by Ty Tagami | Feb 10, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Senate Republicans commandeered legislation involving nurses Tuesday and refashioned the measure as a ban on transgender services for youth.
The move under Georgia’s Gold Dome triggered an hour of by-now familiar debate, with Democrats opposed and Republicans in favor. That is how the final vote went, as well, with the heavily amended House Bill 54 passing 30-18 along party lines.
When the bill passed the House unanimously last year, on the final day of the legislative session, it was about nurses and home health care. When the clock reset this year, the second half of the biennial assembly of lawmakers, it was sitting in the Senate and ripe for the taking.
So, on Tuesday, the Senate took the bill, and changed it to its core, using it as a vehicle to prohibit puberty blockers and other interventions for youth experiencing gender dysphoria.
Afterward, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican running to be Georgia’s next governor, said Senate Republicans had stood with the majority in acting “to protect our youth.” He added that he “will always fight for Georgia values and the safety of our kids.”
Democrats dismissed the amendment as an election year ploy to grab attention.
“This is a real easy playbook for you all to run, but I want you to know, maybe it worked in 2024, I think voters are tired of it,” said Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, who is running to succeed Jones in the lieutenant governor’s office.
The measure now returns to the House, where the original version dealing with nurses was backed by House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, R-Milton, the second-ranked member of that chamber.
by Mark Niesse | Feb 10, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The FBI’s investigation of the 2020 presidential election in Fulton County is focused on allegations of double-counted ballots, “pristine” absentee ballots and missing digital ballot images, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed Tuesday.
The search warrant affidavit was the basis for an FBI raid of Fulton’s elections office last month, when agents seized 656 boxes of ballots from the 2020 presidential election.
The criminal investigation of Fulton revived allegations of wrongdoing in an election that Republican President Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden by about 12,000 votes.
State election investigations have never found intentional fraud over the last five years, but Fulton has been cited for poor ballot management, disorganized processes and counting errors.
“There were many allegations of electoral impropriety relating to the voting process and ballot counting in Fulton County, Georgia. Some of those allegations have been disproven while some of those allegations have been substantiated, including through admissions by Fulton County,” wrote FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans. “This warrant application is part of an FBI criminal investigation into whether any of the improprieties were intentional acts that violated federal criminal laws.”
The search warrant relies on several Republican witnesses who believe there was fraud. The investigation originated with Kurt Olsen, an attorney who tried to help Trump overturn his loss. Trump appointed Olsen as special government employee to investigate the 2020 election.
The FBI’s 18-page affidavit includes several claims that have been validated by previous investigations, along with other allegations that have never been confirmed.
The State Election Board reprimanded Fulton in 2024 for double-scanning over 3,000 ballots. A recent report produced by conservative election researchers, some of whom were interviewed by the FBI to justify the search warrant, said closer to 4,000 ballots were double-counted.
The allegation of “pristine,” fake, unfolded absentee ballots lacks evidence beyond Republican witnesses who made the allegation.
Georgia election investigators weren’t able to find any fake ballots in the batches identified by Republican vote-counters during an audit of the 2020 election, according to a court filing in 2021.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Georgia’s elections are safe and secure.
“Instead of wasting time and tax dollars trying to change the past with baseless and repackaged claims, let’s focus our efforts on building a safer, more affordable future for all hardworking Georgians,” Raffensperger said.
The FBI’s investigation could result in criminal charges if intentional wrongdoing is found.
The search warrant cites federal laws that require counties to maintain election records for at least 22 months and prohibit knowingly tabulating fraudulent ballots.
by Ty Tagami | Feb 9, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Another Georgia legislative initiative this year seeks to build on prior efforts to increase the reading and writing performance of young students.
“We must teach our children to read,” Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, chairman of the House Education committee, said Monday about the new initiative. “We must have the belief that all of our children can read on grade level.”
Erwin is the chief co-sponsor of House Bill 1193, which is backed by leaders in both the House and Senate. The Senate even has its own version of essentially the same bill.
The Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 would require sweeping changes, from mandatory curriculum and teacher training to routine testing and state-funded tutoring for children. The legislation also would encourage but not require kindergarten attendance. Students who skipped kindergarten and then failed a literacy test would have to start in kindergarten even if they were old enough for first grade.
One of the most far-reaching proposals would amend the state education funding formula. The legislation would send state money to every school district to hire a classroom literacy coach in each school that has kindergarten through third grade classrooms. (K-3 schools with fewer than 200 students would only get a part-time coach though.)
The wholistic approach is necessary because teaching and learning to read is difficult work, said Erwin, a retired school superintendent. “So it’s got to be planned; it’s got to be precise.”
The Legislature has not yet published a cost associated with the initiative.
But House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said at the start of this year’s legislative session that literacy was among his top agenda items this year, a position he reiterated last week. He said the state was prepared to pay for classroom reinforcements.
“How many Georgians would be leading happy, healthy, fulfilling lives if they had only been able to read?” he asked at a news conference.
A House subcommittee voted unanimously Monday to send HB 1193 to the House Education committee. Before the vote, several parents commented favorably, including Jeremy Hendrix from Gwinnett County, who said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the legislation.
“It is amazing what you are doing and especially in this political climate where we can see everybody get behind one cart and push in the same direction,” he said. “I really appreciate that and it makes my heart happy as a citizen.”
by Mark Niesse | Feb 9, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A bill that would free victims of childhood sexual abuse to speak out after winning court settlements advanced Monday at the Georgia Capitol.
The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve a measure that would prohibit nondisclosure agreements as a condition of settling lawsuits against abusers.
The bill, called Trey’s Law, is named for Trey Carlock, who was sexually abused at a Kanakuk Kamps as a boy in Missouri along with other victims. He settled a lawsuit against Kanakuk, but a nondisclosure agreement prevented him from talking about it.
“There was never justice or true accountability. Nobody was fired or held accountable as a result of this abuse,” Carlock’s sister, Elizabeth Phillips, told representatives Monday. “He died by suicide in 2019 because he wasn’t allowed to have a voice.”
State Rep. Soo Hong, R-Lawrenceville, said Georgia needs to continue being a leader against human trafficking and abuse.
“These NDAs … force victims to choose between compensation and their voice,” Hong said. “The purpose of this law is to ensure that survivors can speak openly about the abuse they suffered, help expose abusers and negligent institutions, and prevent harmful secrecy in future cases.”
Under House Bill 1187, any settlement agreements that conceal the details of a claim of childhood sexual abuse would become unenforceable. Identifying information about victims of childhood sexual abuse would remain confidential.
Four other states have passed versions of Trey’s Law: California, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
Gov. Brian Kemp said during his State of the State address last month that Trey’s Law is a priority of First Lady Marty Kemp and the Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education Commission, which was created to combat human trafficking.
The bill could soon advance to a vote in the full state House of Representatives.
by Mark Niesse | Feb 9, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgians would get an income tax cut — or avoid paying the tax entirely — under a proposal unveiled by Republican Senate leaders Monday.
The cost would be paid in large part by eliminating or reducing a variety of tax breaks, including for data centers, low-income housing and yachts.
The plan calls for a dramatic increase in the amount of income exempt from taxation, to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for married couples. The state’s current standard deduction is $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s state income tax rate would drop from 5.19% to 4.99%
“Families in the middle class right now are having a hard time paying for gas, groceries, childcare,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia. “What the Senate’s plan does instead is completely eliminates their income tax liability for families making less than $100,000.”
Families earning more than $100,000 would save an estimated $5,000 in income taxes, Tillery said.
The proposal cleared its first hurdle Monday by passing the Senate Finance Committee.
The income tax legislation, Senate Bill 476, is lawmakers’ latest attempt to prioritize affordability and cost of living.
Other bills are seeking to eliminate local property taxes and cap increases in assessed property values by preventing them from rising more quickly than the inflation rate.
Legislators are targeting a series of tax breaks to raise over $1 billion to help fund the income tax reduction.
Those tax breaks currently benefit data centers, businesses headquartered in Georgia affordable housing projects, small businesses in rural areas, life insurance companies, personal protective equipment manufacturers, medical equipment manufacturers, low-emission vehicles, cigarette exporters, boat owners and more.
Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta, said he supports eliminating state income taxes for families making less than $100,000, but said many Georgians would pay the price if other taxes have to be raised to make up for loss of government funding.
He said some of the tax breaks that would be reduced, such as the affordable housing credit, would harm residents more than lower income taxes would help.
“The problem with the bill is very simple: It’s going to create tax hikes. It’s going to create job loss,” Jones said. “This bill decimates the middle class. It really has severe consequences.”
A government accounting of the legislation’s costs hasn’t yet been completed.
In addition to SB 476, Tillery also introduced an alternate proposal that focuses on reducing the income tax rate without eliminating tax breaks.
That measure, Senate Bill 477, would lower the income tax rate to 4.99% starting this tax year, followed by reductions to 3.99% by 2028. The bill would also increase the standard deduction to $16,000 for individuals and $32,000 for married couples.
