Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Transgender people are bracing for a second Trump administration.
- Georgia lawmakers release artificial intelligence recommendations.
- Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging a Savannah gun law.
Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones wants the Georgia Senate to ban transgender girls from competing in women’s school sports next year. At a seaside retreat this week, House Speaker Jon Burns made clear a similar measure is atop his to-do list in 2025.
Burns told House Republicans gathered in Sea Island the chamber is “committed to ensuring we pass measures that protect the integrity and fairness of girls’ sports at every level here in Georgia” next year.
“As a grandfather to four young women, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring the opportunity for girls across the state to compete on a level playing field is not hindered,” said Burns, a Newington Republican.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
The Georgia High School Association has previously voted to require athletes to compete based on their biological sex, effectively banning transgender athletes from participating based on gender identification.
But Republicans in both chambers are expected to seek to put that policy into law during next year’s legislative session, along with a debate over implementing similar restrictions in collegiate sports. A Senate committee that has been studying the issue is poised to release its recommendations this month.
About two dozen states have passed measures that limit transgender women from participating in school sports, mostly in K-12 schools but sometimes including colleges. Critics of the limits say the focus on trans sports is misplaced and the policies are discriminatory.
Also: Burns said he wants to use the GOP’s 100-80 edge in the chamber to pass other measures to further reduce the income tax rate, bolster school safety and expand access to health care.
And he said the caucus is now focusing on recruiting candidates to claw back some of the seats that Democrats captured in November.
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Credit: Bita Honarvar for the AJC
Credit: Bita Honarvar for the AJC
GOOD MORNING! We’re 40 days away from the start of Georgia’s legislative session, and lawmakers are wrapping up their study committees. Today is the final meeting of a House committee looking at how to prepare and respond to natural disasters — an apt subject in a year Georgia was hit by multiple hurricanes.
Here are four things to know for today:
- Eshé Collins came in second place in last month’s general election for an Atlanta City Council seat. But she has a sizable lead over Nicole “Nikki” Evans Jones in Tuesday’s runoff election, the AJCs Alia Pharr reports.
- A judge has ordered Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to turn over documents from its election interference investigation to Judicial Watch, a Washington-based conservative nonprofit, the AJC’s Bill Rankin reports.
- Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff doesn’t have a challenger yet, but his bid for another term in 2026 is well underway, writes Greg Bluestein.
- The Georgia Ports Authority is off to its second-best fiscal year in history, despite weathering multiple hurricanes and a dockworker strike, the AJC’s Adam Van Brimmer reports.
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Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
BRACING FOR TRUMP. With President-elect Donald Trump ushering in a new Republican majority in Washington, transgender people in Georgia and beyond are preparing for him to make good on promises to roll back gender-affirming policies.
“On Day 1, I will sign an executive order instructing every federal agency to cease the promotion of sex or gender transition at any age,” he said at a Moms for Liberty event this summer. “They’re not going to do it anymore.”
In response, trans people have been encouraged by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups to get legal documents like passports updated to accurately reflect their name and gender markers. Trans people dependent on hormones or other medication are also considering whether access could be limited under Trump and whether they should attempt to stock up.
Many of Trump’s allies, particularly those whose politics are based on conservative Christian values, believe transgender rights have gone too far. Among them is U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, who has resisted efforts to recognize trans people in the halls of Congress and beyond.
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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
BUDGET CUTS. U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, warned that lawmakers were poised for “real hard discussions” on social safety net programs to cut spending.
“We’re gonna have to bring in the Democrats to talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare,” he told Fox News. “There is hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved. We know how to do it. We just have to have the stomach to take those challenges on.”
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Georgia lawmakers are likely to try again in January to regulate artificial intelligence as the technology quickly becomes more entangled in our daily lives.
But a key lawmaker noted the Legislature is likely to approach the burgeoning industry with a light touch.
“We’re not approaching this with a regulatory mindset,” said Republican state Sen. Ed Setzler, chair of the Senate Science and Technology Committee. “Sometimes government does best what it does least.”
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
That approach could be the path of least resistance. State governments have struggled to regulate the industry since it burst on the scene in a big way a few years ago. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill earlier this year that would have imposed first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models.
In Georgia, a bill earlier this year that sought to regulate “deep fakes” in political campaign ads failed to pass.
Tuesday, a Senate study committee studying artificial intelligence called for lawmakers to try again, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
GUN LOCK. A judge has dismissed the first lawsuit challenging Savannah’s “lock up your gun” law. But the ruling leaves the door open for others to try again.
Savannah was the first city in Georgia to outlaw leaving guns in unlocked cars. The goal was to prevent thefts, as stolen guns are often used in crimes. Savannah Police have issued 17 citations so far.
Clarence Belt, a local gun owner, sued to block the law, arguing a separate state law bans local governments from regulating guns. But Chatham Superior Court Judge Benjamin Karpf didn’t decide that issue. He threw the lawsuit out because Belt doesn’t live in Savannah and hasn’t been cited for violating the ordinance. Belt could appeal.
Adam Van Brimmer, the AJC’s Savannah bureau chief, notes the judge’s ruling likely isn’t the last you’ll be hearing about this. The law has pitted two of the state’s political stars against each other: Savannah Mayor Van Johnson and Republican Attorney General Chris Carr.
Johnson, often mentioned as a potential candidate for higher office, has long advocated for legislative action to curb gun violence. The Savannah City Council approved the first-of-its-kind law knowing it potentially violated state statute.
Carr, who is already running for governor in 2026, has said the Savannah ordinance is void because it conflicts with state law.
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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
MORE VOICES. The Georgia Senate’s LGBTQ+ caucus will soon double in size.
RaShaun Kemp is one of 22 new lawmakers elected to the Georgia Legislature this year. His victory comes nearly four years after Kim Jackson made history as the state’s first openly LGBTQ+ senator.
“It’s something I’m really proud of,” said Kemp, a Democrat who is the parent of two children along with his husband in Atlanta. “I think it’s important to have voices from all walks of life as policy and decisions are being made.”
Kemp grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where he was raised by a great-grandmother who always read the newspaper and “stayed in tune to what was going on.” He studied political science in college, but said he felt pressure to become a doctor or a lawyer because he was the first in his family to graduate.
It was volunteering with his church to help children learn to read that convinced him to become a teacher. He taught high school math and social studies before eventually becoming principal of Focus Learning Academy, a dropout prevention charter school in Ohio.
He moved to Atlanta about 13 years ago, drawn by the city’s vibrant Black culture. He worked for the Georgia Charter School Association and helped pass the state’s charter school amendment in 2012.
He ran for the state House of Representatives in 2022, losing to Democratic state Rep. Roger Bruce. This year, he ran to replace retiring state Sen. Horacena Tate of Atlanta. He won the Democratic primary and then coasted to an uncontested victory in November.
Kemp wants to focus on children’s literacy, noting that many Georgia children aren’t reading at grade level.
“One thing I am encouraged by here in Georgia, even though politics is going to be politics, there is a certain collegiality that exists,” he said. “I think that there are some opportunities to find some common ground.”
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” former Democratic state Sen. Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, joins the show. Then, the AJC’s Martha Dalton talks about how President-elect Donald Trump will approach the U.S. Department of Education.
Be sure to download the AJC’s Politically Georgia podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EDT on 90.1 FM WABE. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.
On Tuesday’s show, trial lawyer Lester Tate talked about President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
DAVID SCOTT RETURNS. U.S. Rep. David Scott vowed to fight for his position as the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee as he returned to the Capitol on Tuesday following an unannounced hiatus to receive treatment for a persistent back injury.
Scott’s absence during the two weeks Congress was in session last month sparked renewed concerns from fellow Democrats that his age and health made him unable to continue his duties. Two of them, Reps. Jim Costa of California and Angie Craig of Minnesota, announced they would try to unseat the 79-year-old as the top-ranking Democrat on the committee.
Scott, of Atlanta, said Tuesday that he will not bow out of the bid for the committee position.
While in the House chamber for votes, fellow lawmakers greeted Scott warmly. He chatted for several minutes with U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany. Bishop is on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which has great influence on who serves as ranking members of committees.
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Credit: Ben Curtis/AP
Credit: Ben Curtis/AP
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will attend the Lobito Corridor Trans-Africa Summit in Angola before heading back to the United States.
- U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, will join a bipartisan news conference urging Congress to pass legislation to regulate pharmacy benefit managers.
- Peter Carter, the chief external affairs officer at Delta Airlines, will testify during a Senate Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on airline fees.
- The House is scheduled to vote on a slate of bills renaming post offices.
- The Senate has more confirmation votes lined up.
- The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on a case challenging a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for minors.
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Credit: Scott Suchman for The Washington Post.
Credit: Scott Suchman for The Washington Post.
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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
