Lawmakers Huddle: A recap of Georgia legislative session Week 10

Caption

Speaker of the House Jon Burns praised passage of Senate Bill 68, the lawsuit reform bill that would limit Georgian's ability to sue businesses for crimes committed on their property.

Credit: Georgia House of Representatives

With just a few weeks left in Georgia’s 2025 legislative session, lawmakers are picking up the pace and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s top legislative priority has cleared a major hurdle. Morning Edition host Pamela Kirkland checked in with GPB's Lawmakers host Donna Lowry for a recap of Week 10.

And during a special budget episode of Lawmakers, appropriations leaders in the House and Senate laid out their visions for Georgia’s next budget. 

TRANSCRIPT:

Pamela Kirkland: This is GPB. I'm Pamela Kirkland. It's the final stretch of the 2025 legislative session, with just a couple of weeks left under the Gold Dome, and it looks like lawmakers are starting to pick up the pace. Joining us for our weekly check in is Lawmakers host Donna Lowry, who's been tracking all of the action at the Capitol. Good morning.

Donna Lowry: Good morning Pamela.

Pamela Kirkland: Happy spring.

Donna Lowry: Same to you.

Pamela Kirkland: I'm excited. We've entered a new season, but at the state Capitol, we're down to the wire with just a couple of weeks left in the session. What's the energy like at the statehouse right now?

Donna Lowry: Pamela, it's pretty fast-paced. A lot of bills for each chamber to review, and time is running out. Last year, each side left bills on the table that they didn't have time to get to, and that left lawmakers who crafted the bills certainly disappointed, especially since it was the end of a two-year biennium. This year, any bill that doesn't make it, though, is still alive for next year's session. But everyone wants things done now, of course. And yesterday I spoke to a senator who seemed a bit overwhelmed by all that is left to do, but still energized. They'll get it — they'll get it done.

Pamela Kirkland: Yeah, they get it done one way or another, I guess. One of Gov. Kemp's top legislative priorities move forward this week — I guess more like squeaked forward this week. What were some of the biggest challenges that supporters had to overcome to keep that tort reform bill alive?

Donna Lowry: Yeah, well, overhauling Georgia's lawsuit system was an uphill battle from the start, and it's one reason leadership has talked about it for years but nothing's happened. And it's the battle between the business community and civil trial lawyers. And that's a big lobby. This week in a hearing, lawmakers heard emotional testimony from lots of people who fear they will be hurt if tort reform passes because they will have no legal recourse if they're harmed by a company. Among those — those who spoke: victims of human trafficking who worry they will not be able to, for instance, go after a hotel that knowingly allowed them to be victimized. In the end, the House came up with a carve out in that bill to protect their interests. But opponents say other potential victims need that same help. And now the bill goes back to the Senate.

Pamela Kirkland: OK. And beyond tort reform, how are the governor's other priorities faring as we head into this final stretch?

Donna Lowry: As you might imagine, they're doing well, Pamela. The House passed the Senate's bill that would allow for another lowering of the state income tax rate and also to give rebates to Georgians of $250 for singles and $500 to married couples. So that's moving along and a few others.

Pamela Kirkland: This week, you had the special budget episode on Lawmakers featuring the House and Senate appropriation chairs. What were some of the key takeaways in that conversation?

Donna Lowry: Pamela, right now, the Senate has the fiscal budget — the fiscal 2026 budget — and it's focusing on more money for Promise scholarships. They will allow certain low income students to take what they call vouchers — some call voucher, vouchers — to use them to pay for private schools or homeschooling. And that's vastly different from the House, which reduced the amount of those scholarships and wants a bond package to cover other needs in public schools, including mental health issues. And so we'll see what happens in the end. Pamela, we expect the budget may be down to the wire on sine die, April 4.

Pamela Kirkland: Oh, wow. Yeah. We'll see how they reconcile that, if they're able to. Donna Lowry is the host of GPB's Lawmakers, which airs weeknights during the legislative session. You can stream the show and find previous segments at gpb.org/lawmakers. Donna, thanks for being here, as usual.

Donna Lowry: I love it. Thank you so much, Pamela.