Under the Gold Dome: March 10, 2025

What just happened?  

The Legislature’s Crossover Day last Thursday was the final day for a bill to be approved by its originating chamber and cross over to the other chamber. When a bill crosses over, it is assigned to a committee in the other chamber (but retains its original bill number). A bill that does not cross over is likely dead for this session.

Bills that Crossed Over

After many hours of committee work, testimony, and debate, the transphobic bills filed in each chamber obtained initial approval. These include: 

• SB 1 prohibits transgender youth from participating in sports and from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity
• SB 30 prohibits hormone replacement therapy for minors. 
• SB 39 restricts the Georgia State Health Benefits Plan from covering gender-affirming care for any age.
• HB 267 also prohibits participation in sports.
• SB 185 prohibits state tax money from being used for gender-affirming care for those incarcerated in the state prison system.

Also, last week, a Religious Freedom bill passed in the Senate. SB 36 would ban discrimination on the basis of religion, but critics warn it is so broad that it could be used to claim discrimination in a wide variety of ways.

Among the additional bills that have gotten a favorable vote to cross over are:  

• SB 21 imposes penalties on local governments that engage in immigration sanctuary policies. 
• SB 29 allows for the collection of DNA evidence from anyone simply arrested for a felony, rather than charged or convicted as the law is currently. 
• SB 61 allows for teens between the ages of 13 and 17 to be charged with a terroristic act or threat and to be tried in superior court rather than juvenile court. 
• SB 68, the governor’s tort reform bill, adds procedural hurdles for a citizen seeking damages in civil litigation. This bill is being pushed by insurance companies, businesses and hospitals concerned with rising costs of liability insurance. 
• SB 69, also part of the governor’s tort reform plan, prohibits third parties from funding litigation. 
• HB 268, authored by Speaker of the House Jon Burns, is promoted as a school safety bill that, among other things, would create a state-wide database of students who allegedly pose behavioral threats.

Bills that didn’t make it

Some of the bills that were expected to cross over but were not voted on by the end of crossover day include: 

• SB 7 would force Atlanta to allow Fulton County to use the city’s jail. It passed out of committee, but never came up for a vote in the Senate. 
• SB 116 requires DNA sampling from anyone detained on possible immigration violations. 
• SB 34 requires the Public Service Commission to exclude the cost of providing electricity to data centers from any rate increases for residential customers. Georgia Power opposed this bill. 
• SB 94 reestablishes the Consumer Utility Counsel to represent rate payers before the Public Service Commission. Georgia Power also opposed this bill. 
• HB 320 requires safe recycling of solar panels. It had passed out of committee but was never called for a House vote. 
• SB 242 calls for placing a statue of Georgia native and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the new Nathan Deal Justice Center. 

What’s coming next? 

One of Governor Kemp’s tort reform bills, SB 68, will begin the approval process in the House with a hearing before the Rules Subcommittee on Lawsuit Reform on Monday afternoon. A second hearing before the same committee is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. Also on Tuesday the joint House and Senate Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee or MARTOC will meet. The legislature has long been critical of MARTA, and this is the first meeting of this committee so far this session.

Bills that have not crossed over, or have been tabled, are generally considered dead for this year. However, there are ways for such bills to be attached to another bill that did cross over if it pertains to the same code section and if the original author of the bill agrees. 

Only 11 more legislative days are left in this session, and five days are set aside as committee days. The last day of the session is April 4, known as sine die. Between now and the end, the pace will quicken, tempers likely will flare, and often rules of procedure will be abused or broken. 

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, the Justice Reform Partnership will host a Crossover Day review. And on Thursday Youth at the Capitol will return.