Parent Press Weeks 9 and 10 of the 2026 Legislative Session
It’s getting to silly season at the Capitol, and the issues, legislation, drama and antics are ramping up. During this time of session (especially as I prepare for my final Sine Die as a Senator), I am reminded of a quote from Reinhold Niebuhr at the beginning of How the Irish Saved Civilization: “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.” This keeps me going and keeps the work meaningful.
Join me for a town hall
On Thursday March 26 at 6PM, I will be participating in a town hall meeting in Clayton County with my fellow Senators Davenport and Wicks. We will be meeting at Headquarters Library.
Tune in virtually here.
Decatur Schools
A dispute is continuing in Decatur over the proposed Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC), a planned facility that would support families with children when they are infants through preschool-age. School district leaders say the project is intended to expand early childhood education opportunities for Decatur families, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and have been publicly dedicated to the project despite a lot of public pushback on cost, transparency, and location.
Some of that pushback has been from members of the Beacon Hill Grassroots Coalition, a group mostly comprised of legacy residents and descendants of the residents of Beacon Hill, a historic Black community that was destroyed over the years from 1939-1965 to make way for other land uses such as the courthouse, Decatur High, and some housing projects. The Grassroots Coalition has filed an application for Historic Preservation at the proposed ECLC site and a few others. This process runs through the Historic Preservation Commission and the Decatur City Commission. The Coalition is also urging the city to conduct an archaeological survey of the identified construction site before the project goes ahead. Advocates want a formal study to determine whether artifacts, graves, or other historical resources may still be present.
The discord in the community over the project grew to a fever pitch with several concerning developments over the past few weeks. If you want the entire saga, Decaturish.com has written many articles. Several background articles are here and here. The discord grew to the point that I, and Decatur’s two Representatives Mary Margaret Oliver and Omari Crawford, felt that action was needed to stop the spiral and we penned a letter requesting that CSD call a community referendum before moving forward, or we would require one via legislation. You can read the full text of the letter there, but in summary we said that we recognize and support the need to expand access to early childhood education for the children of Decatur; however, the visible conflict among our elected leaders and our other community stakeholders is only deepening. Things have gotten out of hand and the conflict is damaging the community and the needs of Decatur’s children. This article reflects the current status of discord among community leaders.
On Tuesday, I filed SB 625 which will require the referendum. It has passed the Senate and is in the House of Representatives for consideration. We still hope that the CSD will voluntarily agree that a referendum is necessary to unite Decatur around the proper vision for the ECLC.
Medical Marijuana for Georgia?
The House recently passed an amended version of SB 220. The bill would rename “low THC oil” as “medical cannabis” and updates Georgia law to expand, clarify, and regulate its medical use. It revises criminal penalties, patient eligibility, and regulatory oversight to improve access for patients while maintaining controls on production, distribution, and use.
The bill passed the Senate on Thursday on a broad bipartisan basis, with just 15 Republicans voting against the measure. I was happy to vote yes on this bill and other states have already shown us the benefits of reducing the restrictions on the use of medical marijuana. Meanwhile, the legislature is also tightening some of the rules that the medical marijuana companies must abide by to ensure the use is as intended.
A Statue for Jimmy Carter in the U.S. Capitol
I introduced SR 933, a resolution to place a statue of President Carter in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. President Carter’s immediate predecessor and successor have statues from their respective states in the U.S. Capitol, but Georgia has not yet honored Jimmy Carter in that way.
Georgia’s only president and our great humanitarian ought to be recognized by Georgia for his many years of service to our state, our country, and our world.
Portable Benefits Finally Passes
HB 987 passed the Senate on Friday and is now off to the Governor for signature! This bill would permit both businesses and individuals to make contributions to portable benefits accounts designed for self-employed workers. These accounts, owned by the workers themselves and administered by a bank or third-party provider, could be used to cover expenses such as health insurance premiums, paid leave, and retirement savings.
I sponsored a Senate study committee that looked into portable benefits back in 2019. In our final report, we recommended the State Senate continue to look into portable benefits, closely monitoring the situation to see if legislation was needed. I am pleased that seven years later we are finally putting portable benefits legislation on the books! Portable benefits empower individuals to make the best financial decisions for themselves and their families. That personal financial freedom is necessary as shopping carts continue to be filled with less at a larger cost.
Bills to Watch
There are several bills to keep in mind as the session winds down. And mark your calendars, Sine Die is on Thursday, April 2nd, 2026.
One bill that’s been around for a while is HB 79, dealing with firearm safety. At its core, the idea did not start off all that bad. It creates a tax credit (up to $300) for people who take firearm safety training courses and sets up a structured approval process through the state. That kind of incentive for responsible ownership makes sense. But over time, the bill has evolved into something much broader. It now includes a tax holiday on not just gun safes, but firearms, ammunition, and accessories. That shift moves it away from a safety-focused policy and toward a broader subsidy for purchases, which raises some real questions about intent and impact. We were to have that vote the other day, but the bill was recommitted to committee, so hopefully it will improve.
Another bill getting attention is HB 154, which would move Georgia into the Atlantic Time Zone and eliminate the biannual clock changes. The goal here is ending “spring forward” and “fall back,” which studies have linked to increases in traffic accidents and even heart attacks. I understand the motivation, especially with how disruptive that spring change can be. That said, I’m hesitant about Georgia making this move on its own. If neighboring states don’t follow, we could end up out of sync with most of the East Coast, which has real economic and practical ramifications. Ideally, we would stick with the broader push for permanent daylight saving time, but requires action from Congress.
On the healthcare front, HB 717 is one of the more forward-looking bills. It sets up a regulatory framework for psychedelic-assisted therapy clinics. This is something that is already being explored in clinical settings, including Emory. The bill requires licensing, safety standards, and oversight by the medical board, while limiting treatments to federally approved substances. It is a cautious but important step into a new area of mental health treatment, and one that tries to balance innovation with patient safety.
In education, HB 1009 takes a hard line on student device use by prohibiting personal electronic devices in public high schools during the school day. The goal is to create distraction-free classrooms, which is understandable, especially given how much phones can interfere with learning. As a mother of teenage boys, I support this bill!
Finally, HB 1030, the “Math Matters Act,” is a more substantive effort to strengthen math education across the state. It requires new standards for advanced math courses, expands instructional time in earlier grades, and automatically enrolls high-performing students into advanced coursework while still allowing parents to opt out. There is a lot to like here, especially the focus on early math foundations and making sure students who are ready aren’t held back.