Sen. Randy Robertson. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
A bill banning gender-affirming treatments for inmates in state custody passed the Georgia Senate Monday.
Senate Bill 185’s sponsor, Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson, said there are three lawsuits ongoing from inmates seeking gender-affirming care and he wants to nip the issue in the bud.
“When you see the tsunami coming, a lot of people wait until it’s at the shore, to start sandbagging and evacuating everybody and doing what you need to do,” he said. “I think if you look at the temperature that not only are we experiencing here in the United States, and obviously by these three lawsuits, people are attempting to do this, and it is the responsibility of this body and the body across the way to make sure we are prepared for what comes down the road, because as someone who understands crisis management and other things, you don’t wait.”
The bill passed with some bipartisan support, with several Democrats joining all Republicans voting in favor of the bill, and others simply not voting. Sens. Sonya Halpert, Ed Harbison and Elena Parent crossed party lines to support the bill, while Sens. Tonya Anderson, Jason Esteves, Randal Mangham and Nikki Merritt did not vote.
Sen. John Albers. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Roswell Republican Sen. John Albers gleefully pointed out the disunity among the Democrats.
“Let’s be honest, you as Democrats, in your own caucus are divided on this issue,” he said. “Throughout the last several votes, some of you voted with us, and others took a walk and did not vote at all. The overwhelming number of Georgians and Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, support this bill and the others. Candidly, if you vote against this bill, you are politically tone deaf.”
Parent proposed an amendment that would have allowed some inmates to continue taking hormones they had already been taking.
“I don’t believe that taxpayers should be responsible for funding the surgeries outlined in lines 68-69 and 71-72, including gender affirming surgeries, cosmetic procedures, or prosthetics,” Parent said. “But on the other hand, I believe that denying transgender prisoners access to gender affirming hormones that they are already taking, and in some cases may have been taking for years, is cruel and unnecessary.”
Sen. Sonya Halpern. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
The Senate voted down the amendment.
Halpern characterized the bill as a distraction.
“Not one tax dollar in Georgia has ever been spent on sex change surgeries for inmates, so let’s not pretend this is about fiscal responsibility,” she said. “This bill simply makes explicit what is already the practice in Georgia, and yet here we are debating this as if it were some looming crisis, as if Georgia’s prisons were on the verge of becoming gender-affirming care centers at the taxpayer’s expense. Let me be clear, that is not the reality here in Georgia.”
“But I am also a pragmatist,” she added, “and the simple truth is that I cannot in good conscience support taxpayer-funded medical procedures for prisoners that we do not provide to law-abiding citizens who are struggling every day to afford basic health care.”
Sen. Josh McLaurin. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Democrats who opposed the bill characterized it as cruel and unconstitutional.
“I know good and well that public polling does not support gender-affirming care for people who are incarcerated,” said Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson. “But I am keenly aware of our history, a history in which public opinion has often not been on the right side of justice, a history in which public polling has often sided with the majority and further isolated and forsaken the minority. I know this is not politically popular, but I stand here today urging my colleagues to vote no on this bill, to vote no as a sign of your commitment to humanity. Vote no for dignity. Colleagues, I beg you, do not let public polling persuade you to do something that you know in your heart is fundamentally unconstitutional, and quite frankly, is downright immoral.”
Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, said the bill could be seen as a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
“The Eighth Amendment being the one that says no cruel and unusual punishment,” he said. “I.e. you can’t deny medical care while you’re incarcerated because you don’t have the means to go get your own care. You’re stuck. So the state has to provide your health care. And the study committee in question was the safety and welfare of all individuals in the Georgia Department of Corrections. And yet, this bill just exempts medical care from one group of those individuals.”
Robertson said he welcomes prospective lawsuits.
Sen. Ben Watson, sponsor of the Senate’s puberty blocker ban. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
“People came to the committee and said this will open up more opportunity for individuals to sue, and my response to that is I’m fine with that,” he said. “Every piece of legislation that comes out of this building is subject to being challenged in court. We say it many times, you can write the best piece of legislation you want, but until it is evaluated and pressure-tested by a man or woman wearing a black robe, then you really don’t know how good the legislation is.”
The Senate has previously passed anti-transgender bills including bills to ban gender-affirming treatments from transgender state employees and their children on the state health care plan and to keep transgender girls off girls’ school sports teams. The House has passed its own transgender sports ban. The bills have until April 4 to make it to the governor’s desk.
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www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-23 13:33:00
(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock says ethics questions about his housing and financial disclosures already have been answered.
A conservative nonprofit in Washington is asking the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for an investigation. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust says information on his housing provided by Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he’s been senior pastor since 2005, hasn’t been disclosed and his outside earned income is in question.
In an email to The Center Square, a statement from Warnock’s office says, “Reverend Warnock sought and received explicit approval from the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee on this matter. The ministry-owned housing is not income. Rather, it is a customary benefit provided to the senator because of his ongoing position as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, a position he has held for the past 20 years.”
The nonprofit said before moving into a $989,000 luxury home in Georgia provided by the church, he was receiving $7,400 in monthly housing allowance. It also said he sold his previous home to buy one in the Washington area.
Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, said she is hoping the committee will act promptly on the request.
“There are tax laws and ethics rules which allow for a senator to accept reasonable lodging or housing, but they are only applicable in a narrow set of circumstances – they are not an open-ended loophole that can be abused,” Arnold said in a statement. “Among other factors, it’s critical that the value of the housing provided be commensurate to the work done – and then the value be disclosed. It’s difficult to fathom any citizen could look at this situation (a U.S. Senator that is a part-time employee of an organization, which pays him a salary and then happens to buy him a million-dollar house to live in for free after he was elected to Congress) and not think something potentially wrong is afoot.”
www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-22 12:06:00
(The Center Square) – An ethics organization is accusing Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of accepting housing from his church and not including it on financial disclosures.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust is asking the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for an investigation, according to a letter on the organization’s website.
The complaint says Warnock moved into a $989,000 luxury home in Georgia provided to him by Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the senator is pastor. Before Warnock moved into the residence, he was receiving a $7,400 monthly housing allowance from the church.
“Since moving into the luxury home, Sen. Warnock has not included any information about being provided housing on his financial disclosures,” the complaint said. “In addition to the undisclosed housing, he has reported receiving an annual income from the church just under the maximum outside earned income limit, for instance $31,815.12 in 2023.”
Warnock sold his former Georgia residence and purchased a home in Washington, the organization said.
Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, said she is hoping the committee will act promptly on the request.
“There are tax laws and ethics rules which allow for a senator to accept reasonable lodging or housing, but they are only applicable in a narrow set of circumstances – they are not an open-ended loophole that can be abused,” Arnold said in a statement. “Among other factors, it’s critical that the value of the housing provided be commensurate to the work done – and then the value be disclosed. It’s difficult to fathom any citizen could look at this situation (a U.S. Senator that is a part-time employee of an organization, which pays him a salary and then happens to buy him a million-dollar house to live in for free after he was elected to Congress) and not think something potentially wrong is afoot.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from Warnock through his office prior to publication.
The 2026 race for Georgia governor is shaping up with candidates from both parties now entering the race.
Gov. Brian Kemp cannot run for a third term, leaving the keys to the governor’s mansion up for grabs.
Meet the declared candidates
Sen. Jason Esteves. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Democratic Atlanta Sen. Jason Esteves announced his candidacy Monday with an introduction video highlighting his experience, including as a former teacher and chair of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education. In the video, titled “Underdog,” Esteves took aim at what he characterized as radical Republicans in the state government following the lead of President Donald Trump.
“I’ve had enough of families working harder than ever but still struggling and our kids falling behind instead of getting ahead,” Esteves said in his announcement video. “Yet extreme politicians in Georgia push Trump’s reckless agenda, rig the system for special interests and stick us with the bill.”
As Esteves read these lines, the screen flashed with images of Trump, Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Esteves’ only announced Republican rival, Attorney General Chris Carr, who became the first to throw his hat in the ring in November.
Attorney General Chris Carr speaks at the 2025 Georgia Faith and Freedom Luncheon in Atlanta. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Carr’s campaign has highlighted his experience in law enforcement, especially operations targeting immigrants, gang members and human traffickers.
“For decades, we’ve been the best place to live, work, raise a family and build a business,” Carr said in his introductory video, titled “Keep Georgia Strong.” “That hasn’t happened by chance. It’s happened because we’ve had leaders who are willing to make tough decisions, put Georgians first and stood strong in the face of adversity. Progressive activists are trying to radically transform our values and our economy. As your attorney general, I’ve made it my mission to keep Georgia safe.”
Carr has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s second-term agenda, but their relationship hasn’t always been chummy. In 2022, Trump called Carr “a disaster every step of the way” and backed an unsuccessful primary challenge against him after Carr declined to investigate Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud in Georgia’s 2020 election.
Meet the maybe candidates
Lt. Gov. Jones, a Republican who is widely considered likely to enter the governor’s race, is considered a more steadfast Trump ally – Jones was one of Georgia’s so-called fake electors, who met at the state Capitol in 2020 to cast votes for Trump even after his loss to Joe Biden was officially certified.
President Donald Trump and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones at a rally in Zebulon in 2024. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Jones’ closeness to the president could benefit him in a Republican primary, but it’s less clear whether his tightness with Trump will help or hurt in a general race. How Trump shapes the race will likely depend on how Georgians’ view the chief executive during the buildup to next year’s election season.
“If the economy goes bad, if inflation is up, if unemployment is up, then some of the luster may be taken off of Trump,” said University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock. “Now, for the MAGA folks, it probably doesn’t matter, but for the critical element of independents and, in the general election, of white, college-educated voters, if Trump’s attractiveness has been substantially reduced, then that certainly works for the advantage of Democrats.”
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another rumored but unconfirmed candidate, could also make a reasonable play as someone Trump-skeptical conservatives and independents could back.
Raffensperger was on the other end of the now-infamous 2021 phone call in which Trump called on him to “find” enough votes to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election. Raffensperger declined, earning the ire of Trump and many of his supporters.
Firebrand conservative Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is another member of the maybe column – she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast back in February that she was open to either a run for the governorship or for Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat, which is also on the ballot in 2026.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
On the Democratic side, one much-speculated candidate seems less likely to have her eyes on Kemp’s job than she did last year.
Democratic Congresswoman Lucy McBath hasn’t ruled out a run entirely, but she announced late last month that she was suspending her bid as she focuses on the health of her husband, who recently underwent surgery for cancer.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who recently served as an advisor to former President Joe Biden, told 11Alive News early this month that she plans to run for governor.
Former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has not ruled out a run – and neither has former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who became a household name after narrowly losing to Kemp in 2018 and again by a wider margin in 2022.
A crowded Democratic primary could be just the thing to dash the Dems’ dreams, Bullock said, if the intra-party attacks get too intense.
“If they get into it, then a lot of money will be spent within the primary, and sooner or later, even though they may start out simply singing their own praises, there would be a tendency to go negative, especially if at least three serious candidates get into it so you have a run-off. That’s when attacks really become strong.”
The elephant in the room
Gov. Brian Kemp. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Kemp is reportedly considering a run at Ossoff’s seat.
Many Republicans would be thrilled to see Kemp’s name on the ballot next to Ossoff’s – Kemp enjoys relatively high approval ratings and has shown he can win statewide races in campaigns for governor and secretary of state.
But Kemp – whose name has also been floated as a potential presidential candidate in the future – may see moving to the Senate as a downgrade, Bullock said.
As governor, Kemp has sway over all aspects of state government, but he would be one of 100 in the Senate, and as a newly elected senator, he’d be too low on the seniority rankings to chair any important committees.
“He’s going to be far less visible in that role, the scope of his influence is going to be tiny compared to what he has now,” Bullock said. “He’s not going to be living in a mansion. He’s going to be living probably in an apartment, maybe in the Watergate building. He’s not going to have an SUV and a state patrolman to drive him around.”
Sen. Jon Ossoff. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Once Kemp makes a decision, expect plenty of dominoes to fall afterwards.
Georgia Fire and Insurance Commissioner John King has said he would consider a run for Senate if Kemp does not. Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper has also publicly teased the idea of running.
“Conceivably, virtually the entire hierarchy of statewide Republican officials could give up their current positions, which would be then just wildness in terms of primaries, probably on both sides, of candidates running for each of those statewide offices,” Bullock said. “You may well clear out a large share of the state Senate and some of the state House. It may be if you show up January of 2027 at the Capitol, you may not recognize anybody because they’ve all run for something, cleared out the state Legislature. So this could be an extraordinary election cycle in Georgia.”
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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.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Assessment: Center-Left
The content primarily focuses on the upcoming gubernatorial race in Georgia, presenting information about various candidates from both major political parties. It features a Democratic candidate, Sen. Jason Esteves, who is characterized as progressive, particularly in his criticism of Republican leaders and their alignment with Trump’s agenda. This framing suggests a critical stance towards the conservative party and its policies. Additionally, the article highlights the controversy surrounding Republican candidates and their affiliations with Trump, which may imply a negative viewpoint of these figures.
While the piece includes perspectives from both Democrats and Republicans, the emphasis on the Democrats’ campaign strategies and criticisms of Republicans gives it a Center-Left political bias. Overall, the content leans toward a more critical view of conservative politics while presenting Democratic candidates in a favorable light.
