Parent Press Week 12 of the 2024 Legislative Session
Sine die, the last day of the legislative session, has some festive moments but is also a very long day with a massive amount of bills to consider and vote on. There’s politics at play always. This year, in order to pass SB 189, a bill enabling more mass voter challenges (more details below), the Senate Republican majority broke several parliamentary procedural rules we rely on to govern the legislative process in a fair way. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have seen this, and probably not the last.
The day was long as usual and we ended at 1 am in the Senate after many legislative battles as well as several farewells to legislators and Senate staff. Departures are always sad, but they can open the door to new ideas and opportunities.Our office is very busy working to advance major Democratic priorities -- especially Medicaid expansion. And, we are ramping up to campaign full-time as soon as the session is over, because I have a primary election to win on May 21, 2024! Early voting starts on April 29.
In the midst of it all, we need a bit of fun, so please read to the end so you can vote to elect me the Best Dressed lawmaker in the final Championship round of the competition!
As Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, I've had the honor and privilege to work closely with and beside Leader Gloria Butler in the Senate. Her retirement after 26 years of service in the Georgia Senate is well deserved, but I will miss her wisdom and political insight.
I am pleased that Leader Butler has endorsed me in my 2024 re-election campaign for Senate District 44.
Following the Money
The one thing the State legislature must do is to pass the budget (click to see the budget). I’ve advocated repeatedly for investing our $16 Billion surplus in public education, early childhood care, mental health services and supports, and public transportation. However, Governor Kemp has not made most of the surplus available for appropriation.
We did, however, secure an additional $97 million for the lottery-funded Georgia Pre-K program, $9.3 million for the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program plus $36.1 billion for pay raises for 300K educators and state workers. The lottery funds will be directed toward increasing pre-K lead and assistant teacher pay, reducing maximum class size, increasing funds for student transportation and providing operation support to private providers. In addition, HB 353, a bill regulating Coin Operated Amusement Machines (or COAMs), would require the Georgia Lottery to spend down a certain percentage of its reserves, thanks to the hard work of Rep. Stacey Evans, among others. If signed by Gov. Kemp, this should mean an additional $50-$100 million annually for our Pre-K budget going forward. My hope is that with these investments, and perhaps a few more, we could begin to look at offering some options for 3K, or Pre-K for three-year-olds. This would also fill holes left by the Governor and Republican legislature in our CAPS funding.
The nationwide nursing shortage has hit Georgia hard and we are projected to have the second-worst shortage in the country over the next decade. So, I am very happy to have secured $1 million for Clayton State to renovate its School of Nursing building to accommodate more nursing and dental hygiene students.
On the revenue side of the budget, we will not see income from sports betting in 2025 since this legislation did not advance. Tax breaks are a beloved tool among Republicans who believe in trickle down economics, but this session we saw some key legislators trying to curtail them for data centers, the film industry and low income housing while offering them to timber farmers and consumers purchasing safe gun storage devices. There will be no tax credit changes for the film or low income housing industries, and no sales tax credit for purchasing safe gun storage devices. While a sales tax credit for safe gun storage is certainly not sufficient to make guns safer, I am encouraged by the committee hearings, discussions and floor votes on HB 971 and SB 340. I won't take up space here to elaborate further, but I do encourage you to read the GPBI's analysis by Danny Kanso in the Revenue section at GPBI on Sine Die 2024.
Culture War Culture
Many of the culture war bills targeting our public schools, LGBTQ Georgians and our elections system started in the Senate. I am grateful to my colleagues in the House for stopping some of the bad stuff when it crossed their threshold. I am proud of the Democrats in the minority who held together to stop some of these bad bills.
HB 1104, a bill my colleague Rep. Crawford filed to address our student athletes' mental health needs, was hijacked by the Republican majority to advance their culture war agenda and to play politics. I questioned my Republican colleagues in committee and spoke against the bill on the floor, and I was relieved when the House chose not to bring this Frankenstein amalgamation of dangerous legislation to the floor for a vote.
SB 189, a bill to continue the assault on our election system by sowing doubt and distrust in voters themselves, was birthed in the Senate where it passed along party lines. The House took it up and also passed this bill along party lines. Awaiting the Governor's signature, the bill makes mass voter challenges easier. I and my colleagues know that our neighbors of color and our younger voters will be targeted at a higher rate than they represent among registered voters, because this is what has happened to date as extreme right-wing groups file voter challenges.
HB 1105, The Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024, may be the worst of the 3 immigration bills to work its way through the legislature this session. Filed before the tragic death of Laken Riley, her murder fueled the worst of Republican impulses to crack down on immigration. I spoke twice on the floor to expose the Republican false narrative blaming Democrats for all that ails our immigration system when, in fact, its Republicans in Washington who have repeatedly thwarted efforts to reform it.
SB 180, the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed the Senate on a party line vote but, thankfully, didn't cross the House's threshold.
SB 390 to ban the American Library Association(ALA) from certifying and funding gifts to our libraries as a punishment for the political leanings of the ALA interim leader passed the Senate but the House relegated it to the shelf.
Good Things Republicans Refused to Do...
Pass Medicaid expansion to insure every Georgian; though 2 Republicans did vote to advance legislation in committee for the first time.
Protect the Okefenokee from irreparable harm from mining for heavy mineral sands. HB 71 to prohibit mining permits died in committee and HB 1338, a compromise bill with a 3 year moratorium on surface mining permits, failed to come to the Senate floor. Speaker Jon Burns has said he would like to see legislation pass next year, and I will be working toward that.
Address gun violence to save lives and make our communities safer.
Invest fully in our public school system and stop efforts to defund our public schools -- instead passing SB 233, the voucher bill.
This means, of course, that we have much work to do during the interim and upcoming 2025 session. I have never backed down from fighting for Georgia and for every Georgian, and I am hopeful that we can continue to make progress.
Advocates Are the Best
I am so grateful to those of you who showed up regularly to advocate against gun violence and in favor of life-saving common sense gun safety measures. I would like to thank everyone with Georgia Majority for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for staying informed and showing up. Thanks to your voices, we were able ensure that the budget did NOT include funds for arming teachers.