ATLANTA – The General Assembly will convene under the Gold Dome on Monday with the usual mix of old and new business on its plate.

Supporters of perennial to-do items including tort reform and legalized sports betting will be back for another crack at getting their favorite causes through the legislature and to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature.

At the same time, new demands for funding for victims of Hurricane Helene and to improve conditions inside the much-maligned state prison system will vie for attention. Lawmakers also will be asked to respond to the school shooting in Barrow County last September with legislation aimed at ensuring safe storage of firearms.

Kemp has made tort reform a major priority for the second year in a row. The General Assembly passed a Kemp-backed bill last year directing the state insurance department to gather data on legal trends affecting insurance premiums and prepare a report.

At a roundtable with small business leaders last August, the governor vowed to use that data to help craft legislation aimed at reducing “runaway” jury awards that drive up premiums business owners struggle to pay.

Opponents warn that if carried too far, tort reform threatens to rob Georgians injured in car crashes or by medical malpractice of their day in court.

“Ensuring that Georgia remains the No.-1 state for business while also protecting the rights of consumers requires a balanced approach to litigation reform,” said House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington. “We will be driven by the facts, gather input from constituents and stakeholders from across the state and look at thoughtful, data-driven solutions to balance the scales.”

Legalized gambling is another issue the General Assembly has taken up repeatedly in recent years without passing. Armed with a new poll showing widespread public support for legalizing sports betting, an alliance of sportsbooks including FanDuel and DraftKings will be back asking lawmakers to legalize what already is legal in 39 other states.

“Illegal sports betting is happening in the state, but they don’t pay taxes,” said Scott Ward, a national expert on sports betting and counsel to the alliance. “People are realizing this is here. We need to put guardrails around it, regulate it, and tax it.”

Faith-based organizations also will be back at the state Capitol opposing legalizing sports betting on moral grounds and as an economic threat to Georgians addicted to gambling.

While tort reform and legalized gambling have sparked annual tussles in the General Assembly, new demands to tap into Georgia’s bulging budget surplus promise to play major roles in 2025.

In Athens last month, Kemp pledged to unveil a Hurricane Helene disaster relief package at the beginning of the legislative session. The massive storm struck South Georgia and spread north through the Augusta area in late September, killing 34 and causing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding as well as extensive power outages. 

“We’ve gone through probably the most damaging storm in our history … lasting and generational damage,” the governor said. “We saw unbelievable damage and communities that will probably never be the same.”

The importance of improving conditions inside Georgia’s prison system was brought home Jan. 7 when Kemp and state Commissioner of Corrections Tyrone Olive asked lawmakers to pony up $372 million to hire more correctional officers, raise the salaries of those already on the payroll, and invest in infrastructure upgrades needed to improve the health and safety of inmates.

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The spending request was highly unusual, coming before the start of this year’s legislative session, but Kemp and legislative leaders see the need as critical following the release of a U.S. Justice Department audit last fall accusing the prison system of violating inmates’ constitutional rights by failing to protect them from widespread violence.

“We need to make sure our guards are adequately compensated,” Burns said. “(Also, inmates) need to be protected when they go to prison.”

Community mourns four killed at Georgia high school shooting

Two teachers and two students were killed in Apalachee High School by a 14-year-old student, who is in custody.

The legislature also is expected to respond to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School near Winder last September that killed two students and two teachers. A fellow student was arrested at the scene and charged with the murders, while his father faces criminal charges for allegedly letting his son possess the AR-15 style rifle used in the killings.

While the Republican-controlled General Assembly is not likely to support legislation requiring gun owners to buy trigger locks or gun safes to safely store their firearms, a proposal to offer tax credits as an incentive to those who do enjoys broad support.

But state Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, who chaired a Senate study committee on safe firearm storage last year, said that’s not enough. Jones said lawmakers should require school districts to improve how they communicate with each other when a student moves into a new school.

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old student arrested in the Barrow County case, had recently transferred to Apalachee High.

“When a kid transfers to a new school system, any information his former school system has doesn’t automatically get transferred to the new school system,” Jones said. “That needs to be changed.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta commissioners on Monday spent a lot of their meeting discussing the law allowing the city to opt out of a “floating” homestead exemption for property taxes.

A new Georgia law was approved by voters to cap property tax increases. But as part of that law, local communities can opt out of the plan – and several in the CSRA say they intend to do so after a required series of public hearings.

Whether Augusta will do so was a topic of discussion Monday.

At the Augusta Commission meeting, Bob Young reminded fellow commissioners that 60% of Augusta voters voted “yes” for the homestead exemption.

He says the question of opting out of the cap goes beyond the homestead exemption but rather casts doubt on whether referendums mean anything in Richmond County.

“The exemption is just another incentive for people to invest in homeownership in Augusta, Richmond County,” said Young. “So my message to you is that you don’t need to schedule any public hearings about opting out. The public hearing was held on Nov. 5, when 48,000 people in Richmond County said give us our tax break.”

He said he doesn’t understand why anyone would consider taking away the voices of more than 60% and “tossing it out” in a process he called voter nullification.

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Augusta Commission: More from the meeting

1. Leaders discussed the number of small signs advertising home repairs and other services in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Rice says she’s willing “to yank the signs up” if it helps speed up the process.
2. Shovon Burton discussed the Laurel Park subdivision. She said the storm drains are “polluted” with trees and other debris. Commissioner Catherine Rice recommended Burton discuss the matter with engineering and code enforcement administrator’s office to work something out
3. Commissioners approved the recommendation of the Daniel Field General Aviation Commission to award the airfield pavement rehab project to Reeves Construction under a state grant contract for $4.6 million.

He says the exemption “brings some control” to property taxes, and he doesn’t understand why officials didn’t voice concerns prior to the November vote.

Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said the challenge for a lot of elected officials is that they don’t know what the impact of the cap would be.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.

Guilfoyle also questioned what will happen to businesses and new construction in the community if commissioners take action on the homestead exemption

“We also are going to have to find funding to stay and keep our operations going, especially with our new sheriff’s department,” said Guilfoyle. “You got our judicial and you even got the marshal’s department that’s coming for us now looking for funding. Well, we are $8.7 million in the rear right now. Money’s got to come from somewhere and that’s something that we have to look at. That’s the elephant in the room for me.”

Young said these questions should have been answered before the referendum went on the ballot.

Mayor Garnett Johnson read the resolution straight from the ballot and said the opt-out potential was included in the language of the resolution voters pondered in November.

Young, on the other hand, said the ballot measure was written in “word salad.”

Commissioner Francine Scott said people need to know the 62% who voted for the measure indicated the percentage of voters, not the percentage of homeowners.

At the meeting, Sue Parr spoke on behalf of her client the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce.

“Opting out of this measure is not a tax break for the business community,” said Parr. “It is simply a matter of assessing equitable, fair property tax value on property, whether it’s commercial or homestead. We need both.”

She agreed with Young about not wanting to nullify the vote but advocated moving forward with public hearings – saying that would be a chance for commissioners to hear what the community has to say and for business owners to explain what the tax hike would do to customers.

She said 50% of homes in Augusta-Richmond County are not owner-occupied, and that there’s a lot of new housing on the way.

“This shouldn’t be a debate,” she said. “It should be a coming together.”

City Administrator Tameka Allen said officials will meet Wednesday to discuss public hearings so officials can decide what to do before the March 1 deadline.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Prices at the gas pump continue to creep upward as sanctions continue to limit the worldwide oil supply.

However, Georgia and South Carolina both sit below the national average of $3.06 for a gallon of fuel. Columbia, Richmond, and Burke counties have some of the cheapest gas in our Georgia counties – all cheaper than $2.90.

Edgefield and McCormick counties have the cheapest gas on the South Carolina side at $2.75.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.