fight for your interests over their billionaire donors.

It’s the single most important thing we can do this year.

What’s Next

Crossover Day is March 6 — the deadline for bills to pass one chamber and stay alive. That leaves only a small handful of legislative days to move bills through committee. March 6th is also the final day for candidates to “qualify,” putting their names on the ballot to run for office in this year’s election.

Monday is a Committee Workday so it doesn’t count as one of our 40 legislative days. Going forward, our days will consist of longer floor sessions as leadership pushes their priority legislation through the process.

So much money. Stay tuned.

What’s It Matter To You

Sales Tax Cuts Help Everyone

There’s been a lot of talk at Georgia’s Gold Dome about various kinds of tax cuts. Too often tax cuts only benefit those who are already doing pretty well, shifting the burden to those who are struggling. What if we designed tax cuts that helped everyone instead?

Despair Breeds Hope, and Hope brings Action

This week I was reminded of the work of Cesar Chavez during the 1966 Delano Grape Strike, when 100 farmworkers marched 300 miles over 25 days, arriving at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Easter Sunday to present their list of demands. By the end of the march, their numbers had grown to 10,000. Four years later, major growers were signing union contracts.

With the announcement of the opening of an ICE office in College Park, and plans released to build a 10,000-person detention center in Social Circle, a small town of 5,000, we have tough times ahead of us. As Chavez said, “We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure.”

I witnessed this kind of resolve this week during Latino Day at the Capitol when a young high school student from my district told me his story of coming here on asylum from a South American country. Instead of letting despair overwhelm him, he came to the Capitol to share his ideas about how our K-12 schools can do a better job teaching immigrants English so that students like him can continue their studies without interruption. This young man was acting on hope.

A Visit with Sen. Jon Ossoff

Early Monday morning, Senator Jon Ossoff met with the Senate Democratic Caucus and spoke candidly about the situation our country is in, describing it as “dire” and even “grim” — hard words to hear. Had Sen. Ossoff stopped there, he would have left a trail of despair. But instead, he sat down with us in an unhurried way, offering constructive ideas about how federal and state elected officials can coordinate messaging leading into the November elections. Sen. Ossoff gave me hope that the direness of our situation is helping us to reinvent our strategies.

Georgia Elections in Peril

A New Voting System? It’s easy to drown in the feeling of despair. I felt this way even before the week started, when I was alerted Sunday night that a committee substitute to SB 214 was suddenly scheduled for a House committee hearing the very next day.

The new bill version was a sweeping, confusing, and potentially costly overhaul of Georgia’s election system. Republicans are under pressure to comply with SB 189, a 2024 law requiring Georgia to phase out QR codes on ballots and move to a system that counts votes from human-readable text. But this proposal went far beyond that, reviving old fears of voter confusion, long lines, and administrative chaos.

Hope arrived on Monday afternoon when people filled the room to speak against the bill. The hearing was abruptly canceled. This issue will be back, but it was a powerful reminder that public engagement still works, and that democracy depends on people showing up.

Voter Data Privacy

Last week, I wrote about SR 563, a GOP authored resolution urging Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to turn over private voter data to the Trump administration. This week they brought the resolution to the Senate floor for a vote, sparking a long and difficult debate.

The resolution passed along party lines — leaving a familiar pit in my stomach. When you’re in the minority party, it’s a challenge to find the right balance between speaking truth to power and trying to build relationships with Republicans so you can get something done. Ultimately, you have to do both, but by mid-week, that balance was clearly off, and I was certain the Lt. Governor would punish us by killing our initiatives. Fortunately for us (and unfortunately for Burt Jones), we got a short-term reprieve when billionaire Rick Jackson jumped into the Governor’s race, handing Burt bigger worries.

Property Tax Caps vs. Local Control

Remember the constitutional amendment on your 2024 ballot creating a Statewide Homestead Exemption that freezes property taxes to the rate of inflation? Well, after all the thought you put into your vote on this issue, the Georgia Senate Republicans are trying to change how the exemption works — WITHOUT getting another vote from you.

The only way the legislature could pass the underlying legislation in 2024 was to include an opt-out provision for local governments. It turns out 65% of local governments chose to opt-out, for various reasons. So on Tuesday, the Senate passed SB 382, which forces local governments to opt-in.

It was discouraging to see a bill move forward that rewrites what both lawmakers and voters previously approved. Its impact on local funding, especially school funding, is unknown.

My Legislative Agenda: Progress and Pitfalls

Online Safety for Kids: Last year, a Chamblee mother came to me after her nine-year-old interacted with an AI-generated companion chatbot posing as a fictional character from a children’s book. Within minutes, the chatbot conversation turned sexually explicit.

This year, I noticed that SB 398, a bill making it a crime to use generative AI to create obscene images of a real person without consent, was scheduled for a hearing. I approached the Republican author about accepting an amendment addressing chatbots, and he agreed — inviting me to present it with him in committee. Just hours later, we were in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the bill with my amendment passed!

The Corn Bill: Last year, I introduced SB 278, a bill to require folic-acid fortification of corn masa products to help prevent spina bifida, a birth defect of the spine. Because federal law requires folic acid in wheat flour but not corn masa, Hispanic families face more than double the rate of spina bifida.

In January, we hit a hurdle when Frito-Lay sought an exemption for snack foods, arguing that fortification would be costly.

This week, we were able to present a different perspective. I invited executives from Mission Foods, the world’s largest tortilla producer, to the Capitol and they flew in from Texas to meet with the Senate Agriculture Committee Chair. Mission Foods already fortifies their corn tortillas with folic acid. Along with experts from the Food Fortification Initiative, they answered technical questions and helped move the conversation forward.

Take Action:

Government Can Still Work

Dry Needling & Acupuncture: For the last couple of years, I’ve spent time talking with groups of very worried acupuncturists lobbying against bills that threaten to take their livelihoods away. Fortunately this week, the Health Committee passed a bill (SB 411) that ironed out all the issues and all parties agreed. There are no longer angry acupuncturists in the hallways!

Foreign-Trained Doctors: The Health Committee also passed a bill this week (SB 427) that creates a pathway for internationally trained doctors to become licensed in Georgia, an issue I’ve also heard about for years. The bill requires service in rural and underserved areas to help alleviate physician shortages.

Foster Care: Our foster care system is broken and legislators want to fix it. Funding was added Friday by the House to address the Division of Family & Children Services $82 million deficit. SB 431 prevents delays in school enrollment for foster kids, and SB 622 creates a Joint House & Senate Study Committee (SR 622) to meet this coming year prior to the 2027 legislative session.

More Action:

Volunteers for ICE-Out: My office is coordinating with local groups that support immigrants and their families — many of which need volunteers to observe ICE, provide legal counsel, and deliver meals. If you’d like to help, please contact my Chief of Staff, Amy Swygert, at amy@sallyharrell.org for more information.

Dunwoody Apartment Fire: Recently, there was a terrible apartment fire in Dunwoody and eight families lost everything. If you would like to donate to their recovery, the Kingswood Church in Dunwoody is organizing efforts: Donate online at https://onrealm.org/KingswoodUnited/-/form/give/now. Choose Mission Appeals from the top menu and then select Fire Victims (under memo). Donations will be used to directly support families impacted by the fire as they begin to rebuild

What’s Ahead: We return to session Monday through Thursday next week, and the pace is already accelerating as we move closer to Crossover Day (March 6), the deadline for bills to pass out of their chamber of origin. The pressure builds quickly this time of year — and in a short session like this one, every day counts.

What’s It Matter To You – Healthcare