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.
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.
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.
ATLANTA — Millions of dollars of out-of-state campaign money flowing into Georgia could soon be more strongly policed in the wake of mysterious political TV ads and big spending on recent elections.
A bipartisan state Senate voted 50-1 to pass a bill Thursday that allows the Georgia Ethics Commission to seek subpoenas against groups or individuals located in other states who are suspected of breaking Georgia campaign finance laws, such as contribution limits or transparency requirements.
“We will now have the tools to hold people outside our state accountable,” said state Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, before the vote in the state Senate. “This bill is just making certain that those from outside our state that are coming in and pouring money into elections play by the same rules.”
The bill received a vote following a barrage of TV ads and billboards by a shadowy Delaware-based group called Georgians for Integrity, which has launched attacks on Republican gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Burt Jones without disclosing its backers or registering in Georgia.
Democratic candidates have often received more outside money than Republicans in recent high-profile elections.
For example, during the 2022 race for governor, about 78% of Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams’ donations came from outside Georgia, according to a Capitol Beat review of campaign contribution records that included an address through October 2022. By comparison, just 15% of Republican Brian Kemp’s campaign money came from elsewhere.
State Sen. Randal Mangham, D-Stone Mountain, said he worried the Ethics Commission could weaponize its investigatory powers for political purposes.
“I am a little concerned that this not be used as a political pawn to publicize if you’re investigating someone because you don’t like their political views,” said Mangham, who voted in favor of the bill.
Ethics Commission Executive Director David Emadi told a Senate committee earlier this week that groups and individuals who are influencing Georgia elections should be required to comply with state campaign finance laws.
“We’d like to be able to take immediate action if we see these outside actors, outside the state, sending money in unregulated, unreported, attack ads,” Emadi said.
Under House Bill 414, the Ethics Commission would have the authority to ask a Georgia superior court judge to issue a subpoena for documentation or information from outside of the state. Failure to respond to the subpoena within 30 days would result in a default judgment against the out-of-state individual or group.
The bill passed the state House last year, but the state Senate made minor changes to it. The bill now returns to the House for a final vote.
ATLANTA — Billionaire Republican health care executive Rick Jackson’s entry into the Georgia governor’s race this week could shake up a contest that has so far been dominated by three statewide GOP officeholders.
Jackson, 71, pitched himself as an outsider and loyalist to President Donald Trump who can challenge Attorney General Chris Carr, Lt. Gov Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for Georgia’s top job.
“I don’t need this job for money or power. It’s not about me,” Jackson said in his introductory campaign video. “No more free rides for people who refuse to work. If you want to sit on your butt, binge watch Netflix and scarf down Cheetos, do it with your own money.”
Rick Jackson is a Republican contender for Georgia governor in 2026 (Photo credit: rickjackson.com)
Jackson, the founder of Jackson Healthcare, says he plans to spend tens of millions of dollars of his own money on his candidacy, ensuring he can make himself more of a household name before this May’s Republican primary.
His run for office could split the field and increase the likelihood of a runoff, which would be held in June if none of the candidates wins a majority in May.
If elected, Jackson said he would prioritize deportations, cutting taxes, and banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The winner of the Republican field will advance to the November election. The Democratic contenders for governor include former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Rev. Olu Brown, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves, state Rep. Derrick Jackson, state Rep. Ruwa Romman, and former DeKalb County CEO Mike Thurmond.
ATLANTA — Georgia homeowners’ property values couldn’t rise faster than the inflation rate, putting a brake on annual property tax increases, according to a bill that passed the state Senate on Tuesday.
Property taxes pay for most local services, including schools.
The bill would eliminate a part of state law that allowed school systems and local governments to continue levying taxes on property values that increase more than the inflation rate. Property taxes are based on assessed home values and local tax rates.
About 71% of Georgia’s 180 school systems opted out of the cap last year, along with 29% of city and county governments. Voters approved the tax limit in 2024.
If the bill is approved, homeowners whose properties rise in value would save money on their taxes, while local school systems and governments would lose that tax revenue.
“We had seen property taxes being increased on homeowners by double digits,” said state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, who sponsored Senate Bill 382. “We’ve heard from homeowners who say they can’t afford a massive increase in their own taxes.”
Opponents of the bill said it reduces education funding and falls short of providing real relief to struggling families.
State Sen. Derek Mallow, D-Savannah, said state legislators should raise the minimum wage, eliminate tax breaks for big businesses and help the homeless.
“If we truly wanted to help the least of these among us, we have the power through a budget to appropriate it and do something about it if we were serious about it. Now the question becomes, where does our moral compass actually lie?” Mallow said.
The bill cleared the Senate on a 31-19 vote, with one Democrat, state Sen. Jaha Howard, D-Smyrna, crossing party lines to vote with Republicans in the majority. SB 382 will next be considered by the state House.
