top of page
  • Ndubuisi Onwumere
  • 7 days ago
  • 6 min read

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 16, 2026


Contact:


Senate Democrats Hit The Ground Running During First Week of 2026 Legislative Session


Several bills were introduced including those tackling health insurance affordability, ending tax giveaways for data centers, investing in low-income students, and protecting Georgians’ rights


Atlanta, Ga. — During the first week of the Georgia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session, Senate Democrats introduced several bills to tackle the affordability crisis created by a generation of Republican leadership. Additionally, Senate Democrats made the rounds across TV, print, and radio outlets talking about the ongoing fight over state income tax, consumer protection, artificial intelligence, and higher education financial aid. 


“Senate Democrats understand that we have a responsibility to break down the barriers stopping our constituents from living a better life. Right now, that barrier is the affordability crisis created by a generation of Republican leadership—stagnant wages, rising housing costs, and skyrocketing health insurance premiums,” Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II said. “Families can’t thrive when every single day, something or somebody is digging deeper into their pockets. We have to crack down on the insurance companies, service commissioners, and Big Tech stealing away their economic future for their own bottom line. We have to work on making Georgia more affordable for Georgians, not more lucrative for those with money to burn.”  


Bills Introduced by the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus


  • Senate Bill 379 to lower health insurance costs for millions of Georgians by creating an insurance affordability program to replace lost ACA subsidies. Georgians up to 400% of the federal poverty line would see lower costs and those up to 200% would be provided free health care. The bill is led by Senator Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta).


  • Senate Bill 380 to expand Medicaid coverage to roughly 500,000 Georgians by authorizing appropriations for obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers of Medicaid. The bill is led by Senator David Lucas (D-Macon).


  • Senate Bill 381 to modernize Georgia’s outdated education funding system ensuring Georgia students from low-income families and rural communities receive the appropriate resources to succeed. The bill is led by Senator RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta).


  • Senate Bill 389 to require covered immigration officers to wear visible identification during public immigration enforcement functions and prohibit wearing face coverings during such functions. This bill is led by Minority Whip Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain). 


  • Senate Bill 390 to prohibit the deployment of armed military forces of other states into Georgia without the permission of the Governor of Georgia. This bill is led by Minority Leader Harold Jones II (D-Augusta).


  • Senate Bill 391 to prohibit activities related to immigration enforcement in certain locations absent a judicial warrant. This bill is led by Senator Nabilah Parkes (D-Duluth). 


  • Senate Bill 393 to prohibit Homeowners’ Association from exercising enforcement authority over traffic laws, ordinances, or regulations. This bill is led by Senator RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta).


  • Senate Bill 396 to prohibit retaliatory actions by certain employers against certain employees for disclosing potentially unlawful activities. The bill is led by Senator Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta).


  • Senate Bill 397 to provide Georgians recourse for violations of their civil rights by immigration enforcement officers. The bill is led by Senator Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta). 


  • Senate Bill 408 to put an end to the tax dollar giveaways to power-sucking data centers and their Big Tech bosses by sunsetting the Data Center Sales & Use Tax Exemption. The bill is led by Senator Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta). 


  • Senate Resolution 558 to stop Republicans from rigging Georgia’s electoral map to hold onto power. The resolution would prohibit changes to the apportionment and districts of the General Assembly and Congress that don’t occur during the first odd-numbered year subsequent to each United States decennial census (2031, 2041, etc.). The bill is led by Caucus Chair Elena Parent (D-Decatur). 


Media Coverage of the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus


  • Atlanta Democratic state Sen. Nan Orrock worried the state is already underfunding many agencies.


  • “We could talk all day about the needs that we have as a state for investing to serve our citizens. This proposal does not address those,” Orrock said.




  • “[On affordability] what can we do as a legislative body to help actually help you be able to afford healthcare, to be able to afford a house, to be able to afford your groceries.”


  • “What can be more affordable to make sure that we can actually stop hospitals from closing, that people can actually pay their bills.”


  • “What can be more affordable to make sure that we don't have private equity buying so many homes that people cannot buy and then they rent them out at high rates.”




  • State Sen. RaShaun Kemp, D-Atlanta, [Senate Bill 393] to…require training for HOA boards before they can fine homeowners or threaten foreclosure. [The bill] would amend the Georgia Property Owners Association Act to require the training, with the Secretary of State’s office running the program using state surplus funds.


  • “This is one of the things that, as your reporting has shown so many people are concerned about, especially in my Senate district and in the metro area and across the state, that is definitely worth the investment,” Kemp said, adding standard training is needed to ensure that people who sign up for these roles “have a base level of understanding of what it takes and the parameters in which they are to serve.”



  • Senate Democrats dropped four bills aimed at tightening oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday. 


  • The proposals would require ICE agents to visibly identify themselves and unmask during enforcement actions, create civil liability for individual agents accused of wrongdoing, require agents to obtain a judicial warrant before entering so-called "safe spaces" like daycare centers, and prohibit the deployment of the National Guard in Georgia without the governor's approval.


  • "It's just not good public safety for us to have unmarked agents operating, conducting essentially criminal raids without us knowing who they are," said Sen. Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, "What they're there for, and especially not to be able to see their faces."



  • On Tuesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Democratic state Sen. Sonya Halpern told program host Rose Scott she wants a solid plan for how lawmakers can help Georgians as the cost of living keeps getting higher and making life more difficult.


  • During the conversation, the senator shared why she supports investing state funds in several areas. She also explained why she’s prioritizing consumer protection and affordability this legislative session, and mentioned other legislative priorities for Senate Democrats.



  • Georgia’s income tax system is under renewed scrutiny as lawmakers weigh whether the state can afford to eliminate it.


  • Democratic Senator Nan Orrock counters that eliminating income taxes could undermine the state’s ability to meet critical needs. She points to shortfalls in mental health services, foster care, financial aid for college students, and prison staffing, warning that tax cuts could deepen long-standing gaps. Together, the exchange highlights a central tension at the Capitol: whether affordability is best addressed by tax relief or by strengthening public investment.



  • Kemp proposed a one-time investment of $325 million in state funding for the program, which is seen as a potential companion to the merit-based HOPE Scholarship launched in 1993 under Gov. Zell Miller.


  • Of the $325 million, $25 million would be direct scholarship money, and the rest would serve as seed money for an endowment, the proceeds of which the foundation would withdraw from every year to pay for the scholarships. The plan is to grow the endowment so it could support offering tens of millions of dollars in aid to students.


  • Sen. Nan Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat, called the plan “a tremendous victory.”


  • “This is a work of labor of a good nine years from people around the state, committed educators and counselors who saw students just falling through the cracks because their families were not in a position to write a check for their higher education financing,” she said.


  • Orrock chaired a Senate committee that met several times last year to study college affordability. That committee estimated that annual funding of over $120 million could have funded about 99,000 students per year, Orrock said. The committee also recommended using money from the Georgia Lottery’s unrestricted reserve to pay for scholarships, a pot of money Kemp and his fellow Republicans have been loath to draw from for recurring expenses.



  • Host Donna Lowry sits down with two legislators to lead conversations about artificial intelligence, emerging technology, and the role of government in shaping the future.


  • Senator Sally Harrell focuses on the risks technology poses to children and families. She discusses testimony from parents about AI companion chatbots, addictive design features, and how quickly new platforms can bypass school and parental safeguards.


Senate Democrats are available for comment.


###


 
 
bottom of page