Parent Press Week 6 of the 2026 Legislative Session
We started off the week celebrating President’s Day. One of our great progressive presidents is Teddy Roosevelt. He said, “This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in.” During his nearly eight year tenure in the White House, Teddy Roosevelt championed trust-busting, conserved millions of acres of public land, strengthened the Navy, and asserted a more active American role on the world stage. He actively sought to improve the conditions of life for millions of Americans. If only we had a president with that same vision and ambition in the White House today.
Georgia Republicans passed their own Big Ugly Bills, Democrats have an alternative.
Senate Republicans passed SB 476 and SB 477 last week. These bills reward wealth over work by eliminating the state income tax and giving the largest tax cut to the ultra wealthy in Georgia’s history. Taxes will increase for the middle class, small business owners, and seniors while taxes decrease for the wealthy with the greatest ability to pay.
Senate Democrats introduced our own tax proposals which would prioritize the working people. Our Affordability Act, SB 502, provides tax relief on medicine, energy, gun safety products, and basic goods like diapers, strollers, car seats, baby gates, and outlet covers. This is real tax relief for real people, not tax breaks for financiers, bankers, and corporate executives who try to hide their wealth and relinquish their responsibility to their communities.
We also introduced SB 520. This bill makes changes to state tax laws, including how income taxes are calculated and how tobacco and vaping products are taxed and collected. It also removes an outdated requirement for reporting student scholarship organizations to the legislature and includes standard details about when the law takes effect and how it interacts with other laws. This bill adjusts the standard flat income tax rate of 5.19% to fit a more progressive tax system model, where the wealthiest and poorest pay more and less, respectively. For a married couple filing jointly making $30,000 or less a year, they will receive a tax cut under our plan. Instead of paying the flat rate of 5.19%, this couple would pay 2% of their income in taxes each year.
Protecting Voting Rights
On February 19th, Senate Democrats held a press conference where our caucus introduced the Henry McNeal Turner Georgia Voting Rights Act. Henry McNeal Turner was a Reconstruction-era Georgia legislator, a significant faith leader, and a trailblazer for civil and political rights. For the continued advancement of his cause, this bill sets statewide protections against voter suppression and vote dilution, creates a Georgia Voting Rights Commission, and establishes guardrails to protect access to the ballot box. These include preclearance, transparency, language access, and enforcement tools so voting rules are fair, consistent, and accountable.
Overturning the Roberts Court’s assault on voting rights is a top priority for Democrats in Georgia and around the country. This U.S. Supreme Court has dismantled federal oversight and narrowed anti-discrimination provisions, significantly impacting voting access, particularly for minority communities. Our bill will reverse these significant failures of the Roberts Court and expand voting access while further enhancing transparency and accountability measures of Georgia elections.
The Amended Budget Passes the Senate, with some good and some bad
The Senate passed our version of the Amended, or Little, Budget yesterday. Now a conference committee between the House and the Senate will meet to come up with a compromise. This is the “Amended” Budget because it adjusts spending for 2026. After this process is completed, we will take up the budget proposals for FY 2027.
The Senate’s version does one groundbreaking and important thing: it adds money for a new 300-bed forensic mental health hospital, which will be in DeKalb near the GBI Headquarters – in District 44! This begins to tackle the problem of individuals with mental health challenges landing in jail - sometimes for longer than their sentence might have been for - while waiting for a bed to open up in one of our existing facilities to get the person back to competency.
Other notable changes: The Governor’s budget proposed a one-time tax rebate costing about $1 billion. The House substituted that for a property tax rebate. The Senate included both. To pay for this and the new hospital they cut bonuses to state employees and also cut back the investments the Governor proposed in needs-based higher education and homelessness. Governor Kemp proposed $325 million for first-time (and much needed) needs-based higher education scholarships, and the Senate has cut that to $100 million. In terms of homelessness, Kemp proposed $50 million for local governments to apply for grants to tackle homelessness. The Senate has cut this to $15 million, focused on only homeless veterans. I don’t like either of these changes, but, both are still new money into these programs, and we will see how it all shakes out in the conference committee. The new forensic hospital would also be a step in the right direction for homelessness, as many of the individuals languishing in jail are homeless and have mental health challenges.
Tackling Georgia’s Doctor Shortage
The lack of qualified medical professionals harms Georgians everywhere, especially those in rural communities. Senate Bill 427 tackles that issue by increasing the supply of trained physicians and improving the affordability of medical care in Georgia. This legislation was sponsored for years by Senator Kim Jackson, but finally passed once Republicans sponsored it.
Georgia ranks in the bottom half U.S. states for primary care and physician availability. By 2030, Georgia is expected to be short more than 8,000 doctors. 143 out of 159 counties are in a health professional shortage area, affecting more than 2.7 million Georgia residents.
An internationally-trained physician can apply for a special provisional license allowing them to practice in Georgia under a fully-licensed supervising physician.
To gain a full license, the internationally-trained physician would need to complete 4 years of supervised practice under the provisional license and complete an additional 2 years of practice in an underserved area
Bad Bill Alert! Undoing the Ban on Silencers for Firearms
On Monday, 2/23, a bad bill, SB 499 is scheduled to get a hearing in the Judiciary Committee that I serve on. An identical bill, HB 1324, is slated for a hearing as well. This bill repeals the prohibition on possessing a silencer in Georgia. It also alters enhanced criminal penalties associated with weapon use during certain offenses. The bill supporters argue that they don't like getting in trouble when the sound of their target practice sets off alarms in their community.
Silencers make it difficult for bystanders and police to recognize that a gun has been fired and identify where shots are coming from. Silencers make it much easier for attackers to ambush and kill unsuspecting victims and for the police to respond.
Show up and be heard at the Judiciary Committee meetings on Monday, Feb 23:
House Judiciary non-Civil: 1:30 pm, room 132 State Capitol (HB 1324)
Senate Judiciary: 4 pm room 307 CLOB (SB 499)
No to Gerrymandering
At the start of session, I introduced a bill to ban mid-cycle redistricting. From Texas, to Indiana, to Missouri, to Ohio, to North Carolina, the Trump Administration is trying to redraw the congressional maps so that his Republican buddies choose their voters, not the other way around. They want to steal the 2026 midterm elections. Make no mistake about that. I held a press conference on Feb. 19th with Fair Districts Georgia, the ACLU, Rep. Saira Draper, and others to call attention to the legislation. To hear my speech about ending mid-cycle redistricting, look here.
Leaders gathered at our press conference to rally against Republican gerrymandering.
Rigged districts undermine a healthy, functioning democracy because it makes it appear to the public that their votes actually do not count. This leads to less civic engagement from voters who have been disenfranchised in the past, and are continuing to be disenfranchised by mid-cycle redistricting. Generations of Americans fought hard to secure the right to vote, but now Republicans in Washington want to undo that progress.
In Virginia, Democrats have introduced a redistricting proposal to counteract the Republican assault on free and fair elections around the country. We must continue to advocate for independent redistricting commissions in every state and at the federal level. And these commissions should only draw their maps every census, not mid-cycle. However, Democrats must also take an aggressive approach to counter Trump’s push for Republican-run states to redistrict Democrats out of their seats.
Leaders Visit the Capitol
I was so excited that Congresswoman Lucy McBath visited the Capitol this week and spoke to both chambers. She works incredibly hard for Georgia and is a fighter, for the people, in Washington. Her leadership continues to inspire confidence and trust at a time when Washington churns out less-than-honorable politicians. Congressman Sanford Bishop also visited the Capitol. He has served in the House since 1993, representing middle and southwest Georgia and standing up for Georgia farmers. In times with much political tension, it is inspiring to hear from those who are still working for the people.
