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  • Ndubuisi Onwumere
  • 3 minutes ago
  • 7 min read

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2026


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During Fourth Week of Legislative Session, Senate Dems Fight GOP Defund The Police Bill And Defend Affordability


Senate Dems introduced legislation to support older and disabled Georgians, prepare the state for artificial intelligence, and protect Georgia residents from invasive ICE surveillance


Atlanta, Ga. — During the fourth week of the 2026 legislative session, Senate Democrats pushed back against Senate Republicans’ plan that would defund the police and public schools. Senate Bill 382 would handicap local leaders’ control of their budget and force them to find other ways to raise revenue like hiking local sales taxes.


As the affordability crisis continues to burden Georgia families, a new report found that the state lost 31,415 jobs in the month of January — the highest number of layoffs in the country. Under Trump and Republican economic policies, nationwide January job losses reached their highest levels since the 2009 economic recession. 


Bills Introduced by the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus


  • Senate Bill 448 to require certain senior living facilities (like nursing homes) to acquire and maintain sufficient emergency generators to ensure the continued safety and welfare of residents during extended power outages. This bill is led by Senator Derek Mallow (D-Savannah).


  • Senate Bill 449 to require certain long-term care facilities (like assisted living facilities) to acquire and maintain sufficient emergency generators to ensure the continued safety and welfare of residents during extended power outages. This bill is led by Senator Derek Mallow (D-Savannah).


  • Senate Bill 450 to authorize the possession and administration of opioid antagonists (like naloxone) in public libraries by library personnel to individuals who may be experiencing an opioid overdose. This bill is led by Senator Kenya Wicks (D-Fayette).


  • Senate Bill 451 to provide for training in the evacuation of persons with disabilities during an emergency. This bill is led by Senator Gail Davenport (D-Jonesboro). 


  • Senate Bill 455 to establish the Georgia Artificial Intelligence Commission under the Georgia Technology Authority. This bill is by Senator Nikki Merritt (D-Grayson). 


  • Senate Bill 464 to prohibit federal immigration authorities from utilizing biometric surveillance technology to identify individuals for the purpose of verifying immigration status. This bill is led by Senator Jaha Howard (D-Smyrna).


Media Coverage of the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus



  • More than five years after the 2020 election that President Donald Trump lost and four years after the heated debate over Republicans’ elections overhaul bill that followed, Georgia state senators were again arguing Monday over 2020, election security and whether the federal government should have access to the state’s full, unredacted voter rolls. 


  • This debate was specifically over a resolution calling on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to send the state’s full voting rolls, with Georgians’ partial Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and other sensitive data, to the U.S. Department of Justice.


  • State Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat from Atlanta who is running for lieutenant governor, said the real purpose of the Senate resolution was pure pro-Trump politics, an easy way to curry favor with the president for Republicans running in Georgia’s upcoming primaries. “I’m not saying Trump is literally your daddy, but …”


  • Other Democrats saw shades of the state’s racist Jim Crow past, when white majorities went to any length necessary to keep Black voters like the ones in Fulton County from having their votes counted. 


  • “Get some guts,” state Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon, said to the Republicans in the room as he argued against the motion. “Get some guts and do the right thing. That’s how you can get elected.”




  • “Senate Bill 421 is a bipartisan data center bill […] we have local municipalities that are going into [non-disclosure agreements] in which these mega companies are trying to hide how much water and energy that is going to be consumed with the development of these data centers.” 


  • “[Senate Bill 421 says] you should not be holding this information to yourself behind closed doors. The community should be able to know how much water and electricity is going to be required to power these data centers.” 



  • State senators considered a proposal Monday to create the crime of “virtual peeping” by using artificial intelligence to virtually undress people.


  • “This is what we ought to be doing with our time because technology is getting beyond our criminal justice system,” said Minority Leader Harold Jones II, D-Augusta.



  • Property taxes pay for most local services, including schools […] The bill would eliminate a part of state law that allowed school systems and local governments to continue levying taxes on property values that increase more than the inflation rate. 


  • About 71% of Georgia’s 180 school systems opted out of the cap last year, along with 29% of city and county governments. Voters approved the tax limit in 2024.

  • Opponents of the bill said it reduces education funding and falls short of providing real relief to struggling families.


  • “If we truly wanted to help the least of these among us, we have the power through a budget to appropriate it and do something about it if we were serious about it…” [Democratic Sen. Derek Mallow of Savannah said].


  • Georgia's elections are back in the spotlight following Wednesday's FBI raid at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center in Union City.


  • "We are already in a place where people in Georgia have a lot of questions about the safety and security of our elections. If we hand over additional data, people will only get more fearful," said Democratic state Senator Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain).


  • The Georgia state Senate passed a bill Tuesday to prevent local governments and school districts from opting out of a statewide homestead tax exemption, which caps annual property tax increases.


  • Atlanta Democrat state Sen. Elena Parent said the mandatory statewide exemption reduces flexibility for school districts and counties that have different needs or circumstances. 


  • “A one size fits all is potentially not a great policy for a state with 159 counties that are so disparate in their population, in their median income, whether they’re even urban or rural,” [Senator Parent] said. “We have school systems in widely different states of fiscal solvency.”


  • “How much do we want to hobble public education? How far should we go in that regard?” [Democratic Senator Nan Orrock] said.


  • Savannah Democrat state Sen. Derek Mallow said addressing rising costs and inflation starts with considering the needs of low-income Georgians who can’t afford to buy a home.


  • “You’re talking about homeownership? Well some folks can’t even own a home because they’re paying child care that costs just as much as a mortgage payment,” [Senator Mallow] said. “If we’re serious about it, we would address the things that folks are actually dealing with, because many of my folks aren’t even homeowners. They’re renters.”



  • The event, organized by Mableton Mayor Michael Owens and hosted by State Rep. Terry Cummings and State Sen. Donzella James, offered constituents a front-row seat to the legislative process and a platform to discuss policy priorities directly with state lawmakers.



  • “If we can get bipartisan agreement on improving the lives of our kids and the future of this state, it’s a great day,” said Democratic state Sen. RaShaun Kemp, who is a co-sponsor of SB 459. “I think this is an area where you’re going to see a lot of bipartisan support.”


  • Kemp said he also hopes for further updates to the QBE formula, including adding a weight to allot extra funding for schools with students living in poverty, which he has proposed in SB 381.



  • Harsh immigration policies, “have stoked fear in families that do not do nothing but work hard, play by the rules and just ask for a fair chance,” said Sen. RaShaun Kemp, an Atlanta Democrat. “These families build homes, grow food, care for loved ones, and power small businesses, yet many now hesitate to call the police when they’re victims of crime or even take their kids to school.”



  • Democratic State Senator Derek Mallow of Chatham County [...] discussed the economic benefits of sports gambling with WTOC at the State Capitol building Wednesday.


  • “We’ve been discussing and debating this since I’ve been in the house, now I’m in the senate for four years. We can absolutely get it done, it’s currently unregulated and people are doing it, guess what? We’re missing out on tax revenue in this state where we could use it to fund education, we could fund addiction programs,” Mallow said.



  • State Senator Derek Mallow of Chatham County said lawmakers are closely examining changes to Georgia’s low-income housing tax credits, especially the state’s 9% credit.


  • Some proposals include exempting affordable housing projects from impact fees and sales taxes — ideas that could significantly affect how and where housing gets built.



  • The Georgia Black Legislative Caucus says it’s time for the state to create protections against discrimination in housing and employment at the state level.  


  • Democratic state Sen. Nikki Merritt says the caucus supports any bill that addresses real concerns for Black Georgians, such as affordability.


  • “People just really want, they want voting rights. They want to be able to just afford food right now. They want us to deal with the economy,” said [Senator] Merritt. “They want us to deal with health care.”


  • Merritt says the group has worked with advocacy groups and local communities to develop the list of priorities. This call to action coincides with the 100th commemorative celebration of Black History Month.


Georgia Senate Democrats are available for comment.


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