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Meeting transcript · Georgia State Senate · March 23, 2026
Senate floor session, March 23, 2026 (legislative day 36)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Senate passed HB 1009, extending school-day phone restrictions to high school students, after rejecting an amendment allowing access between classes. Senators also passed measures on advanced math, forestry tax credits, local property-tax relief, bankruptcy protections, school financial oversight, public health employees and medical treatment rules. A substitute to HB 154 replaced its ambulance provisions with a proposal to seek year-round Atlantic Standard Time. A lengthy debate over district attorney pay ended with passage of HB 1020, followed by notice of a request to reconsider it. Senators left SB 350, concerning DeKalb County officials’ pay, available for later action after questions about conflicting pay provisions. They returned HB 79 to the Rules Committee, adopted a family-farm study resolution and agreed to the House changes to SB 427. The Senate adjourned until March 25.
Simple bill. This is one of many bills that came as a result of the amazing study committee that I co-chaired with the senator from the 40th on the effects of social media on kids. And the number one recommendation that came out of that committee was what cell phones do to our kids, what a distraction it is, how much it distracts them from focusing on...
And I said, "Sir, let me ask you this. What did you do as a young man? What was your, you know, your first real job in your 20s?" And he said, "I was a submariner." I said, "Okay, great. Let's talk about that." I said, "When you went to battle stations, were you guys focused on anything else? Were-- Did you guys have cell phones? Were you allowed to be...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee · March 17, 2026
Senate Children and Families Committee, March 17, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee advanced three bills: HB 181, allowing certain internationally adoptive families to obtain a Georgia Certificate of Foreign Birth without another court process; HB 1118, adding three weeks of maternal birth leave for eligible state employees and teachers; and HB 1009, extending school-day restrictions on personal electronic devices to high school students. The committee unanimously approved a substitute for HB 181 and approved HB 1118 with no opposition heard. After testimony from a student, education groups, a policy organization and the state school superintendent, the committee unanimously approved HB 1009.
That's pretty good. Thank you, Madam Chair, for, for letting me address yet another bill. We've had a lot of good bills in here today, so we appreciate it. Um, I wanna just share a little bit more about the survey that Representative Hilton mentioned from Georgia Southern. We worked with Georgia Southern on that survey. Um, they, they were, they surveyed...
So again, thank you all for considering this bill. Thank you to Representative Hilton for carrying both Hou- House Bill 340 and House Bill 1099, and PAGE is in strong support of this legislation. Thank you. Thank you very much. Tripp Richardson. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of the committee. My name is Tripp Richardson with the Frontline Policy...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Education and Youth Committee · February 10, 2026
Senate Education and Youth Committee, February 10, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard a teacher recruitment and retention report prepared in response to SR 237, including recommendations on training, financial support, working conditions and school leadership. Members asked about transferring course credits, classroom phone restrictions, reducing teachers’ duties and recognizing prior teaching experience. No action was taken on the report. The committee also held a vote on SB 471, which would make permanent the parental opt-out requirement for school mask mandates, but the chair did not expressly announce the result. The committee unanimously approved a substitute for SB 369 establishing a dropout recovery charter school category and separate performance reporting.
... technical schools? ... plus two with nurses. That's already done. But the one that we're pressing for now is education. If, if a person, if they start with a TAP, the Teacher As a Professional, if they start in high school, they're gonna take several courses there. If it transfers up, maybe they go to a technical school, or maybe they go to a USG...
Mm-hmm. And so it's an issue. I can tell you, I have, I have twins. They've just graduated. They're in their first year of college. Their high school had already done it. Uh, now they didn't take it from them, but they had a process in place where they could not touch their phone, uh, during class time, and that helped a lot for them, I can tell you. Okay....
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Rules Committee · March 19, 2026
Senate Rules Committee, March 19, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee heard brief requests to schedule bills on education, taxes, health care, veterans, licensing and other subjects. Members unanimously approved a 16-measure floor calendar. In separate committee business, members unanimously approved a prison education study committee resolution, a resolution honoring Bangladeshi peacekeepers, and a substitute for HB 445 that added public water and sewer systems to a public utility definition. Members questioned trout-stream buffer changes in HB 485. The chair postponed action on that bill until the next day so legislative counsel and the original sponsor could help explain the changes.
That's right. Uh, House Bill 1009, which is the bottom of your second page, House Bill 1009 extends the cellphone-free bill that we passed last year through K through eight to include high school. Um, passed both committees unanimously, and, uh, it's just been a big win for our schools, and we'd like to keep it going. A lot of happy parents and teachers....
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Rules Committee · March 20, 2026
Senate Rules Committee, March 20, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee approved a substitute for HB 328 by a 7 to 5 vote after discussing removal of the scholarship tax credit program’s expiration date. Members then heard requests to schedule bills on education, taxes, courts, veterans, public safety and other subjects. The committee unanimously approved a 14-measure floor calendar, including HB 154, which a presenter said now seeks year-round Atlantic Standard Time, and HB 1009, concerning cellphone-free high school classrooms. After initially selecting HB 1077, members removed it from the calendar and unanimously returned it to the Rules Standing Committee for an unspecified correction. Members also unanimously returned HB 1129 to that committee.
Who's the- I was referring to the other Rules Chairman, but yeah. Oh. Yeah. Okay. Gotcha. All right. Okay. Never mind. I'll stick to the North Georgia. There. There we go. Um, thank you. House Bill 1009, midpage, page three, going cellphone-free in our classrooms. That's it. That's it. That's simple. That's straight. Simple. This is- 1009 ... 9 through 12....
Okay. Gotcha. Okay. Uh, no other House members. Uh, Chairman Hickman, you got a bill or two? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Um, the three bills that I've, that, these are House bills, but I'd like to reiterate them. It's, um, House Bill 1107, which is one for, uh, Representative Rose a few minutes ago. Th- this bill basically wants us to put everybody on notice...
Meeting transcript · Georgia State Senate · March 6, 2026
Senate floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, part 1)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): On Crossover Day, the Senate read incoming legislation and committee reports, then voted on bills covering utilities, elections, public safety, education, licensing and insurance. The Senate passed SB 410, which the sponsor said would end new data-center tax exemptions and require utility contract protections. Members disputed whether those protections would keep costs off household bills. The Senate also passed measures addressing clergy sexual abuse, AI safety, animal cruelty records, human trafficking and prosecutor oversight. SR 838, a proposed constitutional amendment on citizenship and photo identification for voting, failed to receive the required two-thirds vote. SB 573, concerning nonpartisan elections in certain counties, failed, and the sponsor requested reconsideration. No reconsideration vote appears in this transcript. The session paused for dinner after passing SB 593.
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of Senate Bill 540. Uh, it's, it's an important first step in taking action to keep our kids safe online. Um, this has been an important topic for me. Um, I co-chaired a study committee on this during the interim with the senator from the 48th, and I wrote the resolution for the study committee because i- it...
In fact, members of The Anxious Generation team were very helpful in providing testimony to our study committee. Just this week, the team of The Anxious Generation released something called a Childhood Index. It's a first of its kind ranking of all fifty states on how well tech laws and policies in each state support healthy, flourishing childhoods on and...
Meeting transcript · Georgia State Senate · March 19, 2026
Senate floor session, March 19, 2026 (legislative day 34)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Senate passed measures on education, public safety license plates, manufactured-home taxes, delivery robots, veterinary care and funeral insurance payments. Senators also agreed 51-0 to changes to HB 1199, including a 60-day motor-fuel tax suspension, and ordered immediate transmission to the House. Two proposed constitutional amendments, HR 251 on nonpartisan probate judge elections and HR 1243 on a dedicated 911 fund, failed to reach the required two-thirds majority. Supporters gave notice they would seek reconsideration. Debate on both centered partly on minority-party requests for negotiation and compromise. The Senate moved HB 960 to Ethics and HB 1193 to Appropriations, heard bill readings and committee reports, and approved an unnamed local consent calendar 49-0. The session also included community recognitions before adjournment until the next morning.
House Bill 979 by Representative Bonner of the 73rd and others, State Government, procedures for retrocession of jurisdiction in certain circumstances, provide. House Bill 985 by Representative Bonner of the 73rd and others, Veterans Affairs, revise terms of eligibility for persons to be buried in Georgia veteran cem- cemeteries. House Bill 987 by...
Amendment · Georgia State Senate · September 25, 2026
Sen Floor Amend 1 AM 49 0318 to HB 1009
LOST Senator Kemp of the 38th offered the following amendment #1: Amend HB 1009 (LC 49 2527) by replacing lines 18 through 21 with the following: (2) 'Bell-to-bell' means the period beginning with the first bell signaling the start of instructional time and ending with the final bell signaling the conclusion of the school day and shall include all scheduled...
Amendment · Georgia State Senate · September 25, 2026
Sen Floor Amend 1 AM 49 0259 to HB 340
LOST Senators Islam Parkes of the 7th and Jones II of the 22nd offered the following amendment #1: Amend HB 340 (LC 49 2284S) by replacing lines 93 through 95 with the following: (g) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed or applied to: (1) Prohibit or limit a local school system or public school from providing school equipment, including, but not...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee · February 10, 2026
Senate Children and Families Committee, February 10, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee held a hearing on a proposed substitute to SB 343 that would restrict addictive social media design features for minors rather than ban younger children from having accounts. Witnesses discussed privacy protections, age checks, enforcement, mental health and young people’s free-speech rights. The chair said a related age-verification proposal would receive a hearing the following week. The committee took no vote.
If it makes you happy, you know, if you like seeing puppies, you'll see puppies. If you, you know, disagree with someone and you engage 'cause it makes you so mad, you're gonna see that. And as I was saying earlier, this may be a business decision for adults, but it's a serious problem when the user is a child. So there's a pretty popular book called The...
And, um, some of them are being, uh, having pornography on them, not that they're even seeking it. It ends up seeking them. So I think when you're talking about dealing with these algorithms, these, these types of things that are targeting children, whether it be for some other reason, but mental health issues you've mentioned as well, we do think this is...
Meeting transcript · Georgia State Senate · March 31, 2026
Senate floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 1)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Senate passed measures on early reading instruction, property tax limits, additional judgeships, healthcare, foster care and local government. Senators approved HB 1193 unanimously after revising its literacy coaching and oversight provisions. Debate on HB 1116 centered on homeowner tax relief, sales taxes and limits on local revenue, and the bill passed 31-19. The Senate also approved constitutional proposals for nonpartisan probate judge elections and a Next Generation 911 fund. Senators appointed budget negotiators for HB 974, tabled several measures and voted to prevent floor amendments to a group of tax and campaign finance bills. The transcript ends with HB 297 pending as the Senate paused for dinner.
And you know what? Y'all were shocked. Y'all could not believe what we were saying. Y'all were shocked. More than that, I think you were embarrassed about it. I was. I was embarrassed to know that children in our, in my county couldn't read, and I was embarrassed to know that we were the greatest state in the nation, but yet our children couldn't read. And...
What about the bill we passed to increase teacher leave days, three to five? What about the bill we passed over the House earlier today, Senate Bill 150, to re- a return to work bill for teachers? What about the math bill we passed a few weeks ago? What about the bill that senator from 38 passed last year to eliminate, um, sight words in classrooms? What...
Bill or resolution · Georgia State Senate · January 15, 2025 · Engrossed
"Ricky and Alyssa's Law"; enact
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): Georgia's SB 17, called Ricky and Alyssa's Law, would require every public school to install a mobile panic alert system and provide detailed digital maps of school buildings to first responders by July 1, 2026.
The House Committee on Rules offers the following substitute to SB 17: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 11 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 and Article 10 of Chapter 3 of Title 38 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to public school property and facilities and state-wide first responder building mapping information system, respectively,...
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as "Ricky and Alyssa's Law."
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee · February 24, 2026
Senate Children and Families Committee, February 24, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee approved SB 540, which would set safety requirements for conversational AI services used by minors, after removing a $500,000 cap on penalties. Members raised unresolved questions about age verification and privacy. The committee also held a hearing on a substitute for SB 495, which would restrict online design features the sponsor described as addictive and strengthen privacy protections. Witnesses offered support and raised constitutional concerns, but no vote was taken. The committee unanimously approved SR 771 to create a study committee focused on making adoption easier and more affordable.
Thank you very much. Um, Mike Griffin and Polly McKinney, you've already spoken. Uh, did you just wanna- Uh, just- ... state your support? Sure. Say on behalf of Georgia Bats, we do support this bill. Uh, we appreciate Senator Harrell and, uh, 495, this bill. And we thank, uh, Senator Hatchett and Cowsert as well. We support that legislation and really...
And to think that while I was putting so much of my effort into r- raising my kids and wanting them to be, you know, healthy adults, um, that there was a company, there were companies out there making conscious decisions to do something to interfere with that, and, and it did interfere, interfere with that, um, it, it leaves a pit in my stomach. And we...
Bill or resolution · Georgia State Senate · January 13, 2025 · Passed
Senate Rules; adopt
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): Senate Resolution 3 adopts the Georgia Senate's operating rules for the 2025-2026 legislative term, carrying over the prior rules with a set of amendments covering staff office names, interim committees, floor conduct, and lobbyist restrictions.
SECTION 9. Said Rules of the Senate are further amended by revising Rule 9-1.13 as follows: "9-1.13 Smoking, Eating, Use of Cellular Phones Prohibited There shall be no smoking, or eating, use of cellular telephones, or reading of newspapers and other materials not pertinent to legislation in the Senate Chamber while the Senate is in session."
SECTION 10. Said Rules of the Senate are further amended by revising Rule 9-1.14 as follows: "9-1.14 Use of Computers, Cellular Phones, Reading Materials on the Senate Floor A Senator shall use his or her computer and cellular phone in the Senate Chamber only for legislative business, provided that this shall not prohibit the Senator from using the computer...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee · February 17, 2026
Senate Children and Families Committee, February 17, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee held a hearing on SB 467, which the sponsor described as requiring age checks and parental consent for minors downloading smartphone apps or making in-app purchases. Supporters said it would give parents more control and clearer information. Opponents raised concerns about privacy, access to lawful information, costs for small developers and whether the proposal would address harmful content inside apps. Members questioned how parental consent would affect platform responsibility and why technology companies opposed the requirements. The sponsor invited suggestions for addressing concerns. The committee adjourned without voting.
Welcome to the Children and Families Committee. Sorry we're running a bit late. Our session ran over, and we have a couple of people that are on the way. Uh, but because this bill is a hearing only, we don't need a quorum to get started. So we've got a whole bunch of people that wanna speak to the bill, uh, on Zoom and live. So with that, um, Senator Payne,...
This isn't other types, but it's, uh, it's aimed at those. It requires a few things to protect our children. One is that the app store provider, whoever's selling or, or, or pre-installing, uh, these type of applications require age verification to find out what the age of the user is. We have to have that information in order to protect them. It does not...
Meeting transcript · Georgia State Senate · March 18, 2026
Senate floor session, March 18, 2026 (legislative day 33)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Senate passed HB 998 on rural telephone service, HB 1159 on tax relief for farm assistance payments, HB 1302 on education and workforce coordination, HB 1379 on foreign funding disclosures, HB 999 on magistrate courts, and HB 376 on historic rehabilitation tax credits. Senators also agreed to House changes to SB 220, with further amendments to the medical cannabis proposal. Debate included rural communications, utility consumer protections, minimum wage, foreign influence in schools, access to small claims court, and cannabis benefits and risks. The Senate returned HB 439 to the Finance Committee to fix an error and received numerous committee reports and bill readings. A senator gave notice of plans to consider House changes to HB 1199 on the next legislative day. The Senate adjourned until 10 a.m. March 19.
People in the hallway texting you, your voters asking you to, to turn up the volume and be more partisan, primary season, qualifying season, notwithstanding all of those pressures, genuinely amazing stuff to see that we can keep our heads. And what's that, that phrase about if you can keep your head when everyone else around you is losing theirs, you...
is that we are siloed when it comes to information, that we are only receiving the information that we want to hear, not the information that might be the best news of the day for us to consume, for us to stay informed about the topics of the day, but the information that already m- that makes us feel what we already feel, that justifies our prior...
Meeting transcript · Georgia State Senate · March 31, 2026
Senate floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Senate passed bills on transportation agencies, repeat misdemeanor offenses, traffic stops, cancer treatment facilities, estate transfers and other topics. It passed HB 297, which would combine two transportation authorities, 30 to 19 after debate over state and local control. Senators also agreed to House changes on teacher retirement, homeowners associations, unclaimed property and other legislation. They replaced SB 17 with a process for intervening in financially distressed cities, approving the amended version 32 to 17 after substantial debate. The Senate rejected House changes to SB 398 because the sponsor said protections for children had been removed. Several bills were tabled, and nine were briefly removed from the table and tabled again to preserve their availability for Thursday. The Senate adjourned until 10 a.m. on April 2.
Mr. President, I move that the Senate agree to the House substitute to SB589. Secretary, read the caption. Senate Bill 589 by Senator Brass of the 6th and others. A bill to be entitled an act to amend part three of article six of chapter two of title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to educational programs under the Quality Basic...
And then a third provision was added and if a school has student ID badges on the back, they will put 988, you are not alone, and this is a, a number that these kids can text or call if they're experiencing suicidal crisis, emotional distress, or challenges with substance abuse. I'll yield for questions. You do have a question. Recognize the senator from...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Education and Youth Committee · March 19, 2026
Senate Education and Youth Committee, March 19, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee approved four bills: HB 1220 on scholarship eligibility, HB 1114 on digital and financial literacy instruction, HB 451 on religious instruction during school release time, and HB 634 on administration of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program. The vote on HB 1220 was 5 to 4. Members raised concerns about private-school access, younger students’ instructional time, teacher workloads, and rules for religious classes on school property. The Senate sponsor of HB 451 committed to reviewing the school-property language with legislative counsel before floor consideration. No exact vote totals were stated for the other three bills.
Right. Yes, sir. That's exactly right. And he said, "And, and that's just something, it's something we take for, as common knowledge in the adult world, and the young people don't know until they have to know." That's right. And so that is such a great advantage to giving these people, these young people the, the opportunity for under- understanding...
Mm-hmm. It's, it's more or less just instructing the students that they're, you know, on, you know, things that deal with digi- digital literacy. A- and so, like, is there, like, a, like, a model curriculum or, like, something, an example from another state? 'Cause my concern, what I'm getting at, is teachers are already stretched thin, and we have 70% of...
Meeting transcript · Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee · February 5, 2026
Senate Judiciary Committee, February 5, 2026
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The committee unanimously approved both bills and sent them to Rules. Members approved SB 405 without further discussion of its substance, following testimony at an earlier subcommittee meeting. For SB 398, members reviewed a narrower substitute addressing AI-generated obscene images and adopted two amendments. One concerned sexually explicit chatbot responses to children; the other limited certain probation restrictions to felony violations. The committee then unanimously approved the amended substitute. The chair also outlined a process of generally taking public testimony on Mondays and considering full committee votes on Thursdays.
Okay. I'm okay with that. Legislative Council, do you agree with that change being a fix we need to make as well? I do believe it is. I may read it back at some point just to make sure I got the language right, but I do not see an issue with that as a fix. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Any other questions for the author on the...
Amendment · Georgia State Senate · September 25, 2026
Floor Amend 1 AM 49 0245 to SB 61
ADOPTED Senator Dolezal of the 27th offered the following amendment #1: Amend the Senate Committee on Judiciary substitute to SB 61 (LC 49 2320S) by replacing lines 183 through 185 with the following: (A) On public or private school operated property, including, but not limited to, school buildings and school grounds; By replacing lines 190 through 192 with...
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