Medical cannabis access, ‘fair' tax policies and more on deck as study committee season cranks up
School may be out for the summer, but at the state Capitol in Atlanta, lawmakers are gearing up for their own version of summer school. Study committees, which meet outside the regular 40-day legislative session, have already begun gathering information and soliciting expert testimony on topics ranging from chronic student absenteeism to improving tourism.
All told, 16 different House study committees and 20 Senate panels will convene under the Gold Dome, which is the most each chamber has seen in the past decade. Here is a look at a few notable ones.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been a hot-button issue both in Georgia and around the country. During the 2025 session, legislators in both chambers introduced bills aimed at increasing regulations on the use of AI technology, but none managed to pass through both chambers by the Sine Die deadline.
However, two new study committees will allow legislators in the Senate to continue compiling research and drafting a report that may guide their efforts when lawmakers reconvene for the 2026 session next January. Senate Resolution 391, introduced by Roswell Republican Sen. John Albers, creates a new committee dedicated to examining the use of AI across industries like education, health care and financial services. The committee will also explore the use of digital and cryptocurrency, and how to better prevent security threats.
A second AI-related committee, created by SR 431, will study the impact of social media on children across Georgia, examining privacy implications and the impact of chatbots and other AI features on minors. The resolution was introduced by Atlanta Democrat Sen. Sally Harrell, who will serve as co-chair alongside Johns Creek Republican Sen. Shawn Still.
Lawmakers are getting a jump start on election policy this year, perhaps hoping to avoid a repeat of the months-long battle between Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the five-member State Election Board that characterized the lead-up to Georgia's 2024 election.
House Resolution 885 established a special panel that will examine Georgia's existing election code and how responsibilities are shared between election officials at the local and state levels. It will be chaired by Rep. Tim Fleming, a Covington Republican.
Another study committee, created by SR 429, will research ways to remove barriers for those who are seeking to restore their voting rights after a felony conviction. Georgia 'has one of the longest parole and probationary periods in the nation and the highest number of individuals under supervision per capita of any state,' according to the resolution.
The fight to overhaul Georgia's civil litigation landscape may be settled for now, but discussions over Georgia's insurance rates are set to continue. A newly created panel will investigate the driving forces behind insurance rate hikes throughout the state by analyzing insurance industry practices, profit margins and compliance with state regulations. It will be chaired by Duluth Republican Rep. Matt Reeves.
House lawmakers will also delve into how the state's reinsurance landscape intersects with climate change in a study committee created by HR 40. Citing the estimated $6.46 billion in damage that Hurricane Helene caused in Georgia, lawmakers are hoping to combat insurance-related challenges that businesses may face during future storms and severe weather events.
Co-chaired by Republican Reps. Darlene Taylor of Thomasville and Noel Williams of Cordele, the committee aims to collaborate with the Georgia Office of Insurance and Department of Agriculture to mitigate rising property and casualty insurance costs for small businesses across the state.
Cannabis consumption, both medical and recreational, was another prominent issue that surfaced during the 2025 legislative session. While House Bill 227 and Senate Bill 220 both sought to widen access to medical cannabis, neither bill managed to make it over the finish line before lawmakers adjourned for the year. Instead, two separate study committees will tackle the issue over the summer.
A House study committee led by Augusta Republican Rep. Mark Newton, who works as a doctor, will dive into Georgia's medical marijuana policies. In the Senate, lawmakers on the Study Committee on Intoxicating Cannabinoids in Consumable Hemp Products will tackle the issue of regulating recreational products like THC-infused drinks, which are chemically similar to medical cannabis but more broadly available to consumers because they fall under the federal 2018 Farm Bill and the Georgia Hemp Farming Act.
Georgia lawmakers at both the state and federal level are pushing for legislation that would overhaul the current tax code, replacing the current system with a fixed consumption tax that proponents refer to as 'FairTax.' The congressional version of the bill, which was first proposed in 1999, was sponsored this year by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who recently announced a bid for the U.S. Senate.
At the Georgia Capitol, the Senate State FairTax Study Committee will examine similar legislation that would apply a fixed sales tax rate within the Peach State. The committee will be chaired by Rome Republican Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, who also heads the Senate Finance Committee.
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Boston Globe
13 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Women legislators fight for ‘potty parity'
In a pinch, House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. Advertisement 'You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us,' said Rep. Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, reflecting on the photos of former lawmakers, predominantly male, that line her office. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The issue of potty parity may seem comic, but its impact runs deeper than uncomfortably full bladders, said Kathryn Anthony, professor emerita at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's School of Architecture. 'It's absolutely critical because the built environment reflects our culture and reflects our population,' said Anthony, who has testified on the issue before Congress. 'And if you have an environment that is designed for half the population but forgets about the other half, you have a group of disenfranchised people and disadvantaged people.' There is hope for Kentucky's lady legislators seeking more chamber potties. Advertisement A $300 million renovation of the 155-year-old Capitol — scheduled for completion by 2028 at the soonest — aims to create more women's restrooms and end Kentucky's bathroom disparity. The Bluegrass State is among the last to add bathrooms to aging statehouses that were built when female legislators were not a consideration. In the $392 million renovation of the Georgia Capitol, expanding bathroom access is a priority, said Gerald Pilgrim, chief of staff with the state's Building Authority. It will introduce female facilities on the building's fourth floor, where the public galleries are located, and will add more bathrooms throughout to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 'We know there are not enough bathrooms,' he said. Evolving equality in statehouses There's no federal law requiring bathroom access for all genders in public buildings. Some 20 states have statutes prescribing how many washrooms buildings must have, but historical buildings — such as statehouses — are often exempt. Over the years, as the makeup of state governments has changed, statehouses have added bathrooms for women. When Tennessee's Capitol opened in 1859, the architects designed only one restroom — for men only — situated on the ground floor. According to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks, the toilet could only be 'flushed' when enough rainwater had been collected. 'The room was famously described as 'a stench in the nostrils of decency,'' Weeks said in an email. Today, Tennessee's Capitol has a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers. It's in a cramped hall under a staircase, sparking comparisons to Harry Potter's cupboard bedroom, and it contains just two stalls. The men also just have one bathroom on the same floor, but it has three urinals and three stalls. Advertisement Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn, who was elected in 2023, said she wasn't aware of the disparity in facilities until contacted by The Associated Press. 'I've apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job,' she said. 'I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn't exist -- or at least didn't have bladders,' Behn said. The Maryland State House is the country's oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, operational since the late 1700s. Archivists say its bathroom facilities were initially intended for white men only because desegregation laws were still in place. Women's restrooms were added after 1922, but they were insufficient for the rising number of women elected to office. Delegate Pauline Menes complained about the issue so much that House Speaker Thomas Lowe appointed her chair of the 'Ladies Rest Room Committee,' and presented her with a fur covered toilet seat in front of her colleagues in 1972. She launched the women's caucus the following year. It wasn't until 2019 that House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, the first woman to secure the top position, ordered the addition of more women's restrooms along with a gender-neutral bathroom and a nursing room for mothers in the Lowe House Office Building. 'No longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic' As more women were elected nationwide in the 20th century, some found creative workarounds. In Nebraska's unicameral Legislature, female senators didn't get a dedicated restroom until 1988, when a facility was added in the chamber's cloakroom. There had previously been a single restroom in the senate lounge, and Sen. Shirley Marsh, who served for some 16 years, would ask a State Patrol trooper to guard the door while she used it, said Brandon Metzler, the Legislature's clerk. Advertisement In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honor then-state Rep. Arie Taylor, the state's first Black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. The plaque, now inside a women's bathroom in the Capitol, reads: 'Once here beneath the golden dome if nature made a call, we'd have to scramble from our seats and dash across the hall ... Then Arie took the mike once more to push an urge organic, no longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic.' The poem concludes: 'In mem'ry of you, Arie (may you never be forgot), from this day forth we'll call that room the Taylor Chamber Pot.' New Mexico Democratic state Rep. Liz Thomson recalled missing votes in the House during her first year in office in 2013 because there was no women's restroom in the chamber's lounge. An increase in female lawmakers — New Mexico elected the largest female majority Legislature in U.S. history in 2024 — helped raise awareness of the issue, she said. 'It seems kind of like fluff, but it really isn't,' she said. 'To me, it really talks about respect and inclusion.' The issue is not exclusive to statehouses. In the U.S. Capitol, the first restroom for congresswomen didn't open until 1962. While a facility was made available for female U.S. Senators in 1992, it wasn't until 2011 that the House chamber opened a bathroom to women lawmakers. Advertisement Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to a congressional seat. That happened in 1916. Willner insists that knowing the Kentucky Capitol wasn't designed for women gives her extra impetus to stand up and make herself heard. 'This building was not designed for me,' she said. 'Well, guess what? I'm here.' Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed.
Hamilton Spectator
14 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Women legislators fight for ‘potty parity'
For female state lawmakers in Kentucky, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two bathroom stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female legislators — 41 of the 138 member Legislature — needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote. None of their male colleagues face the same dilemma because, of course, multiple men's bathrooms are available. The Legislature even installed speakers in the men's bathrooms to broadcast the chamber's events so they don't miss anything important. In a pinch, House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. 'You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us,' said Rep. Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, reflecting on the photos of former lawmakers, predominantly male, that line her office. The issue of potty parity may seem comic, but its impact runs deeper than uncomfortably full bladders, said Kathryn Anthony, professor emerita at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's School of Architecture. 'It's absolutely critical because the built environment reflects our culture and reflects our population,' said Anthony, who has testified on the issue before Congress. 'And if you have an environment that is designed for half the population but forgets about the other half, you have a group of disenfranchised people and disadvantaged people.' There is hope for Kentucky's lady legislators seeking more chamber potties. A $300 million renovation of the 155-year-old Capitol — scheduled for completion by 2028 at the soonest — aims to create more women's restrooms and end Kentucky's bathroom disparity. The Bluegrass State is among the last to add bathrooms to aging statehouses that were built when female legislators were not a consideration. In the $392 million renovation of the Georgia Capitol, expanding bathroom access is a priority, said Gerald Pilgrim, chief of staff with the state's Building Authority. It will introduce female facilities on the building's fourth floor, where the public galleries are located, and will add more bathrooms throughout to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 'We know there are not enough bathrooms,' he said. Evolving equality in statehouses There's no federal law requiring bathroom access for all genders in public buildings. Some 20 states have statutes prescribing how many washrooms buildings must have, but historical buildings — such as statehouses — are often exempt. Over the years, as the makeup of state governments has changed, statehouses have added bathrooms for women. When Tennessee's Capitol opened in 1859, the architects designed only one restroom — for men only — situated on the ground floor. According to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks, the toilet could only be 'flushed' when enough rainwater had been collected. 'The room was famously described as 'a stench in the nostrils of decency,'' Weeks said in an email. Today, Tennessee's Capitol has a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers. It's in a cramped hall under a staircase, sparking comparisons to Harry Potter's cupboard bedroom, and it contains just two stalls. The men also just have one bathroom on the same floor, but it has three urinals and three stalls. Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn, who was elected in 2023, said she wasn't aware of the disparity in facilities until contacted by The Associated Press. 'I've apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job,' she said. 'I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn't exist — or at least didn't have bladders,' Behn said. The Maryland State House is the country's oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, operational since the late 1700s. Archivists say its bathroom facilities were initially intended for white men only because desegregation laws were still in place. Women's restrooms were added after 1922, but they were insufficient for the rising number of women elected to office. Delegate Pauline Menes complained about the issue so much that House Speaker Thomas Lowe appointed her chair of the 'Ladies Rest Room Committee,' and presented her with a fur covered toilet seat in front of her colleagues in 1972. She launched the women's caucus the following year. It wasn't until 2019 that House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, the first woman to secure the top position, ordered the addition of more women's restrooms along with a gender-neutral bathroom and a nursing room for mothers in the Lowe House Office Building. 'No longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic' As more women were elected nationwide in the 20th century, some found creative workarounds. In Nebraska's unicameral Legislature, female senators didn't get a dedicated restroom until 1988, when a facility was added in the chamber's cloakroom. There had previously been a single restroom in the senate lounge, and Sen. Shirley Marsh, who served for some 16 years, would ask a State Patrol trooper to guard the door while she used it, said Brandon Metzler, the Legislature's clerk. In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honor then-state Rep. Arie Taylor, the state's first Black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. The plaque, now inside a women's bathroom in the Capitol, reads: 'Once here beneath the golden dome if nature made a call, we'd have to scramble from our seats and dash across the hall ... Then Arie took the mike once more to push an urge organic, no longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic.' The poem concludes: 'In mem'ry of you, Arie (may you never be forgot), from this day forth we'll call that room the Taylor Chamber Pot.' New Mexico Democratic state Rep. Liz Thomson recalled missing votes in the House during her first year in office in 2013 because there was no women's restroom in the chamber's lounge. An increase in female lawmakers — New Mexico elected the largest female majority Legislature in U.S. history in 2024 — helped raise awareness of the issue, she said. 'It seems kind of like fluff, but it really isn't,' she said. 'To me, it really talks about respect and inclusion.' The issue is not exclusive to statehouses. In the U.S. Capitol, the first restroom for congresswomen didn't open until 1962. While a facility was made available for female U.S. Senators in 1992, it wasn't until 2011 that the House chamber opened a bathroom to women lawmakers. Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to a congressional seat. That happened in 1916. Willner insists that knowing the Kentucky Capitol wasn't designed for women gives her extra impetus to stand up and make herself heard. 'This building was not designed for me,' she said. 'Well, guess what? I'm here.' ___ Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed. ____ The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. 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NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos reports to prison for seven-year sentence
WASHINGTON — Disgraced former Rep. George Santos reported to prison on Friday, beginning a more than seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to a laundry list of federal charges that included wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. He is in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in Fairton, New Jersey, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Friday. The flashy New York Republican, who stormed onto the national stage when he unexpectedly won a congressional seat in 2022 and was expelled by his colleagues the very next year, didn't go quietly this week. He appeared on an hour-long podcast, engaged with his followers on X Spaces and posted a series of farewell tweets on X. He also continued to post videos for supporters on the Cameo platform through Friday morning, charging a minimum of $300 per video, according to the site. 'Well, darlings …The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days,' Santos wrote on X. 'I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit," he continued. In his hour-and-a-half Spaces live broadcast, Santos, a Donald Trump ally in Congress, said he had been asked by many people whether he would get a presidential pardon or commutation that could cut short his 87-month sentence. 'The answer to that is, I don't know. You're asking the wrong person,' he said on Thursday. 'The only person that can answer that question is, you know, whoever the president of the United States is — in this case, President Donald Trump.' The White House has not commented on the matter. Santos' political career was one of the shortest and most tumultuous in recent memory. Even before he was sworn into office, the New York Times and other outlets revealed that he had fabricated parts of his resume, and the personal narrative that he shared with donors and voters on the campaign trail began to fall apart. The House Ethics Committee issued a scathing investigative report about Santos, finding he'd likely committed multiple federal crimes, and the Justice Department indicted him on 23 counts, including embezzling contributions from supporters, illegally obtaining unemployment benefits and lying on House financial disclosures. In the 2022 midterm elections, Santos had been one of four Republicans who had flipped Democratic-held seats in New York. But after the indictment and Ethics report, it was those same New York GOP colleagues who led the charge to oust him from Congress. On Dec. 1, 2023, the House voted 311-114 to expel Santos, making him just the sixth person in U.S. history to be expelled from the House of Representatives. After his guilty plea, Santos was sentenced to 87 months behind bars this past April and ordered to pay almost $374,000 in restitution and over $200,000 in forfeiture. During his appearances this week, Santos repeatedly expressed remorse for his lies and actions, even as he tried to settle political scores with those who ousted him from Congress. "I think we can all attest that I've made a string of s--- choices in my life, and for that, I'm sorry to those I've disappointed, to those I've let down, to those that I have caused irreparable damage. I'm sorry. I mean it. I'm not— I'm not placating. This isn't for show," Santos said on Spaces.
