In this week's Lawmaker Huddle on Morning Edition, GPB’s Pamela Kirkland catches up with Lawmakers host Donna Lowry to break down the latest from the Gold Dome. where the Georgia General Assembly passed its first bills of the session, including an amended budget to fund hurricane relief, prison upgrades, and school safety measures. Meanwhile, the Senate advanced a controversial ban on transgender athletes, and Democrats pushed to put abortion rights on the ballot.
Today at the Capitol, another cultural celebration and a protest against President Trump. The day kicked off with another Latino celebration, this time outside the Capitol at Liberty Plaza. Advocacy groups and lawmakers celebrated contributions from the Latin American community in Georgia and used the opportunity to condemn President Trump's immigration policy.
On Tuesday, Rep. Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville) introduced legislation to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee that would provide pretrial proceedings in death penalty cases when the accused has an intellectual disability.
On Monday, lawmakers from both parties announced education legislation. Speaker of the House Jon Burns announced his specific plans to make schools safer at a morning press conference.
On Thursday at the Capitol, the big news of the day was the unveiling of Gov. Brian Kemp's tort reform legislation package. The legislation, which will be carried by Sen. John F. Kennedy, lays out rules for civil lawsuit proceedings.
With last week's snowstorm, both chambers have to play catch up, pushing many of the canceled appropriations meetings from last week into this week. That meant there was little for both chambers to do. The Capitol remembered the victims of the Holocaust on Monday for International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
This week, the Georgia General Assembly was pretty quiet. This is budget week, but even with a light week, we're staying on top of what our legislators have been up to. Donna Lowry, host of GPB's Lawmakers, joins for this week's Lawmaker Huddle. Our regular segment each Friday on Morning Edition, where we cover the highlights of each week from the Gold Dome.
Just a few days into Georgia’s 2025 legislative session, proposed new limits on lawsuit awards is a priority trumpeted by business groups, some lawmakers and the governor alike as one of the top issues of the year.
The House and Senate heard more of Kemp's legislative priorities in his annual State of the State address. Senators and the state Supreme Court justices joined the House members in anticipation of the governor's State of the State, but when one senator was barred from entering, a scuffle outside of the house took a turn.
Both chambers settled into the session on Day 3. Gov. Brian Kemp explained his health care legislative priorities for this session, beginning with his 2026 fiscal year budget proposal.
