How did Athens’ state representatives vote?
Legend
Row color
• Red rows indicate a bill sponsored by Republicans only.
• Purple rows indicate a bill with sponsors from both parties.
• Blue rows indicate a bill sponsored by Democrats only.
Vote color
• Votes (yes or no) colored red indicate that most people who voted that way were Republicans, with few or no Democrats voting with them.
• Votes colored blue indicate that most people who voted that way were Democrats, with few or no Republicans voting with them.
• Votes colored purple indicate that a significant number of members from both parties voted that way.
Nerd’s Take
Thumbs up means APN supports the bill.
Thumbs down means APN opposes the bill.
Athens’ legislative delegation
State House District 120 – Houston Gaines (R)
State House District 121 – Eric Gisler (D)
State House District 122 – Spencer Frye (D)
State House District 124 – Trey Rhodes (R)
State Senate District 46 – Bill Cowsert (R)
State Senate District 47 – Frank Ginn (R)
A closer look: 2026 legislation in Georgia
Medicaid Expansion (SB 380)
With health insurance costs rising dramatically for most Georgians, Senate Democrats released SB 380 to fully expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
The bill’s sponsor, Senator David Lucas (D), issued a statement in January, saying that “states that expanded Medicaid coverage have seen increased employment, better hospitals and huge economic gain…With many Georgians already struggling to afford basic care, expanding Medicaid is the only path for millions of people to afford to see a doctor and get the quality healthcare they deserve.”
Currently, Georgia allows for slightly improved health coverage under the “Georgia Pathways” program but has not fully expanded Medicaid. Only ~8,000 people were enrolled in the Pathways program by the end of last year, a far cry from the 100,000 Governor Brian Kemp originally intended it to cover. As such, Georgia Pathways is widely regarded as a failure. Even so, Georgia Republicans continue to refuse federal help in expanding health insurance coverage.
SB 380 was never voted on.
Repeal Data Center Tax Breaks (SB 410)
SB 410 was designed, in theory, to repeal the tax breaks that Georgia gives which encourage the construction of new data centers across the state. However, the author of a similar repeal bill, Senator Chuck Hufstetler (R), says that SB 410 fails to protect rate payers from the massive expansion of power plants coming soon that the Public Service Commission intends for data centers, according to the Georgia Recorder. Hufstetler still voted for the bill, but many Democrats did not.
Aidyn Levin with Georgia PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, said that SB 410 would not have adequately protected Georgia ratepayers. “Residential and small business customers could still be on the hook for billions of dollars in data center energy costs,” he said, as published in the Georgia Recorder.
In any case, SB 410 did not pass the House.
SB 410 passed the Senate but not the House.
Revoke CDLs for Noncitizens (SB 442)
SB 442 would have caused commercial driver’s licenses legally held by noncitizens to be revoked as the work visas these immigrants have expire, or after five years, whichever comes sooner. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Jason Dickerson (R), came up with the idea after some recent trucking accidents involving immigrant drivers.
“In the last few months, we have seen trucking accidents across the country involving drivers who came here illegally, raising serious concerns about licensing oversight and enforcement,” Dickerson said in a statement issued in February.
Dickerson didn’t provide any evidence to show that immigrant drivers on work visas are somehow more accident-prone than US citizens. Furthermore, while he argued the bill would ensure that “everyone on our roads can drive responsibly,” he didn’t explain how revoking driver’s licenses would further that end.
It’s possible the bill had less to do with traffic safety and more to do with the anti-immigrant sentiment that’s been growing among Republicans in recent years.
SB 442 passed both chambers but was never finalized.
Criminalize Protest (SB 443)
SB 443 is one of many bills that target peaceful protest which Georgia Republicans have promoted over the past decade. While most of these bills fail to pass, SB 443 was in fact signed by the Governor this year and takes effect on July 1.
Blocking traffic is a peaceful tactic that protesters sometimes use to call attention to an urgent issue. While it can sometimes be effective, the tactic tends to annoy motorists and has always been illegal. What SB 443 does is amp up the illegality to the next level. Starting on July 1, blocking traffic as part of a protest will now be a misdemeanor of a “high and aggravated” nature in Georgia. This means protesters could face up to $5,000 in fines and up to a year in prison, or both. Worse, it could also make protesters liable to be sued by motorists if, for example, a crash happens in the vicinity of the protest.
Unsurprisingly, the Georgia ACLU opposed this bill. The Georgia Recorder’s Jacob Levy also opposed it, saying that it could “chill free speech,” threaten our civil liberties and could be used to target journalists covering certain protests as well, if they also move out into the street as is sometimes needed to get adequate coverage.
SB 443 was signed into law.
Limit Access to Police Video (SB 482)
Right now in Georgia, mugshots are considered open records and are regularly harvested for profit by various outlets like “Bad & Busted.” Yet, not everyone who has a mugshot taken of them is guilty. Sometimes real reputational harm can result from posting someone’s mugshot online.
SB 482 started out with the intention of limiting the public’s access to mugshots for exactly these reasons. As the bill passed through committee, it was strengthened to limit access to other types of police recordings, including bodycam footage, dashboard camera footage and other video, as reported in the Georgia Recorder. These amendments would create barriers that could prevent people, even journalists, from getting access to police footage and other records. That caused enough of a first amendment concern for many legislators that the bill failed to gain the support it needed to pass.
SB 482 passed the Senate but not the House.
Need-Based Scholarships (SB 556)
SB 556 establishes a need-based scholarship for students attending public colleges and universities in Georgia, backed by a $325 million fund, as reported by Capitol Beat. During the signing ceremony, Governor Brian Kemp touted SB 556’s DREAMS scholarship as the “largest investment in a need-based scholarship the state has ever seen.”
Some APN readers may remember that the HOPE scholarship was originally need-based as well. Yet, just two years after it began, the state legislature changed HOPE to being merit-based. Will the same thing happen here? Fortunately, the answer is ‘probably not,’ since the DREAMS scholarship does not currently factor in GPA at all in its criteria. While it only pays $3,000 a year and requires that recipients work or volunteer part-time, the DREAMS scholarship appears to be a legitimate investment in public education for Georgians regardless of income or social class.
SB 556 was signed into law.
Ban EMS Surprise Billing (HB 506)
Dubbed the “Surprise Billing Consumer Protection Act,” HB 506 would eliminate the cost difference that insurance companies charge between “in-network” and “out-of-network” ambulance rides. This one change could save Georgians hundreds or even thousands of dollars when they are rushed to the hospital by an ambulance. People needing urgent medical treatment, who might not even be conscious, obviously don’t have the time or the ability to negotiate with their insurance company. They also don’t have the option to pick a different ambulance company that might be “in-network.” During a medical emergency, this shouldn’t even have to be considered.
After HB 506 goes into effect, it won’t have to be. As long as you have insurance, every ambulance ride after January 1, 2027 will be considered “in-network.”
HB 506 was signed into law.
Mandate Paper Ballots and Hand Recounts (HB 960)
Georgia Republicans attempted to push through a sweeping change to state election laws that would have taken effect this year. Among other things, HB 960 would have mandated the use of hand-marked paper ballots, making Georgia’s expensive ballot-marking devices obsolete (although they would still have been allowed for people with disabilities). Additionally, the bill would have made it easier to remove people from the voting rolls.
Furthermore, the bill would have required that vote recounts be done completely by hand, with no assistance from automated scanners. Such a recount would be extremely time-consuming and error-prone, which is why it’s probably best this bill failed to make it to the finish line.
HB 960 passed both chambers but was never finalized.
FY 2026 Budget Amendment (HB 973)
This midyear budget amendment accomplishes several goals of policymakers, including the provision of a $850 million property tax rebate for homeowners. $1 billion was also included to provide income tax rebates.
Other parts of the budget amendment include a $2,000 bonus to state employees, $325 million to fund the DREAMS scholarship (see SB 556 above), $409 million to build a new hospital focused on mental health, $1.68 billion for a new dedicated express lane on I-75 and $250 million to provide additional county grants for road maintenance and repair.
HB 973 was signed into law.
Ban Cell Phones in Schools (HB 1009)
HB 1009 bans devices like cell phones and tablets from high schools across Georgia for the entirety of the school day. These devices had already been banned in elementary and middle schools. Schools will be required to have emergency contact plans in place so that parents can still get in touch with their kids if need be.
HB 1009 was signed into law.
UPDATE 6/3/26: Another bill that’s been brought to my attention is HB 295. Sponsored by Athens’ State Representative Houston Gaines, this bill allows property owners to sue local governments if they fail to uphold laws around homelessness or immigration. HB 295 was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp. You can read more about it here.
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