by Ty Tagami | Dec 29, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Most new laws from this year’s legislative session took effect in July, but a handful of significant bills become law on New Year’s day.
They address shortages in accounting and dentistry, and they increase homeowner protections. They update campaign finance and vehicle licensing requirements. One adds a new look for car tags.
House Bill 148, The Public Accountancy Act of 2025, was brought by Rep. John Carson, R-Marietta, a certified public accountant trying to address a shortage of accountants. It updates a licensing framework established nearly three decades ago by offering new paths to becoming a certified public account. It also lets accounting firms do some work in Georgia without having an office in the state.
House Bill 551 by Rep. Jason Ridley, R-Chatsworth, updates rules for owning and operating a motor vehicle, adding numerous new requirements around the issuance of temporary operating permits and setting standards for a new electronic system for issuing them. It also lets permitted property owners install an immobilization device on trespassing vehicles rather than just having them towed.
House Bill 567 by Rep. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, address regional shortages in dentistry, authorizing licensed dentists to practice online, with regulation by the Geogia Board of Dentistry. It also permits coverage of teledentistry by dental benefits plans. “Geography should not be a barrier to dental care,” Kristen Morgan, the Georgia Dental Association executive director, said in May when Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law.
Senate Bill 35 by Sen. Larry Walker, III, R-Perry, gives homeowners more time to prepare for loss of insurance. It doubles the minimum notice period for nonrenewal of certain residential policies to 60 days, from 30.
Senate Bill 112 by Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, requires that manufacturer warranties of residential HVAC systems transfer to home buyers. It also requires that warranties take effect on the date a system is installed by a licensed contractor and prohibits requiring product registration as a condition of warranty.
Senate Bill 199 by Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, prohibits the State Ethics Commission initiating investigations of candidates within 60 days of their election. It also requires that local elected officials file mandatory financial disclosures with the Commission rather than locally. And it requires that political action committees maintain bank accounts with detailed reporting when they contribute to candidates in the state. It also establishes uniform reporting dates for campaigns for all levels of office and requires redaction of home addresses from any records the Commission makes available to the public.
Last but not least is America First: Senate Bill 291. The act, by Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, establishes a special license plate featuring the American flag and the words “America First.” Funds raised from the sale of this plate will go to the state general fund. Gooch pushed the bill through as Senate majority leader, a post he left after the legislative session to run for lieutenant governor.
by Ty Tagami | Dec 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — A federal inmate awaiting trial for murder slipped from the DeKalb County Jail but was swiftly captured in South Florida with two other escapees, federal authorities said Friday.
Stevenson Charles, 24, and Yusuf Minor, 31, made initial appearances in federal court in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday. Naod Yohannes, 25, is scheduled for an initial appearance Monday.
The trio were discovered missing during a security check at the DeKalb jail Monday. They allegedly made their way to Florida by forcing a rideshare driver to take them there, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
“This was a dangerous, violent felon serving a life sentence who escaped custody, kidnapped an innocent victim, crossed state lines, and brought that threat into our community,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida, said in a statement Friday.
Federal agents coordinated with local law enforcement in Florida, locating Charles driving the kidnapping victim’s vehicle Monday. They captured Charles after a pursuit that ended on foot. They found a firearm along the path of the pursuit, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in South Florida.
Charles was serving a life sentence for carjacking, kidnapping and robbery when he was transferred to Georgia custody on Dec. 5 for trial on charges related to a 2022 murder and armed robbery, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
by Ty Tagami | Dec 26, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — An Atlanta Housing Authority administrator who oversaw a subsidy program for low-income renters, known as Section 8, has been charged with fraudulently obtaining some of that money for herself while also securing thousands of dollars in federal emergency and disaster loans for a business she owned.
Tracy Denise Jones, 61, of Atlanta, pleaded not guilty to three federal charges alleging she defrauded the government in connection with the Section 8 and COVID-19 relief programs.
Jones’ lawyer could not be reached for comment. She was senior vice president of her agency’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Georgia charged Jones on Dec. 19 in an alleged conspiracy that involved the mother of her two grandchildren.
The mother, identified by the initials M.D., lived in Jones’ Fayetteville property, her rent subsidized by Section 8, according to a criminal information filing by prosecutors in U.S. District Court.
As a Fayetteville resident, M.D. did not qualify for a subsidy from the agency, which calls itself Atlanta Housing, the filing said. But, it said, Jones and M.D. submitted documents claiming M.D. was an Atlantan relocating to Fayetteville for her safety as a victim of domestic violence.
The criminal charges said Jones collected more than $36,000 in Section 8 funding for the property over more than three years.
The Department of Justice said Atlanta Housing staff are “generally” prohibited from receiving Section 8 payments for their properties and that Section 8 landlords are “typically” prohibited from leasing to family.
The criminal information filing said Jones submitted affidavits to an Atlanta Housing internal investigation saying she had deeded the property to a business owned by someone else, but the charging documents said that person was “fake.”
The court filing also said Jones applied for and received about $27,000 in disaster relief and COVID-19 loans for that same business.
Despite her assertions in some documents that she did not own the Fayetteville property, Jones claimed it as hers when she applied for a new mortgage, the court document said.
Atlanta Housing is among the largest such agencies in the country, serving 43,000 people in 27,000 low-income households, according to the court filing.
As a Section 8 supervisor, Jones was entrusted with “vast sums” of money for Atlanta’s neediest residents, Theodore S. Hertzberg, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement.
“But Jones allegedly exploited a variety of assistance programs and chose to line her own pockets using an alternate identity, multiple business entities, a false affidavit, and a cadre of associates willing to lie on her behalf,” he said.
After her plea of not guilty, a federal magistrate judge released Jones on an unsecured $10,000 bond.
by Ty Tagami | Dec 23, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The year started with news about presidents past and present, as Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term and Georgia mourned the loss of Jimmy Carter.
The Trump administration implemented major changes to immigration and trade policy that reverberated across the country and in Georgia. Developments driven by technology companies also rocked the state, as the words “data center” came into common use.
The Peach State also made its own news, from a shooting at a military base to a split between a high-profile Republican and Trump and a surprising statewide election outcome that threatened the status quo.
Here is a look at the top Georgia stories of 2025.
Jan. 7: The celebration of the life of a native son and former president, Jimmy Carter, moved from Atlanta to the nation’s capital for a memorial service in the Capitol Rotunda.
Feb. 12: The state economist warned that Trump’s tariffs would probably drive up prices for Georgia consumers while suppressing exports.
March 21: The Georgia General Assembly passed Gov. Brian Kemp’s top priority — an overhaul of tort law to create a friendlier environment for insurance companies.
March 25: Lawmakers pushed back against big tech, passing a law that will prohibit student cellphone use in public elementary and middle schools starting next fall.
March 31: Reacting to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School last year, the legislature passed a sweeping school safety bill that sought to identify malevolent students before they could do harm and to bolster mental health services.
July 25: About 8,500 students secured approval to begin the school year in private schools, their tuition covered by a new state-funded voucher program that was expected to cost taxpayers $55 million.
July 28: State authorities announced an investigation of a company accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors while funding Republican political campaigns. The announcement by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger followed the filing of a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against First Liberty Building and Loan and its operator Edwin Brant Frost IV.
Aug. 6: Four soldiers and a civilian were shot by a gunman at the U.S. Army’s Fort Stewart near Savannah. All survived and a sergeant was charged with attempted murder
Aug. 25: Kemp announced his decision to deploy about 75 military members across the state to aid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sept. 4: Federal agents detained 475 workers at Hyundai’s electric vehicle battery plant near Savannah, most of them Korean nationals, causing friction with the South Korean government.
Sept. 5: Kemp announced plans to send 316 members of the Georgia National Guard to Washington, D.C. to support Trump’s use of troops to patrol the nation’s capital.
Nov. 4: Republicans felt a chill as voters soundly defeated two GOP incumbents on the Public Service Commission, choosing two Democrats instead. The monopoly regulator had raised electricity rates several times, leading to a backlash that pushed “affordability” to the top of the political agenda.
Nov. 21: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Rome Republican who forged a political brand as a staunch ally of Trump, solidified her break with the president by announcing her resignation a year early, in January. She disagreed with Trump on several issues, including artificial intelligence, military action overseas and release of the federal files concerning deceased sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
Nov. 26: A Fulton County judge granted dismissal of the criminal election conspiracy charges against Trump and his remaining co-defendants after a prosecutor took the case from District Attorney Fani Willis when the courts sidelined her over ethical concerns.
Dec. 19: The state Public Service Commission, with less than two weeks to go in the terms of two Republicans ousted by voters in November, granted a controversial expansion of electrical generation capacity for Georgia Power. The monopoly secured approval to build five gas-powered plants while sourcing other power to supply speculative demand by future data centers. The expansion raised concerns about the environmental impact of burning more fossil fuel and the cost to current customers if the nearly 10 gigawatts in new capacity proved unnecessary.
by Ty Tagami | Dec 22, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Like just about everything, the cost of insurance has been rising, fueling frustration that state leaders say they want to address.
Policy holders complain of expensive insurance that does not pay out as promised. At the same time, insurers see an unattractive market in Georgia.
Georgia ranked 50th in profitability for insurance companies last year among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, said Robert Hoyt of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.
Hoyt, speaking at the final hearing last week of a committee of lawmakers concerned about insurance costs, said low profits can drive insurers from the market, reducing competition.
Profits were down 8.7% in the state versus 7.8% average gains nationally, he said. That kind of imbalance encourages companies to take their business elsewhere.
“Less availability can lead to higher prices,” he said.
The House of Representatives’ Blue-Ribbon Study Committee on Insurance Rates met for a final time in Gwinnett County on Thursday after holding hearings in Atlanta, Savannah and Macon.
Despite the discouraging statistics from last year, the lawmakers heard some positive news.
Three companies recently announced reductions in their auto policy premiums, according to state Insurance Commissioner John King.
Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois is cutting rates 5.1%, Safeco Insurance Company of Indiana is reducing them 4.9% and Liberty Mutual Personal Insurance Company is lowering rates by 5.7%.
King attributed the reductions to the state’s anti-fraud efforts and to the “lawsuit abuse reforms” lawmakers adopted earlier this year, a reference to tort law changes that were a priority for Gov. Brian Kemp during the last legislative session.
The legislation passed largely along party lines, with Democrats arguing it shielded insurers from liability and denied claimants adequate legal redress.
Lawmakers on the House committee heard complaints about insurers who refused to pay claims because, the critics said, state laws did not hold them to account.
“Insurance companies expect policyholders to pay their bills on time, every time,” said a woman who sued her insurer after months of battling over repair costs from a fallen tree. “When it’s their turn to pay, there are often no real consequences for delay or denial.”
Auto repair companies talked of insurers who refused to pay the full cost to repair cars to manufacturers’ standards.
They shared stories about owners who fought insurers for months and finally paid out of pocket, desperate to get their vehicles back.
“The insurance company will drag their feet,” said Frankie Johnson, owner of Styles Auto Care in Cartersville. He said his customers had shared hundreds of their email threads with insurers that illustrated their predicament.
Companies want to delay the repair process, he said, “hoping that everyone will just give up.”
Johnson sized up the situation: “The current rights of the consumer are not much.”
There were similar stories about tactics in medical care.
Rachael Auyer, of the Georgia Society of Orthotists and Prosthetists, had a client who lost her leg below the knee in an automobile collision. An avid marathoner, the 39-year-old teacher was denied a running prosthesis, Auyer said, because it was not deemed medically necessary. Auyer said the Rome woman, a special education teacher, also had to hop to the bathroom because the insurer did not deem a shower prosthesis to be medically necessary.
“Physicians don’t determine medical necessity,” Auyer said, “insurance companies do.”
Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, chaired the study committee. He said in an interview that lawmakers will be scrutinizing prices, profits and the way claims are processed.
Reeves, who serves as vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the state needs to review its fines for insurance companies that act in bad faith to ensure penalties are significant enough to deter misbehavior.
Insurance affordability will likely inspire legislation during the legislative session that starts in January, he said. “I think it’ll be a robust session on insurance.”
