Addressing Black voters’ economic concerns, including the higher cost of housing and child care, is among the top priorities for state Democratic lawmakers ahead of the Georgia General Assembly’s upcoming legislative session, which begins Monday.
Democratic Party leaders in the state legislature, including state Rep. Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, say their largely Black voting base made it clear last year that they want their elected representatives to focus on tackling the state’s elevated cost of living in addition to pushing for the full expansion of Medicaid in Georgia, a long-standing goal for Democrats aimed at promoting healthier and more sustainable communities throughout the state.
Hugley, the veteran Georgia lawmaker who was chosen in November to replace retired state Rep. James Beverly as state House Minority Leader, said education reform — including overhauling the state’s public education funding formula, known as Quality Basic Education (QBE), and trying to make universal pre-kindergarten a reality in the state — rounds out the top areas of concern for House Democrats.
“We listened to Georgians. That is what is top of mind for citizens in our state,” Hugley said Tuesday about the economy. “We’re going to listen to the people of Georgia in terms of crafting our agenda.”
Georgia’s legislative session is the annual, 2½-month period — ending on March 28 this year — in which elected members of the General Assembly convene in Atlanta’s Gold Dome to pass new laws addressing issues affecting the lives of their constituents.
Republicans lawmakers, who have maintained majority control of the state House and the state Senate for two decades, ultimately determine which bills advance and get signed into law by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp. But Democrats, whose base of constituents is disproportionately Black, tend to represent the interests of most Black voters in the state.
Lower turnout rates in November among the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting bloc have compelled state legislative leaders of the party to reevaluate their priorities to ensure they are advocating for causes supported by their largely Black base.
Black Atlantans’ housing concerns
Hugley said conversations with Democratic voters before and after last year’s general election motivated party leaders to make addressing housing and child care costs top priorities during this year’s legislative session.
That includes supporting bills that would limit private investors from reducing the supply of available homes for sale in metro areas like Atlanta by buying them up and renting them out without an option for people to purchase them. It also includes creating more legal protections for renters being abused by delinquent landlords.
“[Voters] are concerned about creating a path to homeownership. They’re concerned about foreclosures. They’re concerned about landlords taking advantage of tenants,” Hugley said. “There are several things that our caucus members are concerned about, and we will be putting together a piece of legislation to address the concerns that we are mostly hearing from people across the state.”
State Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones, D-Augusta, who party members chose in November to replace retired state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, said pushing for full Medicaid expansion is still a top priority for Democrats in the Senate chamber, as is combatting the high cost of rent in Georgia, a major pain point for Black voters.
Jones said repealing the statewide ban on rent regulation — a cause championed for the past two years by state Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, on behalf of Black constituents who want to give local elected officials more regulatory tools to tackle high regional rent costs — is a key goal for Democratic senators this year despite previously being viewed as an unrealistic idea in the Republican-controlled state legislature.
Related bills introduced by James during the past two legislative sessions stalled due to lack of support. Jones said he thinks this year may be different because high housing costs are affecting constituents in Republican districts, not just Democratic ones. And allowing local governments to decide what’s best for their constituents is something GOP lawmakers tend to support.
“The key is that you’re giving [local officials] the opportunity to at least be able to examine the idea of doing some type of rent stabilization or control,” Jones said Monday. “We always talk about local control in the capital, because many times we don’t give the locals the opportunity to actually do that.”
Republican priorities
State Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, says lowering taxes, improving public safety and helping Georgia farmers recover from Hurricane Helene are the three top priorities for state Republican lawmakers heading into legislative session this year.
The Category 2 storm caused more than $6 billion in estimated damage in Georgia alone, ravaging farmlands in southern and eastern parts of the state over the course of three days beginning on Sept. 24, making it one of the worst natural disasters in Georgia’s history.
Agriculture remains Georgia’s largest industry, accounting for more than $74 billion in economic impact annually, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. The Peach State is also home to an estimated 2,700 Black farmers, some of whom also were impacted by Helene, according to Democratic lawmakers.
In November, Governor Kemp announced a new $100 million disaster relief initiative aimed at providing financial relief to Georgia farmers and timber producers still recovering from Helene. Gooch said offering additional relief is a top priority for state senate Republicans.
Capital B Atlanta has reached out to the governor’s office to find out how he is promoting the program to Black farmers.
“Georgia Senate Republicans will be doing everything we can to aid in bringing relief to those devastated by this storm,” Gooch said.
The GOP state Senate leader acknowledged that the high cost of housing, groceries, and related homelessness were among the top concerns for Black voters in metro Atlanta last year.
He pointed out state lawmakers created an amendment to Georgia’s constitution last year known as HB 581, aka the “Save Our Homes Act,” to help homeowners struggling with higher housing costs.
The Save Our Homes Act bars property tax increases from exceeding the rate of inflation, an issue that largely affects Black seniors living on fixed incomes. Georgia voters agreed in November to add the amendment to the state’s constitution.
The measure, which took effect on Jan. 1, includes a provision that allows local governments to opt out of the property tax exemption if they want. Some local governing authorities have announced plans to opt out due to how the exemption could affect funding for local school districts. Members of the Fulton County School Board have voiced their concerns.
Gooch also said Republicans plan to provide additional tax relief to help Georgians battle “Bidenomics,” placing blame for recent-year inflation on federal policies backed by the Biden administration. (Economists have said supply chain disruptions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic were major catalysts of the higher inflation rate that peaked in 2022 before leveling off in 2023 and 2024. But federal aid packages supported by both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump also played contributing roles.)
In October, Kemp announced plans to provide a tax rebate in 2025 that his office says will provide an estimated $1 billion in relief to Georgia taxpayers, Gooch noted.
“Senate Republicans will continue to support working families by keeping more money in their pocket with conservative tax policy,” Gooch said.
