Parent Press Weeks 11 and 12 of the 2025 Legislative Session and Sine Die
The 2025 Legislative Session came to a very unusual end last night, with the Senate adjourning Sine Die just after 9 pm -- three hours earlier than traditional. The House went for another hour and a half, but also adjourned well before midnight. Some of this was due to disagreements between the chambers, and likely due to the deluge of culture war bills the Senate sent the House, which they then had to grapple with in a short period. Some were passed (more on that below), but more were killed -- thankfully. It appeared that the Senate leadership didn't have much interest in passing regular old mundane House bills into the wee hours and were sending a message to the House Speaker, Jon Burns.
But before the abrupt end, the Republicans had more shenanigans in store for us and for the state of Georgia. The agenda of too many Senate Republicans is to distract from their failure to do much to help regular Georgians struggling to make ends meet (and continue their work to transfer wealth and opportunity to "job creators" --meaning the rich-- at the expense of regular Georgians) by debating a relentless stream of culture war bills. The worst culprits tend to be those eyeing statewide 2026 primaries, but not always. We Democrats have such a tsunami coming at us that it is hard to fight back on all of it, much less try to advance a coherent legislative agenda and message on it properly. But, we have continued to make great strides forward as a Caucus, with a solid leadership team and exceptional staff, and even have an upcoming opportunity to grow our numbers.
Senate Dems Fight Back
Republicans hijacked HB 127 , which originally provided 2 additional much-needed sick days to teachers, to enforce their anti-DEI agenda. The bill, which was lurking about the Senate Floor as SB 120 late on Crossover but was not called up for a vote that night, prohibits public schools, universities and colleges from promoting, supporting or maintaining any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. When the resurrected bill came to the Senate Education and Youth Committee, my Democratic colleagues and I fought it in a heated discussion described in the Georgia Recorder. Many people showed up to testify at the committee hearing against the bill, but Republicans denied them the opportunity to speak in a rush to end the meeting and push through this awful legislation.
The Senate Democratic Caucus was ready when the bill came to the floor at 10:30pm last Wednesday, Day 39, after a very long day in the chamber. We lined up 20 amendments to the bill – the most in living memory – to genuinely try to take some of the bite out of the bill’s bark in some cases and to force Republicans to vote, for example, on affirming that evolution is scientific fact, that slavery was a major cause of the Civil War and that the Holocaust “occurred.”
We pulled out every procedural move possible, working for 2 hours to stop the bill from coming to a vote. But our amendments were ruled “out of order” and were not allowed to even be read, much less voted on, as described in this WABE article. There is no non-partisan parliamentarian to interpret the Senate rules. The Lieutenant Governor is the president of the chamber and makes all final decisions on the rules, so he naturally rules in his favor. Courts have held that since the Senate made the rules, they can be broken with the majority.
You can watch the proceedings on the Senate YouTube Channel where you can hear my colleagues’ rousing remarks from the well and my motion to scrap the bill and go out for a drink.
Because the Senate amended HB 127, the House needed to vote on it again to pass it. In a small victory, the House did not bring the bill to the floor before Sine Die. However, teachers have been robbed of 2 days of paid sick leave, hardly a victory for them. You can read more in the Georgia Recorder and at GPB.
Safe Gun Storage - Not Giving Up
While SB 49, my safe gun storage bill this session, went unheard (as did nearly every bill filed by a Democratic Senator), I will take every possible opportunity to push the issue forward by working some form of gun safety legislation into Republican bills. HB 268, the School Safety Bill drafted by the House in the wake of the Apalachee High School massacre, came to the Senate floor with nearly 60 pages of changes promising to make our school communities safer -- with most of the focus on viewing children as threats. Speaker Jon Burns suggested after Apalachee that he may push for safe storage gun laws, but that had fallen by the wayside by the time we got to January, likely a casualty of aggressive pro-gun groups active in Republican primaries.
Based on Texas legislation passed after the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, I offered an amendment focused on educating students and their parents about safe firearm use and storage. After a promise from my Republican colleague, Sen. Bill Cowsert, to work with me on the language for next session, I withdrew the amendment since it was doomed to fail anyway and I have the public commitment from a top Republican to work to get the language enacted. Being in the minority means playing the long game. You can hear my explanation of the amendment I offered and read the media's take on it by clicking on the images below.
Click on the image for the short edited version of my discussion of the amendment I drafted and offered to educate students and their families about safe storage.
Business + Government + Citizens
When business, government and citizens work well together, it's time to celebrate. I am excited about the passage of SB 241 to legalize the organic human reduction process, considered an environmentally friendly way to treat our loved ones' bodies after they have left us. With a dozen other states having already legalized the process, many constituents asked me about bringing this legislation to Georgia. I worked with Sen. Rick Williams and Cy Hume with A.S. Turner Funeral Home to make this happen, and I am hopeful that Governor Kemp will sign SB 241 into law. You can read more in Decaturish.
Some Good and Bad Bills Passed
There are many bills I could highlight, but I have chosen just a few since there is already so much here for you to digest. I am also grateful for the bills that did not pass, such as HB 397, an election Frankenstein bill that would have surely suppressed voter turnout.
Call Governor Kemp at (404) 656-1776 to voice your support or opposition.
The Good Stuff
Housing is an enormous challenge in Georgia and investors buying residential property is a major contributor. Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver filed HB 399, which requires landlords to keep a manager on staff to communicate directly with tenants and respond to their needs for repairs promptly to reduce abuses by neglectful landlords at destitute apartment complexes. Please urge Gov. Kemp to sign HB 399.
My constituent, pedestrian victim and expert advocate, Veronica Watts, helped create and shepherd SR 216 to create a study committee of vulnerable roadways in hopes of designing legislation to improve safety. SR 216 passed and I will be working to ensure the committee is staffed and funded so we can get to work during the interim and on the road to fewer pedestrian injuries and deaths.
The Bad Stuff
SB 36, the religious freedom bill or RFRA, passed along party lines. This legislation has a long history and we have fought against it before. I am honestly surprised the House passed it after so many years. A prior version was vetoed in 2016 by then-Governor Nathan Deal, but this version more closely mirrors the federal version. The issue is that, unlike in federal law, there is no civil rights statute in Georgia to protect minorities. These state RFRA bills gained popularity in conservative states after the Obergefell Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. A couple of states compromised by passing a state RFRA and a state civil rights statute. But in Georgia, we now will be weighted in favor of religious views against gay marriage and LGBTQ people. Time will tell how this will affect our state. There is some talk about trying to overturn the 6-week abortion ban through use of the new RFRA.
Speaking of the 6-week abortion ban, there was harrowing news out of TIfton when a woman was arrested after miscarrying at 19 weeks. Though the DA has chosen not to pursue charges, the reason this occurred is HB 481, which gives a fetus the same rights as a person.
The Budget
The budget is the only thing the Georgia Legislature is required to pass and HB 68 was passed early in the day on Sine Die. The budget, as always, ended up a mixed bag in terms of my priorities. I preferred the House's version, so I voted no on the Senate's version. They met somewhat in the middle, so I voted yes on it yesterday. The voucher "Promise Scholarship" was fully funded at $141million (ugh) but the House was able to keep $15million in for an opportunity weight for economically disadvantaged kids. It's pretty disgusting that Georgia Republicans want to send $141m to private schools and only $15m for lower income kids when achievement results so closely mirror the percentage of students in poverty at a given school. But it is a very important step to get this money in the budget for the first time ever, and I believe that the House intends to build upon this work.
I am very concerned about the failure to address federal funding cuts that will surely affect our state's ability to provide services. Public health is a top priority, as you well know, and federal funding cuts affect federal AND state agencies. On Sine Die, I spoke out against the cuts to CDC and met with those of you who came to sound the alarm at the Capitol. You can watch my remarks HERE.
DeKalb County Ethics Board Needs YOU
The DeKalb Senate Delegation is calling for applications to fill a vacancy on the DeKalb Board of Ethics.
The ethical standards and duties the Board and its staff are responsible for are outlined in the statute and include:
Advisory Opinions to all DeKalb officials and employees
Receive and hear complaints regarding ethical violations of DeKalb employees and officials
Investigate potential violations of the Ethics Office
Establish rules for matters within the Board's jurisdiction and provide forms for disclosure
Board members must have professional knowledge or expertise in matters of ethics, finance, governance, or the law. Board members set the standard for board governance and public transparency, and will be expected to invest time and expertise.
TO APPLY, GO TO
THE GOOGLE APPLICATION FORM TO
Looking Forward
As Caucus Chair, one of my top priorities is expanding the Senate Democratic Caucus. With Senator Brandon Beach expected to step down soon to serve as Trump's U.S. Treasurer, we are preparing for a special election in Senate District 21, which includes parts of North Fulton and Cherokee counties. Although the election date has not yet been announced, the Caucus has voted to endorse Debra Shigley as our candidate.
Debra is an outstanding choice—a Harvard graduate, lawyer, former journalist, and mother of five who lives in Milton. She previously ran against Rep. Jan Jones (R) last November and is more than ready to serve. This special election is a major opportunity for us, and we’re thrilled to support Debra.
I’ll keep you updated with ways you can help as soon as more details become available.
The work will continue during the interim, and I will keep you updated as needed. Thank you for your support and for the honor to serve you in the Georgia State Senate.