Sine Die. No Kings. What Comes Next

The Final Day: What Passed, What's Next

The final, 40th day of the 2026 Georgia Legislature session is coming to a close. Known as Sine Die, today signifies the final day in the annual session for both the House and Senate, which is the last chance for Georgia lawmakers to pass bills, often with sessions going past midnight. Bills that do not pass the House and Senate by the end of Sine Die are marked dead and will need to start over in next year’s session.

A note to our readers: Sine Die happens to be on the same day we publish. Lawmakers routinely work past midnight on Sine Die, which means some of what we've outlined here may still be in motion when this newsletter hits your inbox. We'll have a full recap of what passed, what failed, and what it means for Georgia in next week's issue.

As the Georgia General Assembly gavels out on Sine Die today, here is where the major bills stand:

• HB 154 — Georgia Sunshine Protection Act (Daylight Saving Time): Would end twice-annual clock changes by moving Georgia to the Atlantic Standard Time zone, effectively keeping the state on permanent daylight saving time year-round. Passed the Senate and returned to the House for final approval. If passed, Governor Kemp would petition the U.S. Transportation Secretary to make the change official.

• HB 369 — Non-Partisan DA Elections: Would require district attorney races in Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Clayton, and Cobb counties to run as non-partisan elections beginning in 2028. Critics — including Fulton County DA Fani Willis — argue the bill is designed specifically to target Democratic-held DA offices in metro Atlanta. These five offices are currently all held by Black women. Supporters claim it removes politics from local elections. Draw your own conclusions.

• SB 442 — CDL Revocation for Noncitizens: Passed the House 98-59. Would automatically revoke commercial driver's licenses for noncitizens once their visas expire or after five years, and require retesting for renewal. Awaiting signature from Governor Kemp.

• HB 54 — Gender-Affirming Care Ban: Passed the Senate on a party-line vote. Bans doctors from prescribing puberty blockers to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Amendments added at the last minute also bar state health insurance plans from covering gender-affirming care, even for adults, and prohibit Georgia hospitals from performing it. Georgia now joins over 20 states that have passed similar restrictions. Medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, have opposed these bans, citing evidence that gender-affirming care reduces depression, anxiety, and suicide risk in transgender youth. Georgia Democrats fought the bill on the floor, arguing that medical decisions for children should be made by families and doctors — not legislators.

• HB 1009 — High School Cell Phone Ban: Passed the Senate unanimously on March 23. Bans personal electronic devices, including phones, smartwatches, and headphones, for all public high school students, bell-to-bell. Takes effect July 1, 2027. Exceptions exist for students with IEPs and documented medical or safety needs. Awaiting signature from Governor Kemp.

• HB 1001 — Income Tax Rate Reduction: Reduces Georgia's flat income tax rate from 5.19% to 4.99% on all income earned from January 1, 2026, forward. Also raises the standard deduction from $12,000 to $15,000 for single filers and $24,000 to $32,000 for joint filers. Reported favorably by the Senate committee and supported by Governor Kemp.

HB 960 — Paper Ballots: The Senate passed a party-line bill to replace Georgia's touchscreen voting with hand-marked paper ballots before November — the House has a competing version, and the two chambers have not agreed. Chaos in an election year is not an accident.

SB 29 / SB 116 — DNA Collection: Would allow law enforcement to collect your DNA without a warrant if you're charged with a felony — and a companion bill extends that to anyone detained by immigration officials.

SB 410 – Data Center Tax Break Repeal: A bill to end tax exemptions for data centers — which have driven up Georgia Power bills for everyone else — passed the Senate, but is still waiting on the House as of today.

Meet Beth Fuller: The Right Candidate At The Right Time

This past Saturday, the 2030 Project team spent the afternoon in Decatur with Beth Fuller, our endorsed candidate for Georgia House District 53, and left more convinced than ever that we are backing the right person.

She brings a master's in Public Health from UAB and a doctorate in public health from Columbia. She grew up in Atlanta, and she graduated from Emory with her undergraduate degree. She's raising two boys in Sandy Springs who attend neighborhood public schools. She is, in every sense of the word, a neighbor, someone who wants the government to work for the people.

Beth's path to this race is not a typical one. For years, she contracted with the CDC on some of its most important public health work, including its Policy Academy, where she taught CDC staff the fundamentals of how policy actually gets made. Then the Trump administration suddenly terminated her contract, along with thousands of other Georgia jobs. Her response was not to move on quietly. It was to run for office.

She's challenging incumbent Republican Deborah Silcox, a three-term Sandy Springs legislator who has voted in lockstep with House Republican leadership. HD-53 is winnable; it covers Buckhead to Roswell, and our Democratic candidate only lost it by 1,400 votes in 2024, while Kamala Harris carried it by over 4%. It is one of ten State House seats that must flip for Georgia Democrats to claim a majority by the end of 2030. With a primary on the calendar for May 19, we are proud to enthusiastically support Beth. 

In addition, Beth was also named to the Georgia WIN List's 2026 endorsed candidates this week, joining fellow 2030 Project candidate Michelle Kang of HD-99, who received her endorsement at the Capitol today. Two spectacular candidates in one week. The momentum is real. With candidates like Beth and Michelle, we WILL flip the Georgia State House by 2030.

Georgia’s Voice on No Kings Day

This past Saturday, in over 3,000 protests in the country, and many more from our Canadian, Latin American, and European brothers and sisters, over 8 million protestors gathered for the third time in an outcry against ICE and the Trump administration's abuse of power. Here in Georgia, we had over 50 locations using their right to free speech and protest. 

The faces of Saturday's protests told the real story of America. Retirees and college students standing side by side. Parents with strollers. Veterans in their caps. Teachers. Small business owners. These were not professional protesters. These were neighbors. And that is exactly what makes this moment different. When people who have never marched before start marching, something has shifted. 

At the Atlanta No Kings Rally, Senator Raphael Warnock spoke to demonstrators about ICE, the SAVE Act, and more. He told the crowd of thousands, “When they said, ‘We the people,’ They didn’t include me. In that sense, they didn’t include women. Members of the LGBTQ community had to stand up and say, us too, me too. We’ve always had to work to make America become who it says it is.”

If you were not present at the Atlanta rally this Saturday, his speech, immortalized on his website and by 11 Alive, was exactly what we want to hear from our lawmakers. We commend Senator Warnock for both his strong words and his important actions in blocking the SAVE Act from passing the Senate, which would curb the right to vote around the country.

It cannot be overstated that fascism has always lingered beneath the American flag—for women, Native Americans, African Americans, and many other groups. Oppression is neither new nor unique in our history, but at this moment in American history, we the people still have a chance to decide a new way forward.

Additionally, the No Kings organization has a website with training materials on knowing your rights under the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. Should you wish to learn more about your rights recording ICE agents or are looking for any educational material around No Kings, they are also hosting an important training on April 20th.

The enthusiastic turnout at the No Kings protests have demonstrated that Americans are willing to fight for our democracy and reject the increasing authoritarianism pushed by the Trump administration. We hope this same energy is transmitted to the polls in this pivotal midterm election where federal and state power are up for grabs.