ATLANTA – Georgia legislators clocked out unusually early Friday night, leaving behind stacks of unfinished bills, many of them torn into pieces for the ceremonial throwing of confetti that marks the final moments of a legislative session.
Among the abandoned bills were several that had seemed to be a priority for Republican lawmakers. They had devoted many hours of hearings to them, to the consternation of Democrats, who called the measures “hateful” and a waste of time.
Left on the table were a bill to withhold puberty blockers from teens and a ban on coverage of transgender-related care for employees on the state health plan. A measure to financially punish colleges and schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion also foundered. So did a “Red Tape Rollback” touted as Georgia’s answer to Elon Musk’s DOGE. An overhaul of election law also failed to pass.
Before they left, lawmakers did pass a measure banning medical care for prisoners changing their gender. They also gave a Senate committee that has been investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis permission to pursue former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. And they gave that committee subpoena powers, with Democrats labeling the effort “authoritarianism.”
“This is a dangerous bill,” Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, the minority whip in the House of Representatives, said before the House passed Senate Bill 255 Wednesday. The Senate sent it to Gov. Brian Kemp on Friday.
The flurry of partisan legislation had Democrats fuming as Republicans ignored many of their bills, including measures about guns after the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County last fall.
The General Assembly did pass a comprehensive school safety bill with bipartisan support, but some Democrats complained it did nothing to curb the availability of firearms.
For the second year in a row, legislation that sought an income tax credit for Georgians who buy trigger locks or gun safes failed to pass. Other priorities for Democrats, from expanding Medicaid to tax breaks on clothing and school supplies, went nowhere.
“Instead of coming to the table and working across the aisle with us to address real issues Georgians are facing, they have introduced the politics of hate,” Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, the House minority leader, said last month amid the fusillade of bills that she said were trickling down from President Donald Trump. “Because you know what? Hate wins elections.”
Republicans countered that popular opinion was on their side with their priorities, such as a ban on transgender athletes in female sports that the Senate sent to the governor Monday and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by Kemp on Friday.
Then-Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a religious liberty bill nine years ago, fearing the boycotts and other economic harm that might have resulted. At least three dozen states now have such a law, Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, noted on Friday.
“So it was time for Georgia to take that final step, and we did it, with very little opposition from the business community,” said Gooch, the Senate majority leader. “You didn’t see the protesters. You didn’t see the chambers of commerce coming down to the building in protest like we’ve seen in the past.”
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones gaveled the Senate’s session to a close a little after 9 p.m., which shocked many observers — and lawmakers. They are used to voting past midnight on the last legislative day, called Sine Die.
The House gaveled to a close an hour and a half later, formally ending the first half of the 158th biennium of Georgia’s General Assembly.
Jones told reporters that he was in no rush to hammer bills through during this year’s session.
“This is a two-year cycle,” he said after leaving the Senate floor. “That means whatever doesn’t get done this this year will be available exactly where it sits for next year.”