Georgia Republicans unleash late push to resurrect old fights

Today’s highlights:

• State legislation could lower Uber and Lyft’s insurance premiums.
• Death penalty bill clears Senate committee with amendments.
• Hyundai boosts production goals at Savannah electric vehicle plant.

If this year’s 40-day round of lawmaking is the “session of the living dead” then consider the final stretch as the zombie apocalypse of culture wars fights.

Let us count the ways old fights over conservative wish list items are being resurrected leading up to the final week of the legislative session.

A Republican-backed push to pass a long-simmering “religious liberty” bill — which opponents fear would sanction discrimination — seems back on a fast track after a House committee cleared the legislation. The debate over the bill has raged for more than a decade, but GOP sponsors say this is the year it could pass.

Another House committee held a hearing on a bill that would ban all abortions in Georgia and allow prosecutors to charge women who get them with homicide. The bill won’t become law this year, but the hearing mobilized hundreds of supporters and opponents.

The Senate is considering a last-minute GOP effort to enshrine a number of rules changes that allies of Donald Trump on the State Election Board tried to make last year before they were blocked by the courts.

Even a feel-good bill honoring cornbread and Brunswick stew has turned contentious after GOP lawmakers added a provision that would limit state agencies from contracting with Chinese government-owned businesses.

Hunker down, folks. We’re headed toward the final act of a session where nothing — not even cornbread — is sacred.

Things to know

We’re eight days away from Sine Die, the final day of the legislative session. Here are four things to know for today:

• Senate Republicans and attorneys representing Fani Willis are still fighting over whether the Fulton County District Attorney must testify under oath, the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman reports.
• U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused NPR and PBS of using federal funding to push a liberal agenda during a hearing of the DOGE subcommittee she leads, Tia Mitchell reports. The head of PBS testified much of their programming is focused on core skills that children need to develop before they enter school.
• It appears President Donald Trump’s expansive executive order on elections will have limited impact in Georgia, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.
• Georgia Republicans are pushing for regulations to rein in artificial intelligence as President Donald Trump seeks to roll back federal limits on the technology, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.

Helping Uber

State Rep. Rob Leverett (right) R-Elberton, is the primary author of House Bill 339. He is pictured with Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta.

State lawmakers appear likely to give Uber and Lyft a break on their insurance premiums.

The Senate Transportation Committee advanced a bill on Wednesday that would exempt ride-hailing companies from certain liability lawsuits.

State Rep. Rob Leverett, R-Elberton, says companies like Uber are already protected from these types of liability lawsuits because under Georgia law drivers are considered independent contractors.

But that hasn’t stopped people from suing. While none of those lawsuits have been successful, Uber says the mere possibility of losing a lawsuit keeps their insurance premiums high, which the company then passes on to its customers.

Michele Blackwell, senior public policy manager for Uber, told lawmakers up to 25% of the cost of a ride in Georgia is because of insurance expenses.

“We’re trying to lower costs here to make rides affordable for Georgians,” she said.

The taxi and limousine industries asked for the same protections, but Leverett rejected a proposed amendment because he said it would topple delicate negotiations from various unnamed parties who have so far stayed neutral.

“It would kill my bill, and I’d like to get it passed,” he said.

Death penalty

It looks like a bill that would make it easier for people with intellectual disabilities to avoid the death penalty might make it through the state Senate after some late amendments.

The House unanimously passed the bill earlier this month. There was a danger it could stall in the Senate. But instead of blocking the bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday changed it so it would take effect sooner should it become law.

“Everyone seemed to really like this policy,” said state Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough.

The U.S. Supreme Court already bans states from executing people with intellectual disabilities. But Georgia law makes it nearly impossible to prove someone is disabled, as the AJC’s Shaddi Abusaid has reported.

State Rep. Bill Werkheiser, R-Glennville, has been trying to change that law for three years. His bill would lower the standard of proof, putting Georgia in line with 26 other states. It would also let a judge make that decision instead of a jury.

Other amendments on Wednesday included making sure attorneys have access to evidence before a judge makes a decision about a disability. And it gives the option for a sentence of life without parole.

Out of the 90 or so death penalty cases filed in Georgia in the past decade, 10 of the defendants claimed an intellectual disability, according to Michael Admirand, senior attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights.

EV bullishness

Hyundai announced Wednesday it will increase production at its electric vehicle factory near Savannah, pledging to produce 500,000 EVs a year instead of 300,000 and add 5,500 more jobs.

The announcement from the South Korean automaker comes as President Donald Trump has threatened to renege on a $7,500 EV tax credit and impose tariffs on foreign-sourced goods and automobiles.

But as our Savannah bureau chief Adam Van Brimmer notes, company executives had nothing but praise for the Trump administration during Wednesday’s ceremonial grand opening of its Georgia factory in Ellabell. So did Cho Hyun-dong, South Korea’s ambassador to the United States.

“As American manufacturing continues to evolve under President Trump’s leadership, Korean investments are going to be a vital and transformative part of America’s industrial future,” the ambassador said.

Wednesday’s celebration focused on Hyundai’s new plant, located along I-16 about 20 miles west of Savannah, but company executives emphasized Hyundai’s long-standing relationship with Georgia, which dates to the 2009 opening of a Kia factory in West Point.

The governor who led the effort to land that auto plant, Sonny Perdue, attended the event in his capacity as chancellor of the University System of Georgia and received a standing ovation. Several other Georgia leaders, including Gov. Brian Kemp, were also on hand.

Under the Gold Dome

The Georgia Capitol in Atlanta.

It’s the 36th day of the legislative session. Some of today’s happenings:

• 8 a.m.: Senate Appropriations Committee meets to discuss its version of the 2026 budget.
• 10 a.m.: House convenes. Lawmakers could vote on Senate Bill 63, which would require local school systems to offer certain exams to home school students.
• 10 a.m.: Senate convenes. Lawmakers could vote on Senate Resolution 292, which would authorize an investigation of Stacey Abrams and the New Georgia Project, a voting rights group she founded.
• 2 p.m.: Senate Judiciary Committee meets to consider House Bill 268, the school safety bill backed by House Speaker Jon Burns.

Listen up

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is a guest today on the "Politically Georgia" show.

Today on “Politically Georgia,” AJC contributor Geoff Duncan weighs in on the Trump administration’s Signal scandal and Gov. Brian Kemp’s litigation overhaul. Duncan is a former lieutenant governor of Georgia.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Overdraft cap

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote today on whether to overturn rules that limit bank overdraft fees to $5.

The rule, approved during former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, is set to take effect later this year. The banking industry opposes it, the AJC’s Mirtha Donastorg writes. But consumer groups and Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who championed the effort, are sounding the alarm.

Warnock has long argued that overdraft fees are financially lucrative for banks while keeping the poorest customers saddled in debt.

Bank advocates told Donastorg that if overdraft fees are capped, some banks might discontinue overdraft protections. That could cause customers to turn to costly payday loans or check-cashing services to make ends meet, they said.

Today in Washington

• President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing, sign executive orders and then participate in an iftar dinner at the White House in observance of Ramadan.
• The House will vote on legislation that seeks to overturn energy efficiency rules implemented under former President Joe Biden. They also have a vote scheduled on legislation to create new oversight and disclosure standards for colleges and universities that receive gifts from foreign entities.
• The Senate will vote on whether to roll back a Biden-era rule capping overdraft fees and also consider more Trump nominees.

DeJoy out

Roughly a month after notifying the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors that it should begin searching for his successor, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has resigned from the job. He announced on Monday that it would be his last day.

DeJoy’s resignation statement said that the board has started a hiring search. The interim postmaster general is Doug Tulino, whom DeJoy made deputy postmaster in 2021. Prior to that, Tulino was vice president of labor relations and chief human resources officer for the agency.

DeJoy did not say why he decided to leave so abruptly and after indicating in his original announcement that he would stick around to help his successor.

Ambassadors-in-waiting

President Donald Trump has tapped former Georgia Sen. David Perdue to be the U.S. ambassador to China. Perdue is still waiting Senate confirmation.

Former Georgia U.S. Sen. David Perdue is still waiting to be confirmed by the Senate after President Donald Trump nominated him as ambassador to China.

Perdue was among a group of 20 ambassadors and ambassadors-in-waiting who met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

The Senate has focused on confirming Cabinet and other top government officials, meaning most ambassador nominees have not even received committee hearings. Another Georgian, Herschel Walker, is waiting to be confirmed as ambassador to the Bahamas.

Shoutouts

Former Republican state Rep. Jodi Lott opted not to run for reelection last year.

Today’s birthday:

• Former Republican state Rep. Jodi Lott.

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

One more thing

South Fulton Mayor khalid kamau defeated the city's founding mayor in 2021.