Under the Gold Dome: Feb. 17, 2025

What just happened? 

Transphobia and More Transphobia

Transphobia has been dominating the Legislature this session. SB 1, restricting transgender youth from participating in girls’ sports teams, has passed out of the Senate and is headed for consideration in the House, where it is currently assigned to the Education Committee. 

On Tuesday, the Senate debated SB 39, which prohibits state health insurance or any state benefits program from covering any gender-affirming care for state employees. The bill was approved by a vote of 32 to 18 and has moved to the House for consideration.  

Another anti-trans bill, SB 30, banning hormone therapies and puberty blockers for minors, passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday and is awaiting full Senate consideration. 

Tort Reform Marches Forward

The first hearing on the governor’s tort reform package, SB 68 and 69, went before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. After more than five hours of testimony and discussion, SB 68 passed eight to three on a party-line vote. SB 69 also passed the committee but with a nine-to-one vote. The bills restrict how lawyers and plaintiffs can seek compensation for injuries, with the aim of lowering insurance liability premium costs. Plaintiffs’ lawyers, consumer advocates, and Democrats argue that these bills limit the role of juries and the courts and are not likely to lower insurance premiums. The bills will next be debated on the floor of the Senate.

Guns, Guns, Guns

Guns and protecting schools from gun violence was front and center last week at the Capitol. On Monday, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Jon Burns, unveiled his omnibus bill, HB 268, which would: 

• Build a state-wide database to track student mental health issues.
• Develop an app to allow anonymous reporting of threats to schools.
• Require mandatory suspensions of students from school while the validity of their threats is investigated.

This bill has been assigned to the House Education Committee but has not yet had a hearing.

On Tuesday, a group of students and parents from Apalachee High School in Barrow County came to the Capitol. Last September, the school was the site of the worst school shooting in Georgia history, which resulted in the deaths of two students and two teachers. The group held a press conference on the Capitol steps hosted by Rep. Michelle Au. Some speakers said they support some of the provisions in Burns’ bill but also urged the passage of HB 1, which would offer a tax credit for safe gun storage and provide for a financial penalty for not safely securing firearms. The students argued that HB 1 would be a good step to keeping firearms out of the hands of minors. It has been assigned to the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee but has yet to have a hearing. 

In other gun legislation, the Senate passed SB 47, on a party-line vote of 31 to 21. The bill exempts “firearms, ammunition, gun safes, and other related accessories from sales tax.” This exemption would begin on the second Friday of October for 11 days each year. This also happens to be the date deer hunting season begins. It will next be considered by the House where it has been assigned to the Ways and Means Committee. 

What is coming up next? 

Short Week

Monday is President’s Day and a day off for the Legislature. Also, this session, as a rule, the Legislature does not meet on Fridays. However, the Legislature’s website lists a Senate session on Friday’s schedule. A number of appropriations committees and sub-committees are on the schedule. 

A committee to watch this week is the Public Safety and Homeland Security committee, scheduled for Wednesday. As of Sunday afternoon, no agenda had been posted, but this is the committee to which HB 1 has been assigned. 

Other committee meetings are scheduled and more may be posted. The meetings scheduled later in the week do not have agendas announced as of Sunday night, and agendas are always subject to change. Check the latest schedule for up-to-date information. 

Tracking the Bills

For all the problems and frustrations of the Georgia Legislature, its website is remarkably robust and transparent if you know where to look. First of all, it is easy to watch live proceedings of floor debates for either chamber and committee meeting. You can also access all the archived videos for the House and the Senate. Tracking of bills and floor votes can be found on the page of a particular bill by searching by bill number from the Legislature’s main page. For example, when you search for SB 47, you can scroll to the bottom of that page to find a line that says “Senate Vote #48.” If you click that line, you can see how each Senator voted on this bill. 

Advocacy Days 

The best way to learn about the legislative process and to advocate for particular issues is to come to the Capitol for an advocacy day. On Tuesday, 9to5 Georgia and other partners hold their “Working Women’s Agenda” lobby day. The Carter Center is sponsoring its annual Mental Health Parity Day on Wednesday.