by Mark Niesse | Mar 6, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate approved a bill Friday that broadens “stand your ground” self-defense protections, a proposal that critics said would help protect defendants such as those who murdered Ahmaud Arbery.
The 30-23 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans supporting the rights of Georgians to use force when needed during confrontations.
The legislation, Senate Bill 572, would allow people to claim immunity from prosecution soon after they’re charged, and cases involving claims of self-defense would only continue if there’s clear and convincing evidence of a crime.
Democrats opposed the bill, saying it would further empower those accused of wrongdoing during shootings.
They cited the case of Arbery, a Black man who was killed while jogging in Brunswick in 2020 by three white men, one of whom was a former police officer.
“If this bill had been law, it would have made it very difficult to prosecute those who are the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery,” said state Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain.
State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, said the bill is needed to ensure that those accused of crimes are presumed innocent until found guilty.
“Those that murdered Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Even though they tried to raise this defense, the jury still said they were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Strickland said.
The legislation next advances to the state House.
by Mark Niesse | Mar 5, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Women could get birth control drugs directly from pharmacies without needing a doctor’s prescription, according to a bill that cleared the Georgia House on Wednesday.
The proposal would expand availability of contraceptives in Georgia, where state law bans abortions once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, which typically occurs around six weeks after conception and before many women know they’re pregnant.
Supporters said the bill would especially help women in rural areas without an obstetrician. Of Georgia’s 159 counties, 83 lack an OB-GYN.
“This will make it easier for women to access birth control. There are pharmacies in every county in Georgia,” said Rebecca Stone, a clinical professor at the University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy. “It’s an important medication. We use birth control for other medical conditions,” including irregular cycles, bleeding problems, and skin conditions.
The House passed the legislation 162-4. It now advances to the state Senate.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Beth Camp, R-Concord, said abstinence is the only guaranteed way to prevent pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, but she said pharmacists are qualified to dispense birth control medications.
“This is not a morality bill. This is a medication bill that allows further access,” Camp said. “Oftentimes, the only healthcare provider in an area is going to be a pharmacist.”
Pharmacists in 36 other states are already able to dispense contraceptives, Camp said.
House Bill 1138 would permit any licensed Georgia pharmacist to dispense contraceptives to patients who are at least 18 years old, or to minors with a previous prescription from a doctor. Pharmacists wouldn’t be required to dispense birth control if they don’t want to.
In addition, the legislation requires health insurance policies and Medicaid to provide at least a three-month supply of birth control.
“This is a big step for Georgians to be able to access not just pills, but injectables” such as progesterone shots, said Staci Fox, president and CEO for the liberal-leaning Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. “When we look at a state with a severe abortion ban, more access to contraceptives is better.”
by Mark Niesse | Feb 25, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — An attempt to permit Georgia breweries to sell beer to restaurants, bars, and stores failed Tuesday when state senators refused to vote on the bill.
The proposal’s demise means that craft brewers can still only provide alcohol to in-person customers, who are allowed to buy up to 24 cans of beer to-go.
Craft brewers told senators that their small businesses are unable to compete with large, name-brand beer companies and distributors that hold a near-monopoly on retail sales.
“What we’re trying to do is have a fair market so we can serve the people in our in our communities,” said Thomas Monti of Schoolhouse Brewing in Marietta. “We’re not asking for the moon. We’re asking for a fair slice of the pie.”
The sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Tim Bearden, R-Carrollton, amended the bill Tuesday to try to gain more support, but that effort fell short in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.
Senate Bill 456 would have allowed brewers to sell up to 500 barrels of beer annually within county lines and increased the limit on to-go orders from one case of beer to three.
When state Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, called for a vote by the committee, no other senator seconded his motion.
Alcohol distributors opposed the bill because they said it would have altered Georgia’s regulations that separate alcohol makers, distributors and retailers.
“Georgia’s proven system works best when breweries focus on making great beer, wholesalers ensure it is delivered safely and efficiently statewide, and retailers focus on serving customers responsibly,” the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association said in a statement. “We cannot support a bill that would negatively impact all three portions of this proven system.”
Dr. Robert Brewer, the former director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Alcohol Program, said the bill would have led to more alcohol consumption, health problems and driving-under-the-influence arrests.
“Even reasonably smart people, including me, can do dumb things like drinking too much at times. But as a society, we don’t have to make it easier for people to make bad choices,” Brewer said at the committee hearing.
Bearden said he wanted to help over 170 breweries in towns across Georgia.
“This is for our small breweries, those individuals that took a chance on our downtown areas when there were basically no one there,” Bearden said. “A lot of these areas are very depressed. So this is small business bill, just trying to help our small breweries out so they can make a living.”
The bill is stalled for now with diminishing odds of approval before the General Assembly’s deadline next week for legislation to pass at least one chamber, either the Senate or House.
by Mark Niesse | Feb 24, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia senators rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have explicitly prevented power companies from passing on data centers’ costs to customers, instead advancing a bill with fewer consumer protections.
The 9-3 vote by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee is the latest round in this year’s battle over rapidly growing data centers, the engines for artificial intelligence technology that require enormous amounts of new electricity capacity in Georgia.
The committee approved legislation that would require electric utilities to write contracts with new data centers that shield other customers from related costs, such as building new transmission lines.
But the bill passed Tuesday lacks specific language that forbids utilities from making regular customers pay for the expense of expanding Georgia’s power grid for data centers.
“The data center boom created this historic demand for new electric generation, and they should pay for it,” said Bobby Baker, a consumer advocate and former member of the Public Service Commission, which regulates Georgia Power and other electricity providers. “Current ratepayers should not be underwriting this $34 billion investment that could undermine the reliability and affordability of Georgia’s electric system.”
Public Service Commission Chair Jason Shaw told senators that consumers are being protected by an agreement last year that freezes Georgia Power’s electricity rates for the next three years. He said the PSC needs flexibility to set electricity rates without the constraints of a new state law.
“We can all argue all day about what it’s going to take to keep the lights on,” Shaw said. “It’s still a national problem. But I feel like we are in the right spot with being able to stabilize these rates, because Lord knows, everybody’s tired of increases.”
The PSC has raised rates six times since 2023, increasing customer bills by an average of $43 per month.
Georgia Power Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth Aaron Mitchell said data centers will pay for the costs of their electricity consumption through contracts with the utility. He said Georgia power is investing $20 billion to serve large-load customers such as data centers.
Mitchell said Georgia Power opposes a version of the bill that would have made it illegal for the company to pass on costs for data centers’ consumption, including electricity transmission and generation infrastructure.
“We agree with the intent just not the inartful way of dealing with that in legislation,” Mitchell said.
The new Senate version of the bill is similar to a measure that passed the state House last week that critics also said was too weak.
“In my opinion, this bill offers no protection to our consumers,” said state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, the sponsor of the original version of Senate Bill 34.
The bill would next be considered by the Senate Rules Committee before it could move on for a vote in the full state Senate.
by Mark Niesse | Feb 23, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers couldn’t agree Monday on a bill that would shield police videos from public view if they show someone’s death.
Supporters of the bill say it’s needed to prevent tragic videos from being shared with the world online, while opponents said it could hinder death investigations and weaken freedom of speech.
“The public’s right to know should not be a right for them to have access to graphic death images at their will,” Hiram Police Chief Mike Turner told the House Judiciary Committee.
State Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, said public disclosure can help uncover the truth after someone dies.
“It would be a good idea to be able to let responsible journalists investigate and ask questions about the matter, because oftentimes that’s how you get to the truth about what happened, how the person got killed,” Reeves said.
The House Judiciary Committee declined to vote on the bill Monday as legislators consider amending it.
State Rep. Joseph Gullett, the sponsor of House Bill 1223, said it’s meant to shield disclosure of police videos that show someone’s death by traffic accidents, suicides, or natural causes.
Body cam videos of police shootings or alleged police misconduct are already kept confidential in Georgia while investigations are underway. Those videos only become a public record after investigations are completed.
“If you go to YouTube, there are video after video after video of people dying, and oftentimes it’s not at the hands of the police,” said Gullett, R-Dallas. “It’s one of the worst days in the family’s life. … Those images are captured on these cameras, and that is not something that I think should be readily accessible for the YouTube community.”
The Judiciary Committee debated allowing disclosure of police videos to newspapers, TV stations or radio broadcasters for investigative news purposes, but the committee narrowly rejected that motion.
A lobbyist for the Georgia Press Association, which represents the interests of the Georgia newspaper industry, supported allowing videos to be distributed to news media organizations. Capitol Beat is a project of the Georgia Press Association.
State Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, said it’s important to protect the dignity of the deceased, but he said videos of law enforcement shootings deserve scrutiny.
“There could really be a significant public interest in seeing the events that led to the death,” Holcomb said. “I want to make sure we don’t want to go too far in limiting the public’s interest to observe crimes.”
The House Judiciary Committee planned to try to resolve its differences and reconsider the bill Wednesday.
