On February 24, 2025, the following Georgia State Senate committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Public Safety voted on SB 185 and SB 147
- Economic Development and Tourism voted on SB 182
- Health and Human Services voted on SB 195
- Finance heard SB 26 and voted on SB 31 and HB 92
- Judiciary voted on SB 29, SB 145, SB 153, SB 163, SB 173, and SB 218 and heard SB 189
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Public Safety
SB 185
This bill prohibits the Department of Corrections (DOC) from using their funds or resources on any type of sexual reassignment surgery, including any surgery that would alter either primary or secondary sexual characteristics, as well as hormone replacement therapies, cosmetic procedures, or prosthetics intended to alter primary or secondary sexual characteristics. The DOC must adopt rules and regulations regarding restrictions regarding gender dysmorphia that are negotiated in healthcare contracts. This bill does not affect those born with ambiguous genitalia or chromosomal abnormalities resulting in ambiguity regarding the individual’s biological sex.
Multiple speakers pointed out that this bill would violate prisoners’ eighth amendment rights and that the state of Georgia has been sued and lost in the past for denying gender affirming care for inmates, meaning the this bill would end up costing the state in litigation and settlements. SB 185 could also impact people with hormonal issues who need to be treated. There was a great deal of concern regarding discontinuing gender affirming care and the mental health impacts. Gender reassignment surgery is already prohibited by the DOC.
The bill passed committee.
SB 147
This bill allows the Department of Corrections to give inmates documents that they may need to help get a job upon release—such as a GED, driver’s licence, or state ID—at no cost.
This bill passed committee.
Economic Development and Tourism
SB 182
This bill would establish a statewide music office under the Department of Community Affairs in order to have a centralized strategic entity to encourage the music industry’s expansion in Georgia. The office would connect cities’ efforts, promote internationally, and build a pipeline of local talent that could then stay in Georgia. The music industry supplies jobs and aids in economic growth.
The bill passed committee.
Health and Human Services
SB 195
This bill deals with HIV pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylactics; it allows pharmacists who have gone through training to prescribe and dispense a 30-day up to 60-day supply. If the individual is under the care of a primary care physician, the pharmacist can also administer a long-acting injectable or pre-exposure prophylactic. The physician must be available for consultation.
The pharmacist must carry appropriate insurance.
These pharmaceuticals do not treat HIV but prevent it.
The bill passed committee.
Finance
SB 26
This bill requires the state revenue commissioner to apply cost-of-living adjustments to establish rules to determine the maximum military retirement benefits to be excluded from taxable state income. The state revenue commissioner must establish rules that use the appropriate cost of living index, reflecting the effects of inflation and deflation on anyone receiving military service retirement income.
The bill was not voted on due to time constraints. It will return to the committee at a later date.
SB 31
This bill would eliminate all state income tax on military retirement.
The bill passed committee.
HB 92
This bill, discussed previously (see HERE), relates to the Homestead Exemption. Earlier amendments included increasing the minimum acreage to 5 acres and allowing spouses to keep the exemption if one spouse dies. The bill also requires any levying authority to opt out each year by March 1.
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary
SB 29
This bill aims to keep innocent people out of jail and only incarcerate the guilty through DNA testing. Whenever someone is booked on a felony and fingerprinted, they will be swabbed and added to CODIS, the national DNA database; if the individual is found innocent or is exonerated, their DNA will be removed from the database.
The bill passed committee.
SB 145
This bill adds a sixth judge to the Augusta judicial circuit.
The bill passed committee.
SB 153
This is a code revision, clean-up bill from the Code Revision Committee.
The bill passed committee.
SB 163
This bill updates preemption from a $100 recourse to a $50,000 recourse; some mayors and municipalities have implemented local ordinances that violate the Second Amendment. The author hopes a higher fine will prevent mayors such as the one in Savannah from fining or jailing someone if their car is broken into and their gun is stolen; this fine against the gun owner is to encourage safe storage.
The bill passed committee.
SB 173
This bill attempts to solve the issue when judges do not rule on motions in a manner that is expedient enough to protect the interest of the parties, specifically in uncontested motions in tort cases. This bill keeps a case moving more quickly.
The bill passed committee.
SB 189
This bill sets up a centralized, digital, searchable database housed in the Department of Community Affairs for all public notices, allowing Georgians to more easily see all legal notices and check the publication of those notices. SB 189 will also allow more transparency, because some attorneys and companies throughout the state only give notice to one particular newspaper that may not be seen throughout the state. Published notices would need to be on the database within 24 hours of publication.
The bill will be discussed further and return to the committee at a later date.
SB 218
This bill addresses the powers, authority, and personnel assigned to a Prosecuting Attorney’s Qualification Commission (PAQC), which was created in 2023. This bill relates to expense reimbursement for PAQC members and has a provision regarding confidentiality of complaints brought by the commission. Specifically, the bill provides for limited disclosure of dismissed complaints and clarifies that respondents to a complaint are entitled to appeal a hearing panel’s decision by submitting a petition for review to the superior court of the county. Respondents do not have a right to trial by jury, and their right to review is limited to a determination of whether the hearing panel’s decision was arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion.
Current and former PAQC members and personnel are exempt from certain restrictions on the carrying of firearms.
The bill passed committee.
