GA Legislative Watch 2025 | Week eight

March 8, 2025
Friendly Amendment, GLW, In the News

GA Legislative Watch

By Molly Mcloughlin ● March 8, 2025
Smart Brevity™ count: 5.5 mins…1,466 words

🌪 75 bills passed out of the House, an all-time record. House bills that crossed over will now be heard by Senate committees, and visa versa, but which ones remain intact is TBD.

Yes, but: Bills that don’t pass this session still have a chance in the second half of the biennial next year.

🍔 One fun thing: Folks had to hold on to their burgers (and bills) on Crossover Day, wary of the McDonald’s mascot Hamburglar who roamed the Capitol.

1 big thing: What crossed over

🍎 “The most important thing we’ll vote for,” said Speaker Jon Burns from the well on the passage of his school safety package, HB 268, which creates a statewide database for schools to track students’ disciplinary, mental health and law enforcement records.

A new felony offense of “terroristic threat of a school or terroristic act upon a school” would be created with SB 61, which also requires schools to conduct annual threat assessments.

A tax credit for safe gun storage equipment and training, HB 79, passed, although D’s cited concerns that the measure didn’t go far enough to control gun violence.

📵 “Bell to bell, no cell,” says the HB 340 sponsor, banning cell phones during school hours for K-8 grade starting fall of 2026.

Two paths on school zone cameras. Rep. Dale Washburn’s (R-Macon) HB 225, with the backing of over 100 co-signers, would ban speed cameras in school zones receiving a 129 to 37 vote.

Rep. Alan Powell’s (R-Hartwell) HB 651, passed 164-8, limits operation to one hour before and after school and mandates funds be split evenly between local law enforcement and school safety.

🚍 Bus-only lane. HB 638 would allow MARTA buses to install cameras to ticket vehicles parked in bus-only lanes, especially important as the Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line is scheduled to open this summer.

A public education awareness campaign will be conducted for the first six months.
Violations will never result in an arrest, won’t contribute to points on your driving record, and won’t delay tag renewals.

🏗 To help Downtown Atlanta developers accelerate preparations for the World Cup, HB 360 pushes up the timeline to reap the historic rehabilitation tax credit benefits to next year.

At least one in-state property manager would be required of landlords who own or operate 25 or more single-family or duplex rental properties with the passage of HB 399.

Another development authority for Fulton County – the north side anyway – could be in the making with the crossing over of SB 151.

Opponents say it could cause competition with the existing authority without legislation to change Develop Fulton’s jurisdiction to only cover the South side.

📲 The data privacy bill, SB 111 is on its way to the House, creating data protection and security standards for Georgians’ personal online data.

More consumer control over subscriptions. HB 529 puts the onus on companies to have better communication on subscription renewals and makes the cancellation processes more accessible.

🗳 Municipalities may opt-in to Saturday advance voting for local elections with HB 397, which also extends the minimum time between calling and holding special elections from 29 to 60 days.

The measure is in response to smaller localities’ concerns about the cost of putting on mandatory Saturday voting with very limited turnout.

More land for Mulberry. HB 647 would add 45 parcels to the city’s limits, one of the several measures trying to address the land and services predicament between the newly-formed city and Gwinnett County – at the objection of many Gwinnett Democrats.

The annual resurgence of the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act, SB 36, passed along party lines and would limit the state’s ability to enforce or pass laws that conflict with religious beliefs.

Go back: In 2016, when pressured by major companies, Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a version of RFRA, but today’s version addresses some of the concerns raised in the years since.

⚕ Expanding access to medical cannabis. Passing 39-17 after over an hour of debate, the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act” raises the concentration allowed in medical cannabis products from 5% to 50%, lowers requirements for certain qualified diagnoses, and replaces the term “low-THC oil” with “medical cannabis” in Georgia code.

Banning gender-affirming treatment for transgender inmates in state custody, SB 185, passed 37-15, with several D’s voting in favor with R’s and others taking a walk during the vote.

A similar situation played out when the Senate also passed a measure banning puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors.
The topic has become a wedge issue for D’s nationally, with CA Gov. Gavin Newson coming out this week against biological males competing in women’s sports.

2. What did not

🏦 Combatting “de-banking,” SB 57, failed 13-43 after a lengthy debate. Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Valdosta) wanted to allow bank and utility customers to sue if they believe their services were terminated based on their ideological beliefs.

Don’t bet on it. Legalizing online sports betting, HB 686, passed out of committee the day before Crossover Day but wasn’t able to make it to a floor vote, despite chatter throughout the day.

No DEI ban, yet. SB 120 aimed to ban DEI programs in public schools and universities and withhold state funding for non-compliance, but after passing out of committee, the sponsor chose to keep working on it into next year.

🏘 Limiting corporate ownership to 2,000 residential properties with HB 555 did not make it to a floor vote, although it did make it out of the Rules Committee in the late hours.

💡 Data centers carrying their own higher energy burden to prevent consumer rate hikes with SB 34 did not get the blessing of the Rules Committee to receive a floor vote.

A major shift in enforcing laws around homelessness didn’t make it to a vote. HB 295 would’ve allowed property owners to receive a tax refund if they could show they lost value or incurred extra expenses because local governments failed to enforce bans on homeless encampments and other laws.

📣 Following last year’s widespread college protests, HB 602 proposed revoking student scholarships for a semester if convicted of protest-related crimes. However, it stalled in the Rules Committee after further contentious debate was noted by the Chairman.

Excluding tax on tips won’t be needed at the state level said the sponsor of SB 2, noting that now under the Trump Administration “Congress is well on its way to eliminating taxes on tips.”

The Senate’s version of limiting school zone cameras, SB 75, never got a vote on the floor.

We’ll see where the Senate lands as they consider the two House bills banning and severely limiting speed cameras in school zones.

3. Other political news

🏢 Federal buildings for sale, and then… not. The General Services Administration published a list for the potential sale of 443 buildings considered “not core to government operations.”

It listed 17 in Georgia, including two downtown Atlanta landmarks that form one of the largest clusters of federal office space outside D.C.
Big picture: Although the list was taken down, and said to be coming soon, the news hits amid a concerted effort to revitalize the downtown corridor and take advantage of federal return-to-office policies.

Small Business Administration head, Kelly Loeffler, announced the agency’s regional offices would be relocated out of “sanctuary cities” – which includes Atlanta among other major cities. The offices would be moved to

“less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law.”

🎖 Back to Benning. The Pentagon renamed Fort Moore as Fort Benning, citing this time it’s for Cpl. Fred Benning of Nebraska, an honored WW I vet (and not the Confederate general for which the base near Columbus was originally named).

Rep. Lucy McBath is laying the groundwork to run for Governor of Georgia, filing paperwork to launch an exploratory fundraising committee.

4. What’s next?

⌛ 4 weeks or 12 legislative days to go until Sine Die.

Monday, the Senate will gavel in at 11am and the House at 1pm to kick off legislative days 29-31 with a committee work day on Wednesday.
The House Subcommittee on Lawsuit Reform will convene for its 3rd hearing at 2pm on Monday.

5. Join us

This Monday meet and greet the newest members of the Ohio River South leadership team, Don Balfour and Andy Beck! Our guest list is closing soon, so RSVP now at ohioriversouth.com/expansion.

Plus, read more about our new team member and former state Senator Don Balfour in the Gwinnett Daily Post.