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2025 Georgia Bill Tracker | Current Status of Closely-Watched Bills

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2025 Georgia Bill Tracker | Current Status of Closely-Watched Bills


The Georgia General Assembly is nearing the end of its 40-day legislative session, with lawmakers racing to pass key measures before the session ends on April 4 or “Sine Die.” Legislators are considering bills on education, health care, criminal justice, and more. Once a bill passes out of committee, it must be scheduled by the rules committee for a full chamber vote. If approved, it moves to the other chamber and the process starts again. If either chamber makes changes, the bill must return to the original chamber for final approval before heading to the governor’s desk.

The following is the current status of some of the more closely watch bills. This is not a complete list of all of the bills that are still under consideration. Last updated April 1 (morning). 

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HOUSE BILLS

HB 136 – Child Tax Credit

  • Expands an existing state tax credit for child care expenses.
  • Creates a new $250 per-child tax credit for children age 6 and under.
  • Adds incentives for businesses to help cover employees’ child care costs.
  • Status: Passed House and Senate; returns to House for final approval.

HB 268 – School Safety

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  • Adds mental health coordinators to schools.
  • Ensures swift transfer of student records between districts.
  • Sets standards for physical security infrastructure.
  • Establishes threat assessment teams.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

Georgia lawmakers agree on school safety bill after Apalachee High School shooting

HB 340 – Personal Device Ban in Schools

  • Bans K–8 public school students from using personal electronic devices during the school day.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

HB 428 – IVF Protections

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  • Access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment into Georgia law.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

HB 225 / HB 651 – School Zone Camera Restrictions

  • HB 225 would ban school zone speed cameras entirely.
  • HB 651 proposes new restrictions on the use of those cameras.
  • Status: Passed House.

School zone camera bills: One to ban them, one to reform. But both overturn the system

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HB 123 – Death Penalty and Intellectual Disabilities

  • Makes it easier for defendants to prove intellectual disability in death penalty cases.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

Georgia set to ease strict rules for proving intellectual disability in death penalty cases

HB 551 – Car Booting Regulation

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  • Prohibits booting companies from paying property owners in exchange for operating in parking lots.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

HB 68 – Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

  • $37.7 billion budget effective July 1, 2025.
  • Includes funding for: School voucher program, capital projects at public universities, budget increase for the Department of Corrections.
  • Status: Passed House.

SENATE BILLS

SB 1 – Transgender Girls in Sports

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  • Bans transgender girls from participating in girls’ teams in public schools, private schools competing with them, and state colleges.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

Georgia General Assembly passes bill banning trans athletes from women’s sports

SB 74 – Explicit Materials in Libraries

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  • Makes it a crime for public or school libraries to distribute sexually explicit material to minors.
  • Allows librarians a legal defense if they made a good-faith effort to remove harmful content.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

Georgia bill seeks penalties for librarians over restricted books

SB 123 – Chronic Absenteeism

  • Prevents schools from expelling students solely for chronic absences.
  • Requires school climate committees to develop solutions.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

SB 28 – State Rule Review

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  • Requires state agencies to review their rules every four years.
  • Expands legislative oversight of agency regulations.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

SB 36 – Religious Freedom Restoration Act

  • Prohibits the government from burdening religious exercise unless it serves a “compelling government interest” and is done in the “least restrictive” way.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

Georgia Republican-led Senate passes controversial Religious Freedom Bill

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SB 39 – Gender-Affirming Care Coverage

  • Prevents Georgia’s state health insurance plan from covering gender-affirming care for public employees, teachers and retirees.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

SB 30 – Puberty Blockers

  • Limits the use of puberty-blocking medications for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

SB 69 – Civil Litigation Overhaul

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  • A major tort reform package championed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
  • Limits civil lawsuits and changes litigation rules statewide.
  • Status: Passed both chambers; headed to governor’s desk.

Georgia tort reform bill: House of Representatives passes controversial bill

SB 21 – Sovereign Immunity Reform

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  • Allows lawsuits against local governments if harm is tied to failure to enforce state immigration laws.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

SB 244 – Compensation for the Wrongfully Convicted / Legal Fees

  • Provides $75,000 per year for each year someone was wrongfully imprisoned.
  • Also reimburses defendants’ legal fees if a district attorney is disqualified from a case.
  • Status: Passed Senate.

Georgia’s reimbursement bill would allow Trump to recover costs

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Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann

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Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann


Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann will be paid equally in 2026 after receiving raises, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.

Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are coming off a second consecutive SEC championship season and College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal appearance.

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Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech

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Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech


Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones on Monday unveiled legislation inspired by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk that he says would expand students’ free speech rights in public schools, making Georgia the first state in the nation to pursue such a measure.

Jones announced the “True Patriotism and Universal Student Access Act,” known as the TPUSA Act, on Monday as a priority for the 2026 legislative session. The proposal, sponsored by State Sen. Ben Watson (R–Savannah), would strengthen First Amendment protections for public school students by safeguarding their right to speak, organize, and express political and religious views on campus.

The bill is explicitly shaped around the work and legacy of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA and its political arm, Turning Point Action. Jones and others have framed the legislation as a way to honor Kirk’s efforts to mobilize young conservatives and defend free speech in schools and on college campuses.

“In the spirit and memory of Charlie’s work, the TPUSA Act in Georgia would ensure that students’ First Amendment rights to organize, gather and speak are protected, regardless of their religious, political, or social viewpoints,” Jones said in a press release. “Georgia is leading the way as the first state in the nation to do it.”

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Founder and President of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Believers Summit at the Palm Beach County Civic Center on July 26, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Miami Herald


Jones, who is running for governor and is endorsed by both former President Donald Trump and Turning Point Action, also emphasized his broader commitment to free speech rights as part of his campaign rhetoric. 

“Georgia is building on the work of Charlie Kirk to ensure students can speak, organize and express their beliefs freely,” Jones posted on social media. 

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The TPUSA Act would require public schools in Georgia to permit political expression before, during and after the school day to the same extent that non-political expression is allowed. It also would let students form political clubs and groups during non-instructional time, bar discrimination against groups based on viewpoint, and guarantee that students could wear politically themed clothing and accessories under the same standards that apply to other permitted attire.

Supporters say the legislation would ensure that school administrators cannot block students from engaging in peaceful political activities and that all viewpoints, partisan and nonpartisan, would have equal access to meeting spaces and facilities.

Sen. Watson said the move reflects the belief that schools should not restrict students’ free speech or prohibit them from organizing around their beliefs. 

“School officials should not have the power to enforce their own ideologies on students,” he said.

Josh Thifault, senior director at Turning Point Action, praised Georgia’s effort, asserting that Kirk “lived and died for the First Amendment.” He added that the legislation will benefit students “for decades to come” by removing barriers to student expression.

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Georgia lawmakers stall car boot ban, leaving frustrated drivers with no relief from predatory parking enforcement

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Georgia lawmakers stall car boot ban, leaving frustrated drivers with no relief from predatory parking enforcement


Daryl Terry II had exited a popular wing restaurant, only to discover a heavy metal boot clamped to his car’s wheel. “I think booting should be banned because it’s predatory. You’re preying on people who are just trying to visit business establishments,” Daryl said, shaking his head while holding a $100 boot removal receipt.

Daryl explained that the parking lot was confusing, with faded signs barely visible even in broad daylight. “At night, you can’t see the sign at all,” he said. “By the time I got to my car, there were already two boots on it. The guy told me I left the property and didn’t pay, so he was entitled to boot my car.”

He’s not alone. Maddie Yoder, who works at a nearby bakery, has experienced the same fate. “I’ve worked here for five years. One morning, I quickly grabbed a spot and came back to a boot. The attendant literally waits for people to make a mistake,” she said, pointing out the tricky signage that designates spots for specific businesses.

Both drivers are among many Georgians who hoped a recent State Senate bill would end what they call predatory booting. Democratic State Senator Josh McLaurin, the bill’s sponsor, says the practice is a form of extortion. “Georgia needs to ban the boot. You’re trapped when it happens.”

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Despite gaining bipartisan support, the bill was abruptly killed in a procedural move. It was sent to a committee that, due to the chairman’s resignation, couldn’t hold hearings or move bills forward. 

“That committee is essentially dead,” McLaurin explained. Efforts to get comment from the Lt. Governor’s office about the bill’s demise went unanswered.

McLaurin isn’t giving up. He plans to reintroduce the legislation later this session, hopeful that relief is still possible for Georgia drivers. He also points out an inconsistency: “Towing companies in Georgia are regulated and can’t just wait in a lot for you to mess up. Booting, on the other hand, is barely regulated at all.”

For now, drivers like Daryl and Maddie keep a closer eye on the signs—and their wallets—hoping that lawmakers will finally put the brakes on predatory booting.

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