Parent Press Weeks 2 and 3 of the 2026 Legislative Session
Weeks two and three at the state Capitol just wrapped and legislative momentum is picking up. By far the most impactful development is Governor Kemp’s budget proposal, but Senate Republicans are engaging in some red meat along the way. Read below for updates on some of the biggest events.
Governor Kemp’s Budget Proposals
Governor Kemp announced his amended budget for fiscal year 2026 and the budget for FY 2027 last week. The budget makes some much needed investment in education, SNAP administration, and infrastructure - mostly roads and bridges. However, the overall budget will put more pressure on working and middle-class families while relieving certain burdens on the top 20% of earners in our state.
The budget includes $325 million for the creation of a new needs-based scholarship program for Georgia’s college students. This is huge. After my fellow Democratic Senator Nan Orrock chaired a study committee over the summer, the committee recommended the state launch this scholarship program to provide more opportunities for our students, expand education access, and align Georgia with most other states. There is additional funding for the state administration of SNAP. In order to fill the gap the federal government created after President Trump rammed through his Big Ugly Bill last summer, Georgia Republicans had to scrape up $46.4 million for SNAP administration funds. That means the state will now cover 75% of these administrative costs, up from 50% in the wake of federal cuts.
The Governor’s budget includes spending increases while simultaneously rolling back our revenue intake. That is neither fiscally responsible nor an example of prioritizing long-term investment in our people. That reduction in revenue comes from the lowering of the flat personal income tax and corporate tax rates from 5.19% to 4.99%. Will this provide most Georgians with needed tax relief? Not even close. Instead, this tax cut rewards wealth over work. Nearly three-quarters of the benefits ($568 million) would flow to the top 20% of earners, while most Georgians would see under $80 in yearly savings. The proponents of the budget claim this adjustment in tax rates was done in the name of “fairness.” This budget is anything but fair as it does little to reform our state’s aging Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding formula while never addressing Georgia’s insurance crisis.
This budget actually cuts K-12 education investment. At a time when our state must reimagine our outdated education funding formula, increase teacher pay, improve our school infrastructure, and lower class sizes, Georgia Republicans cut overall education spending in real terms by 3% compared to 2020 figures. The same is true for health care. 200,000 Georgians are newly uninsured with the end of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, with many more to follow. Georgia Republicans have said nothing about this and have no plan to address it. Georgia Democrats have filed a number of bills to address this situation, including the expansion of Medicaid and a state program of subsidies.
In even these uncertain times where families are struggling to make ends meet, some Georgia Republicans in the State Legislature remain committed to eliminating the income tax. Not only is this unaffordable, it is unimaginable for most Georgians. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute estimates that eliminating the state income tax would result in Georgia’s standard deduction increasing from $12,000 to $50,000 for single filers and from $24,000 to $100,000 for married couples who file jointly. The Governor’s budget alters an already unjust tax system by placing a disproportionate burden on the poorest and middle income families in our state. Doubling down and eliminating the state income tax would be budget crushing for most families. Fortunately, so far, Governor Kemp does not appear to be on board with the Senate’s “Campaign Year Stunt Caucus’” plan to eliminate the income tax, and the State Economist Bob Buschman called it a “talking point by unserious people” in the past. You can watch here as I questioned Buschman on this. More to come from me on this – please follow me on Instagram.
Budgets like these reinforce the importance of winning elections. If we send a Democratic governor to the Governor’s Mansion this November, we can produce a budget that saves money and invests in our public services. Our priority in the Senate Democratic Caucus is to do exactly that, but unlike our outgoing Governor, we will not do it by cutting taxes for very wealthy individuals on the dime of the working people of our state.
Senate Democrats Introduce Bills to Rein in ICE
The past several weeks have been difficult for the soul of our country. The people of Minneapolis are being terrorized by masked, unnamed, untrained ICE agents sent by the President, and two protesters have been murdered in the streets. This has gone far beyond simply enforcing our immigration laws. This is about scaring the American people into silence and conformity.
In response to these illegal and unjust actions by the Trump Administration, Democrats in the Georgia Senate introduced four bills to keep ICE out of Georgia and rein in the Trump Administration’s unchecked power.
SB 389 – A bill to require ICE agents to wear ID visible to the public, while prohibiting masks on duty, except for safety or medical concerns.
SB 390 – A bill requiring the governor to grant permission for the National Guard to be stationed in Georgia, unless the president has a legitimate justification for doing so.
SB 391 – A bill requiring a judicial warrant for all local, state, and federal immigration enforcement operations at places of worship, schools and colleges, hospitals, family violence shelters, or public libraries.
SB 397 – A bill which would authorize civil actions by Georgians against federal officials for constitutional violations.
I am also working on introducing legislation to require ICE to wear body cameras in Georgia. These bills would protect Georgians from undue abuses by ICE agents, reinforce the rule of law, protect Georgia’s state and local law enforcement officers, and preserve access to public spaces and places of worship. It’s cold enough in Georgia this January, but the last thing we need is more ICE.
Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Eliminate the Data Center Tax Giveaway
Our Caucus introduced SB 408, a bill to end the tax giveaways to power-sucking data centers and the Big Tech bosses by sunsetting the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption. This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Senator Nan Orrock, is a much stronger version of a copy-cat bill the Republicans filed.
In their bill, the Republicans carve out a special tax credit to make sure Lt. Governor Burt Jones’ family business is looked after. The AJC reported on the story here. Rather than being about rural health access, the megaproject funnels massive tech and real estate profits into Jones’ family holdings. This is another example of how it’s one rule for them, and one rule for everybody else.
The Killing of Alex Pretti
On Saturday, communities across Minnesota and the nation were shaken by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a dedicated ICU nurse at a VA hospital, by ICE agents in Minneapolis, weeks after the killing of Renee Good. Video evidence and witness accounts show that Mr. Pretti was observing and filming a federal immigration operation when he was shoved, pepper-sprayed, and ultimately shot multiple times by Border Patrol officers, despite not threatening anyone with a weapon. Contrary to the propaganda spewed by the Trump Administration, Alex Pretti was not a domestic terrorist nor did he pose a threat to the ICE officers besieging Minneapolis. Mr. Pretti was simply exercising his Constitutional rights.
Alex Pretti was peacefully attending a public protest and following gun laws written by Republican legislators. People are fearful of losing their basic rights in this country after witnessing the horrors inflicted upon Minnesota by Trump and Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem’s masked, untrained mob.
We in Georgia are ready to do everything in our power to prevent ICE from doing to Georgia what they have done to Minnesota. The Senate Democratic Caucus introduced SR 605, a resolution condemning the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents during a peaceful protest in Minneapolis. We reject the justification that Mr. Pretti’s lawful firearm possession warranted lethal force, and the rhetoric labeling law-abiding protesters or gun owners as criminals or terrorists is simply unacceptable. You can watch my speech following the death of Alex Pretti here.
Call the Lt. Governor at (404) 656-5030 to demand a hearing on SR 605 to keep Georgia safe.
FBI Raids Fulton County Elections Office
On Wednesday, the FBI raided a Fulton County elections office and seized all the ballots from the 2020 election. Republicans are obsessed with their loss in 2020 and this is the story that continues to waste time and money that could be spent on improving people's lives and lowering their costs. Stoking fear and grievance is top of the Republican agenda, not making life affordable for Americans. A party that cannot confront reality cannot govern.
This raid is part of the Republican attempt to steal the 2026 elections – and also to distract from their mess in Minnesota. They know most Americans abhor what they are doing to our country. In the November 2025 elections, Democrats swept the PSC races in Georgia and the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey. Donald Trump shows how destructive his agenda is and wants to restrict our powers at the ballot box so he can keep on doing what he is doing.
Let’s rise up and go vote because that is what the Republicans fear most. Watch my recent video on the FBI raid here.
We were supposed to debate a Resolution demanding that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger turn voter data over to the DOJ in violation of state law. However, the Republicans declined to bring that up on Friday. It remains on the calendar for possible debate on Monday, however. This too is about Trump’s 2020 obsession, as well as Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ primary campaign against Raffensperger, who wrote an op-ed denouncing the Resolution in the AJC.
A Feel-Good Moment at the Capitol
I am a co-sponsor of Rio’s Law, SB 433. Rio’s Law would create a special license plate for people with autism or a developmental disability. The law would also require all police officers in Georgia be adequately trained on how to safely and appropriately interact with people who have autism or developmental disabilities.
This bipartisan bill is about improving awareness and making interactions with law enforcement safer, giving families a voluntary way to signal special needs, and making sure law enforcement is trained to respond with understanding.
This is a photo of me and actor Connor Tomlinson, from Love on the Spectrum. He came down to the Capitol this week to advocate for Rio’s Law.
