This year’s legislative session ended with a jolt, as Senate leaders abruptly adjourned and left dozens of pending proposals to die on the vine.
But before the Friday standoff, Georgia lawmakers had already approved a stack of bills, setting the stage for Gov. Brian Kemp to begin the final phase of the legislative process. He has 40 days to sign, veto or quietly allow legislation to become law.
The second-term Republican staked his entire legislative agenda on passing a legal overhaul to limit lawsuits and rein in jury awards, pressuring a skeptical Legislature to push it across the finish line. He is certain to sign it soon.
He took a more muted approach with other measures, including a polarizing “religious liberty” measure he signed into law on Friday. Now he will have the final say on a range of other issues, including several that echo President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Other base-pleasing measures, from new immigration crackdowns to another round of election changes, failed to pass this session.
Kemp has until the May 14 deadline to use his veto power on any bills he doesn’t like — no idle threat under Kemp’s watch as governor. He has vetoed dozens of measures since he took office in 2019, including 12 bills last year.
Here is a look at what’s on the governor’s desk.
Budget and tax
After weeks of negotiation, lawmakers struck a deal on a $37.8 billion spending plan that includes more money for prisons, education and health care — and includes $141 million in new school voucher funding and hundreds of millions in new spending on state prisons.
Lawmakers also agreed to allow parents of children under age 6 to claim a new $250 income tax credit and expand an existing credit, providing an extra $600 for child and dependent care.
And he’s likely to green light an accelerated income tax cut to a flat 5.19% rate and tax rebates for most Georgians ranging between $250 and $500.
Transgender rights
A few years ago, measures targeting transgender rights were often bottled up in the state Legislature. Not anymore.
Kemp seems likely to sign two Trump-aligned measures that were constant themes of the president’s 2024 campaign.
One would ban transgender girls and women from playing women’s sports from grade school through college. Another would block gender-affirming care for state prison inmates.
MAGA policies
Kemp will decide whether to sign legislation that would let Trump and other codefendants recoup millions spent on legal costs to defend themselves against election interference charges in Fulton County.
It also includes a bipartisan overhaul of Georgia’s compensation system for the wrongly convicted, replacing a current system that makes lawmakers responsible for hashing each package out on a case-by-case basis.
And he’ll weigh whether to approve a new “America First” specialty license plate inspired by Trump’s campaign slogan. The red-white-and-blue design drew fierce pushback from Democrats, who traced the phrase back to a century-old isolationist movement with an antisemitic and racist history.
Education and schools
Georgia lawmakers resolved to improve how administrators and law enforcement can share information after a mass shooting at Barrow County’s Apalachee High killed two teachers and two students.
A compromise measure requires public schools to draft plans addressing their students’ mental health needs, sets up statewide anonymous reporting for threats and smooths the transfer of records when a student switches schools.
Lawmakers also voted to ban cellphones in Georgia public schools for students in grades K-8, which would tack Georgia to a growing list of states that restrict their use in schools. The families of some Apalachee students have asked Kemp to veto the bill, saying it could pose safety risks.
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