(Georgia Recorder) — Monday marks the start of Georgia’s annual legislative session, when state legislators will head to Atlanta for 40 days of deliberating and passing laws underneath the Gold Dome of the state Capitol.
What does that mean?
The yearly legislative session is when the representatives and senators Georgians elect pass new laws, so the Capitol will be buzzing for the next three months with politicians and lobbyists trying to make deals and get their priorities into law.
The session lasts 40 days, but not all in a row. Sometimes lawmakers take days off or set aside days just for committee meetings. One of the lawmakers’ first priorities will be to set a schedule for the year, and leaders from both chambers got a jumpstart on that when they released a proposed calendar Sunday.
Under the proposed schedule, lawmakers will eagerly wrap up their work on Thursday, April 2.
Georgia law prevents lawmakers from raising money for their campaigns during the session – the idea is to prevent even the appearance of pay-for-play politics.
And 2026 is set to be a seismic election year with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp term-limited from running again. This future vacancy at the top has caused a cascade effect of politicians running for higher office, especially in the state Senate.
Lawmakers who are not planning to upgrade their title are also under pressure because the entire House and Senate will be up for re-election in November.
RELATED: High school cell phone ban, literacy, and taxes among state legislative priorities
A busy first day at the Capitol
Advocacy groups such as the ACLU of Georgia have planned events to kick off the first day of session. Alongside partner organizations like Indivisible Georgia Coalition, representatives from the ACLU of Georgia will hold training sessions, provide an update of ongoing court cases and preview their legislative priorities for the upcoming session.
“Georgians are telling legislators we need to emphasize people over politics, and that’s going to be the message that happens at the Capitol,” said Christopher Bruce, who works as the ACLU of Georgia’s policy and advocacy director.
Over 600 people have signed up to attend the “Pack the Capitol” event hosted by the ACLU and other advocacy groups, he added.
Faith leaders from different traditions will also be among the groups gathering at the Capitol Monday as the session kicks off. The event, which will include speeches and a group singing of “God Bless America,” is organized by First Five Freedoms and aims to promote civility and empathy.
Pastor Randy Rainwater with Grace New Hope Church in Lawrenceville will be among the faith leaders there to pray for state lawmakers.
“As a pastor, as someone who cares about people both in my congregation and out of my congregation, the wellbeing of us as Georgia citizens and as Americans depends so much on our unity,” Rainwater said. “And that’s what made us a nation. It’s what’s allowed us to survive for now 250 years. If we’re not a civil people, this doesn’t work.”
Can much be accomplished?
With so many sitting lawmakers seeking higher office this year, there’s debate over whether much will be accomplished in the next few months.
And the dim prospects of a productive session can be frustrating for those who plan to walk into their respective chamber Monday with policy goals in mind.
For Rep. Michelle Au, the start of session represents a chance to put into action the plans she’s been developing since lawmakers adjourned last year. She likened returning to the Gold Dome for the start of the session to the excitement of going back to camp after time away, even as she acknowledged the election-year constraints that will likely limit how much gets done.
“I do think it’s going to be, in my mind, the more annoying confluence of having the inability to get a lot of stuff accomplished along with a lot of performance art and posturing and electioneering,” said Au, a Johns Creek Democrat and anesthesiologist who takes leave from her job during the session.
“So, there’s going to be more talking taking more time with less output,” she added.
Speaking to reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday, House Speaker Jon Burns said he believes “meaningful legislation” can still be passed.
“There are a lot of things being said about how this session may not be productive,” he said. “I don’t agree. I think our job is to come here and perform, do our jobs, and I believe we’re going to pass meaningful legislation this session.
Burns said his top priority for the year will be to pass legislation aimed at boosting Georgia’s literacy rate, citing statistics showing that only a third of students read at a proficient level by the time they finish third grade.
With Georgians struggling to deal with rising costs of living, and with Democratic flips of a state House seat and two seats on the state board overseeing utility costs underscoring the importance of the economy on the minds of voters, the word “affordability” is likely to pass the lips of many a lawmaker in speeches this year.
Senate Republicans want to help make life more affordable by reducing and eventually eliminating the state income tax by 2032, while Burns said the House will introduce a plan to cut property taxes. Details on both plans, including how the state and local governments can compensate for revenue losses, have yet to be publicly revealed.
Sen. Max Burns, a Sylvania Republican and chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said Republicans will be eyeing ways to make getting a degree in Georgia more affordable as well.
That could include creating needs-based financial aid for college students for the first time, Burns said or reducing the time it takes to graduate.
The average time it takes to earn a degree varies between University System of Georgia schools with an average of about four years and nine months system-wide. Georgia Tech students graduate the quickest on average at about four years and two months. Atlanta Metropolitan College has the longest average time to degree completion at six years and eight months.
“If we look at the challenge of affordability, it’s not necessarily the cost of tuition or the direct cost of education, it’s the ancillary costs that are really driving that, especially the cost of living and some of the fee structures,” he said. “But if we can compress graduation by a semester or two, then what you do is you really reduce the cost of education.”
Republicans control both chambers and the governor’s mansion, so what they say typically goes, though Democrats can try to wield some influence, especially when there is disagreement in the GOP ranks.
House Minority Whip Sam Park of Lawrenceville said that Democrats in the House will be focused on ensuring that every Georgia resident can afford necessities like child care, health care and housing.
“Health care, housing and education will be our areas of focus in which we’re really looking at affordability,” he said.
However, Park also said he is worried about Republican-led tax cuts and the potential reemergence of social issues dominating the Legislature during a year full of high-profile elections.
“Especially with my Republican colleagues, it seems that they’re very much focused on seeing who can out-MAGA each other, which I think is ultimately to the detriment of Georgians who are really struggling with this affordability crisis,” Park said.
Back from the dead
The Legislature runs on a two-year cycle, which means that bills that were introduced but not passed last year could be revived this year.
Some significant bills that could be roused from their slumber include:
- A ban on puberty-blocking drugs for transgender minors which was dialed back in a House committee
- A bill preventing state workers or their dependants from receiving gender-affirming care through the state health plan
- A ban on diversity, equity and inclusion policies in schools and colleges that was grafted onto a billdealing with sick days for teachers after it did not pass the Senate ahead of a legislative deadline
- Duelling plans to deal with traffic cameras in school zones, either by putting new regulations on them or getting rid of them altogether.
- A push to make hand-marked paper ballots the primary voting system across the state
- A bill preventing political campaigns from knowingly publishing certain audio or AI-made materials within 90 days of an election.
Georgia Recorder editor Jill Nolin contributed to this story.
