by Ty Tagami | May 6, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — When people with autism get pulled over in Georgia, the police officer who stops their vehicle may soon have special training to reduce the risk of a misunderstanding that can escalate into a confrontation.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday signed “Rio’s Law,” named after a boy with autism whose mother, Layla Luna, advocated for a similar law that passed in South Carolina after a difficult traffic stop.
Senate Bill 433, by Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, creates a specialty license plate for people with autism or a developmental disability. It also requires that basic training courses for police include techniques for recognizing people with those conditions and for communicating effectively with them and employing alternatives to physical restraints.
Kemp signed that bill with nearly a dozen other public safety measures, including one for an increase in state contributions to police 401(k) plans (Senate Bill 452), another to reopen the application window for benefits for officers with a brain injury (House Bill 1128) and one that addresses a shortfall in the Peace Officers Annuity Board and allows for higher monthly benefits (Senate Bill 285).
“The Kemp family will always back the blue,” Kemp said in a statement, “and I’m proud to sign legislation today that ensures they are supported throughout their careers of service and into retirement.”
Kemp also signed Senate Bill 547, another by Strickland, which elevates pimping and pandering to a felony on the first offense rather than a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
by Ty Tagami | May 5, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A bipartisan education initiative that seeks to boost reading skills among young public school students in Georgia will go into effect this year after Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law Tuesday, along with a package of other education bills.
The Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 is a sweeping overhaul of prior legislation that targeted literacy and dyslexia. The new measure, which was a top priority of House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, adds numerous new requirements for curriculum, teacher training and student testing.
It also adds about $70 million to the formula that drives state education budgeting, enough to hire a classroom literacy coach in more than 1,300 schools that have kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
“This bill is a monumental step in our years-long work to ensure students have the literacy skills they need,” Kemp said before signing House Bill 1193.
The governor signed eight other education bills, including House Bill 1009, which will ban cellphones in public high schools starting in the 2027-28 school year.
The legislation expands a ban passed last year on devices in kindergarten through middle school. Although the lower grades ban does not go into effect until the upcoming school year, many schools have already prohibited personal cellphones ahead of schedule.
Surveys of parents and teachers at many of those schools last fall indicated the bans were popular. Studies also showed academic gains associated with removing the devices.
“The improved outcomes following last year’s bill have been incredible,” Kemp said, “and this commonsense step will help both students and faculty learn in safer, distraction-free environments.”
Among the other bills that Kemp signed are measures that will require public schools to expand access to afterschool programs for pre-kindergarten students enrolled in those schools (House Bill 1123), require closer collaboration between public schools and “completion schools” that offer credit recovery for students at risk of dropping out (House Bill 907), and expand a program allowing retired teachers to fill teacher shortages by returning to the classroom for pay while collecting a pension (Senate Bill 150).
The literacy act was the most expansive measure. Starting this summer, the state will have to identify at least one test to measure whether incoming students are reading on grade level. By fall, state leaders will convene a literacy task force that will vet literacy curricula for use statewide, with the state ensuring at least one option is free to public schools. The methods will be grounded in phonics and what proponents have labeled the “science of reading” and “structured literacy,” with approaches based on decades of research. State universities will also be tasked with overhauling the way they teach future teachers.
Burns said literacy levels affect mental health and health care outcomes, employment and even the prison population.
“Only one in three of our children can read on grade level when they leave the third grade. Unacceptable,” he said. “But I’m hopeful and I’m confident with Governor Kemp’s signature of the Early Literacy Act of 2026 today, we are well on our way to rewriting that narrative.”
by Ty Tagami | May 4, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia taxpayers should begin seeing income tax refunds from the state soon.
Most eligible taxpayers who filed timely state returns for 2024 and 2025 can expect one-time rebates of $250 for individuals, $375 for heads of households and $500 for married couples filing jointly.
The payback is the result of state lawmakers voting unanimously in the House and Senate to pass House Bill 1000 this year. The measure was funded in the amended budget for the current fiscal year, with an estimated price tag of about $1.2 billion.
“Our team is ready to deliver these refunds efficiently and securely to Georgia taxpayers,” Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioner David Burge said in a statement Monday.
The rebate was a priority for Gov. Brian Kemp, who touted it as the fourth under his leadership.
Kemp’s office said Monday that most should see the money “within the coming weeks,” with the governor adding that Georgians “know best how to spend their money, not the government.”
If you know your federally adjusted gross income, you can check your eligibility for the state rebate at https://gtc.dor.ga.gov/_/
More information at https://dor.georgia.gov/georgia-surplus-tax-refund
by Ty Tagami | May 4, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — If a blue wave washes across the country in November, Republicans vying for one of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats say they can stand as a bulwark for the GOP.
Two incumbent congressmen squared off against three challengers in a debate last week, as they attempted to differentiate themselves ahead of the May 19 primary election.
Whoever emerges will face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in November, a prodigious fundraiser. At stake is continued GOP control of the chamber, which works with the U.S. House to pass laws and has unique authority to confirm presidential appointments, including Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, and federal judges.
The ability to prevail over Ossoff was a key issue in the April 26 debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons, repeatedly attacked U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, over a House probe into allegations that Collins had used government funds to benefit a top aide.
“Mike, if you’re our candidate, we lose,” Carter said.
Collins called it “a total nothingburger,” saying the probe had been triggered by an anonymous complaint.
Collins countered that Carter’s political career had been “littered with complaints, crooked land deals,” urging viewers to “Google Buddy Carter ethics FBI.”
As those two dueled, Derek Dooley, the former college football coach backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, sought to appeal to both conservative and mainstream voters.
Dooley, a political newcomer, pledged to leave office after serving two six-year terms and said Congress needs new blood.
“Donald Trump is doing a great job trying to make change. He closed the border, for example. We’re getting rid of a lot of the bad guys, but what has Congress done to codify this?” Dooley said. “And this is my point why we need new leadership.”
The two other Republicans on the soundstage — John Coyne, a former Democrat, and Jonathan McColumn, a retired brigadier general — sought to boost their name recognition.
Coyne, who garnered 4% of the vote in the 2016 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate described himself as a centrist. He said population control is a top concern.
“We’ve got to control the number of people in this country,” he said. “I know that the president has the border locked down now. But what happens if a Democrat gets in in 2028? They’ll be right back where we started before.”
McColumn said he would seek to make health care more available by spurring interstate competition among insurers. He criticized incumbent Republicans as undisciplined.
“The Republican Party often acts individually and we’re not connected,” he said. “I would love to see the party come together more to discuss things behind closed doors before coming out and making clear determinations so that you can speak with one voice.”
Both Carter and Collins tried to appeal to Trump’s supporters by praising the president.
“He’s made the world safer,” said Carter, pointing to Trump’s military strikes against Iran. He said Trump had also made the country more prosperous. “We’ve got to make sure that we continue with these policies, America First policies, that President Trump has started,” he said.
Carter also pointed to his support for Trump’s desire to annex Greenland, citing its strategic location and mineral wealth.
Collins pointed to the passage of his Laken Riley Act, signed into law by Trump last year.
The legislation was a reaction to the murder of a former University of Georgia student, and it aligned with the president’s immigration enforcement policies.
Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, was sentenced to life in prison for the crime. The law mandates federal detention for certain undocumented immigrants accused of specified crimes.
Immigration is a major issue for Republican voters that may be outweighed by abortion.
McColumn pointed to his “biblical” views on that issue, and Carter said he felt strongly about being “pro-life.” But when Dooley was asked whether he supported Georgia’s ban on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, he gave an indirect answer until his questioner pinned him down.
“The heartbeat bill has been the law of the land,” Dooley said, adding that the federal government shouldn’t intervene.
When asked again whether he supported Georgia’s ban, Dooley said, “it’s not the way I would have written it.” He reiterated that the U.S. Senate and federal government should leave the issue to states.
Watch the debate at www.gpb.org/events/news/2026/04/26/georgia-us-senate-republicans-atlanta-press-club-debate
by Ty Tagami | Apr 28, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Tax cuts coexisted with higher spending on education and health care when Democrats running for governor laid out their positions this week.
At a debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club and aired by Georgia Public Broadcasting on Monday, as early voters headed to the polls, several candidates said they would address affordability by changing Georgia taxes. Nearly all said they would update the formula that funds public schools. And nearly all said they would expand Medicaid, a move rejected by Republicans as too expensive.
The leading candidates also faced attacks by their competitors.
Jason Esteves, a former state senator and Atlanta school board chairman, attacked Keisha Lance Bottoms over public safety when she was mayor of Atlanta. He blamed her for the shooting death of Secoriea Turner, 8, in 2020 amid protests.
State Rep. Derrick Jackson, D-Tyrone, assailed Esteves over his vote for pro-charter school legislation last year when he was in the Senate.
Olu Brown, a pastor, fired at Geoff Duncan, who switched from Republican to Democrat after serving as lieutenant governor, excoriating him for backing legislation against transgender people. Duncan also took withering attacks over his former position against abortion. He said he had pivoted on both issues as he transitioned away from the GOP.
Mike Thurmond, former state lawmaker and labor commissioner who also ran the DeKalb County school system and then the county government, railed against the state sales tax. He said he would cut it in half, calling it the most painful form of taxation for people with low incomes.
Bottoms defended her leadership of Atlanta by saying she had raised police and firefighter pay while balancing the budget and building affordable housing.
Duncan said he could win the general election in November by rallying independent voters and “disgusted” Republicans. He pledged to have the most diverse cabinet of any governor in state history.
Esteves said he favored a property tax cut and would make commercial property owners pay what they owe.
Jackson said he would work to raise the minimum wage.
And Amanda Duffy, a self-described low-income Georgian, said she would change the state income tax from a flat 5.19% rate to an income-based bracket system like the federal government uses. She said she wanted the wealthy to pay a larger proportion of their income. She also said she would not accept full governor’s pay if elected.
