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The General Assembly considered several proposals to amend the state Constitution of 1983 to permit sports betting. In 2018, the United States Supreme Court overturned a federal law prohibiting sports betting nationwide. In 2022, Governor Brian Kemp indicated that he would not oppose the legalization of sports betting in Georgia.[4][5]
In March 2023, the Senate voted down SB 57, introduced by Senator Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) by a vote of 19-37. The nearly 2-to-1 defeat cut across party lines, but was not seen as ruling out further sports betting legislation.[6]
Several days after the defeat of the Hickman bill, the Senate voted down a proposal by former majority leader Bill Cowsert (R-Athens).[7] SR 140 was a constitutional amendment, unlike Hickman’s bill. Cowsert’s proposal was less comprehensive, although it would also require an implementation bill if enacted by the voters. This time, a majority of senators voted in favor of legalizing sports betting: 30-26, but the resolution fell short of the 38-vote supermajority required to advance it to the House. The vote again cut across party lines, with both the Democratic and Republican caucuses divided. Senators such as Marty Harbin (R-Peachtree City), Chuck Payne (R-Dalton), and Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain) opposed the bill for religious or moral reasons. Others, such as Carden Summers (R-Tifton) and Brandon Beach (R-Milton) supported the legalization of sports betting, but disagreed with specific provisions of the bill. Beach proposed three amendments to the resolution, all of which failed to pass.
On the first day of the 2024 legislative session, Senator Clint Dixon (R-Buford) introduced SB 386, yet another attempt to introduce a regulatory regime for sports betting.[8] Dixon did not file a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment, arguing it was unnecessary.[9] This view was not shared by Cowsert, who pointed out that the state’s constitution bans nearly all forms of gambling, with limited exceptions. The bill passed the Senate 35-15, although a floor amendment sponsored by Cowsert conditioned the bill’s enactment on the passage of a constitutional amendment, rendering it ineffective.[10]
After the passage of Dixon’s bill, Senators Cowsert and Summers each introduced competing constitutional amendments. Summers' proposal would have permitted the licensing of casinos in addition to sports betting, a far more radical proposal which meant it was unlikely to proceed.[11] Cowsert's proposal, SR 579, was approved by the Senate in late March, by a vote of 41-12.[12] This was a major development, because it was the first time that a supermajority of senators had agreed to a sports betting proposal during the whole session. The passage of SR 579 revived the hopes of SB 386 in the House, and both bills were heard in House committee in the final days of the 2024 session.[13]
Both the implementation bill and companion resolution passed the House Committee on Higher Education.[a] Neither were tabled for a vote in the House. Changes to the proposed revenue model likely deprived the bill of support.[14][15]
In 2023, the General Assembly passed HB 189, which relaxed the maximum weight limit for cars and trucks. The bill allowed vehicles carrying certain agricultural products, such as timber and poultry, as well as agricultural waste or feed to exceed the regular weight limit (80,000 lb) by up to 10%, or 88,000 lb total.[16]
The bill was supported by advocates of the state's timber and other agricultural industries, who argued that increasing the limit would allow farmers and suppliers to transport products more efficiently.[17][18][19] On local roads, the bill will be enforced by local police departments.[20] The bill will expire in two years.
The bill was opposed by the Georgia Department of Transportation and road safety advocates.[21][22] Most Democrats opposed the bill, along with some urban-based Republicans. Kemp signed the bill on May 8, 2023.[23]
HB 189 - Adopt Conference Committee Report (Final Passage) - House of Representatives[16]
The General Assembly enacted several election-related bills, as part of a trend since the 2020 United States presidential election of Republican-led election reform. Although the subsequent attempts to overturn the election were rejected by mainstream Republican leaders in the state, they have since enacted legislation demanded by critics of the 2020 election, such as the Election Integrity Act of 2021 (SB 202).
In 2024, the legislature passed SB 189, which allowed private groups to challenge voter registration records at an unlimited rate. It also prohibited the use of QR codes to record electronically-cast votes.[24] The bill was opposed by the ACLU of Georgia.[25] The bill also removed the Georgia Secretary of State from the State Elections Board, which was seen as a jab at Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger.[26]
The legislature passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act.[27] The bill provides $6,500 to students wishing to attend private schools in school districts classified as failing. The push for school vouchers has found support in several Republican-led states in recent years. Governor Kemp endorsed the bill in his 2024 State of the State address.[28] The bill was lost in the House in the 2023 session, after several Republicans crossed the floor to vote against it. Most of these Republicans represent rural or deprived areas.[29][30]
Representative Mesha Mainor was the only Democrat to vote Yes, citing her expirence growing up in poverty. Her vote caused outrage within the Democratic Party, and Senator Josh McLaurin promised to donate $1,000 to any Democrat who would primary Mainor. This was not the only time Mainor would defy the party whip: she also voted in favor of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Oversight Council bill.[31] After the 2023 session, she defected to the Republican Party, becoming the first Black woman to represent the Republican Party in either chamber of the state legislature.[32]
Of the 16 Republican defectors, eight would later be convinced to switch their vote, and the bill was approved in the House on March 24, 2024. Extensive lobbying by Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones resulted in the bill being amended by adding a raft of broadly popular education measures, including codifying teacher pay raises and allowing SPLOST money to be used for building or renovating pre-K facilities.[33] This time, another Democrat voted Yes: Patty Marie Stinson. Kemp signed the bill on April 23, 2024.[34][35]
^Brivati & Heffernan 2000: "On 27 February 1900, the Labour Representation Committee was formed to campaign for the election of working class representatives to parliament." sfn error: no target: CITEREFBrivatiHeffernan2000 (help)
^Thorpe 2008, p. 8. sfn error: no target: CITEREFThorpe2008 (help)
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