Speaker Jon Burns laughs with reporters before a press conference outlining his trangender sports agenda. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Both chambers of the Georgia Legislature advanced bills targeting transgender Georgians Tuesday.
A proposal to cut gender-affirming care for people on Georgia’s state health insurance plan passed a Senate committee, a couple hours after House Speaker Jon Burns held a Capitol press conference to announce his chamber’s attempt at banning transgender athletes from girls’ school sports.
“It’s a great day for Georgia, it’s a great day for the House, and it’s going to be a great day for every female athlete in our state because today, the Georgia House puts forward legislation to keep boys out of girls’ sports,” Burns said.
Health care ban
Sen. Blake Tillery. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Transgender Georgians who work for the state government can be covered for gender-affirming care after the state settled a lawsuit in 2023. The case, Rich vs. Georgia, was brought by state workers who were prescribed treatments like gender-affirming surgery or hormone replacement therapy for themselves or their children but had that care denied.
Vidalia Republican Sen. Blake Tillery told the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee his bill will mean those workers will need to seek insurance elsewhere.
“I’m not going to try to hide behind the law and pretend like that would be an easy task,” he said. “But when you’re a state employee, your health benefit plan is paid by state taxpayer dollars, and I think we have a duty to our citizens and the citizens of Georgia. They have overwhelmingly elected us and we’ve made a position and a policy that we believe that shouldn’t be covered by state taxpayer dollars that I believe is firmly supported by them.”
Tillery said if the ban passes, care will end at the start of 2026.
Khara Hayden, an IT manager who has worked 10 years for the state, began transitioning after the settlement and said her relationships with her family as well as her mental and physical health have been greatly improved.
“I’ve been married for 15 years, and during that time, my wife and I always had discussions about, like, something’s wrong, I don’t know how to fix it. And finally accepting that I’m transgender, I’m progressing, and it’s helped me to be happier and healthier. I’ve lost, like,a hundred pounds in that time, so it’s been a significant improvement in my life.”
Hayden said she’ll be reconsidering her employment options if the bill becomes law.
Carrie Scott, a transgender state employee, said she may consider changing employers if lawmakers ban gender-affirming care from the state health plan. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “I enjoy serving the state. I’ve got plans to continue my career with the state, but with them looking at taking away my health coverage for the care I need, I might have to quit my job, find other opportunities that would provide me with the care I need.”
Carrie Scott, an attorney who works for a state agency, said she was able to get gender-affirming surgery about a year ago because of the settlement and has continuing costs for care. She said pulling the coverage would be equivalent to a pay cut that only affects transgender workers.
“If they cut this care that I need from the health insurance, it’s making it untenable for me to continue in the state health benefit plan, which is cutting my compensation in a way that’s not cutting other state employees’.”
Attorney Amanda Kay Seals, who represented transgender state workers in a previous suit against the state, said banning gender-affirming care again would invite new lawsuits. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
“I hope that I don’t have to make a decision,” she added. “I need ongoing care that is covered by my health insurance plan that would not be covered anymore if this bill passed. That care is not optional for me, and so I would have to make a hard decision.”
Attorney Amanda Kay Seals, who helped argue the suit over Georgia’s prior exclusion, said if the bill becomes law, it will not survive a future challenge.
“If you try to undo the promises made by the state of Georgia in the Rich vs. Georgia settlement, the promises made to Georgia citizens and more specifically to the state’s employees and their families, the state will find itself in court again,” she said. “Passing this bill does not change what was true when we filed Rich.”
BAn on transgender athletes
Rep. Josh Bonner. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Back in the House, Burns said his sports bill will bar transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams from kindergarten through college, including private colleges that play against public schools.
The bill, which will be carried by Fayetteville Republican state Rep. Josh Bonner, will also require schools to provide separate restroom and changing facilities for boy and girl athletes and create a right of action for people who believe they have been aggrieved under the law.
“I don’t want any girl in the state of Georgia to be told that no matter how much you practice, no matter how much you train, no how much you sacrifice, the moment you step onto that playing field, it’s not equal,” Bonner said.
Senate Republicans have prioritized their own version of a trans sports exclusion bill – it was the first bill filed in that chamber this year, but Burns declined to compare the two bills.
“I’m not sure what’s in Senate Bill 1, because we’ve been focused on providing these safeguards, leveling this playing field,” he said.
The House bill is named after swimmer Riley Gaines, who became an outspoken advocate against transgender participation in girls’ sports after she and other swimmers competed against and shared a locker room with a transgender woman at a 2022 championship held at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
The NCAA changed its eligibility rules after that competition amid a flurry of complaints.
Sen. Kim Jackson. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Bills targeting transgender athletes have proved a major wedge issue in recent years, though their presence on Georgia’s sports fields remains close to zero.
Some Democrats have characterized the focus on transgender sports as a senseless attempt to score political points.
Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson has introduced a bill she says will protect girls’ sports by ensuring they receive equivalent funding and facilities to boys’ sports.
“If we want to have a real conversation about leveling the playing field, let’s talk about the severe lack of equipment provided to teams, like the six soccer balls given to girls’ soccer teams in South DeKalb or resorting to raising operating funds through athletic booster clubs and student fees to ensure they have proper equipment,” Jackson said Monday. “Let’s talk about the girls who never even get the chance to join a team because they can’t afford the fees at their public school.”
Democrats are largely opposed to the trans-focused bills, but not universally so.
Sen. Ed Harbison. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Dawson Democratic Sen. Freddie Powell Sims’ name is listed as a co-sponsor of Tillery’s health care bill, and she voted for the Senate version of the transgender sports bill in committee.
Democratic Sen. Ed Harbison of Columbus voted against Tillery’s bill in committee, although his name was originally listed as a co-sponsor. Harbison said he misunderstood what was in Tillery’s bill.
Harbison said while he supports Jackson’s plan for sports gender equity, he has concerns about transgender athletes competing with cisgender women.
“It’s unfair to have previously identified male people, who want to change their – they want to identify as a woman, I have no problem with that, but to compete against gender-identified women, I think that’s another thing, that’s my belief,” he said.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Burns declined to clearly say whether the House would take up anti-transgender legislation other than the sports bill.
“No, we’re focused a very narrow focus on just this issue, boys in girls’ sports, and so the House talks about many things, I’m not sure what legislation will come down, but this piece of legislation, the Riley Gaines Act, is focused on what we’re talking about here today and providing these protections and level this playing field,” he said.
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Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
SUMMARY: Preston Oates, convicted of voluntary manslaughter and gun charges in the 2014 killing of Carlos Olivera, is seeking a new trial. Oates claims ineffective counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and unexamined evidence during his trial. He continues to deny responsibility, arguing bias from law enforcement and improper handling of key evidence. Oates shot Olivera after a confrontation over a vehicle booting incident, with prosecutors stating he was the aggressor. Oates’ appeal was denied by the South Carolina Supreme Court, and his family and Olivera’s family were present at the hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for April 24.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-17 11:45:00
(The Center Square) − A $4 billion clean energy project in Louisiana — touted as the largest of its kind in North America — could face major financial headwinds if Congress ever repeals key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to documents from one of the project’s lead developers.
CF Industries, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, has staked its future on a low-carbon transition — anchored in part by the development of green and blue ammonia production facilities at its Donaldsonville and Blue Point complexes in Louisiana. Together, the projects represent one of the largest investments in carbon capture and clean hydrogen in the country.
At the heart of that strategy is Section 45Q, a federal tax credit that provides up to $85 per metric ton of CO₂ permanently stored through carbon capture and sequestration.
CF has already entered into a landmark agreement with ExxonMobil to permanently store up to 2 million metric tonsof CO₂ annually from its Donaldsonville operations, starting in 2025. That alone could translate into $170 million per year in tax credits—provided the current IRA-backed rules remain intact.
But that is not a safe assumption.
“The new administration has indicated that they’re not the biggest fans of green energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Shawn Daray, a New Orleans tax attorney, during a February hearing before the Clean Hydrogen Task Force.
Section 45V relates to clean hydrogen production, another pillar of CF’s multi-billion-dollar expansion.
In its 2024 annual report, CF Industries warned investors that “changes to the IRA may impact our ability to receive anticipated tax credits for our low-carbon ammonia projects, which, in turn, could negatively affect the profitability of these projects.”
That warning resonates beyond the company’s bottom line. The Louisiana sites at Donaldsonville and the proposed Blue Point complex in Ascension Parish are projected to generate more than 1,200 construction jobs and over 100 permanent positions, according to Louisiana Economic Development records.
“These are the kinds of well-paying, future-forward jobs the IRA was designed to bring to places like Louisiana,” Mark Roberts, an advisor with EcoPolicy Advisors, told The Center Square. “Why the state’s own congressional delegation is working to repeal those benefits is baffling.”
More than $2.5 billion in direct IRA-related investments have been announced across the state since 2022, according to Roberts, potentially supporting thousands of jobs.
The threat to clean hydrogen isn’t limited to ammonia. This week Plug Power’s new hydrogen liquefaction plant in St. Gabriel began operations. The facility, operated by the Hidrogenii JV, can liquefy up to 15 tons of hydrogen daily — about 5,475 tons annually — produced by Olin. Plug Power distributes the hydrogen across the country using a trailer network and its newly introduced spot pricing model.
The St. Gabriel facility pushes Plug’s total U.S. liquefied hydrogen production to 40 tons per day, including sites in Georgia and Tennessee.
The company has said the IRA’s clean hydrogen production credit — Section 45V, which can provide up to $3 per kilogram of clean hydrogen — is key to its long-term strategy. But Plug has also acknowledged in recent investor filings that uncertainty around implementation and potential political shifts could affect how, and whether, they receive those benefits.
“A prolonged U.S. government shutdown could cause uncertainty or delay… which could impact the timing of any benefits we anticipate receiving under the IRA,” the company warned in its 2023 annual report. “Several of these credits… have been subject to debate, and divergent views on potential implementation… some of which could be materially adverse to the Company.”
www.wsav.com – The Associated Press – 2025-04-17 08:07:00
SUMMARY: Several international students whose visas were revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, claiming they were denied due process. Over 900 students across 128 U.S. colleges have had their legal status terminated, risking detention and deportation. Lawsuits argue the government lacked justification for these actions, often citing minor infractions. Colleges report that the terminations follow a nationwide policy, though the reasons for targeting students remain unclear. This action has raised concerns about discouraging future international students from studying in the U.S., with many colleges seeking answers from the government and offering reassurance to affected students.
