Evans Examiner: Week 10

This week marks Week 10 of the legislative session. Sine Die is around the corner and we are moving at breakneck speed under the Gold Dome.

Chaplain of the Day - Reverend Will Zant

I had a wonderful start to the week. I was honored to have my Reverend, Will Zant of Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church, give a devotion to my colleagues! Pastor Zant's message focused on the concept of "what is enough." It was a wonderful message, and I hope you'll listen to it.

Every day before we begin our business in the Legislature, we start with a devotion and prayer from the Chaplain of the Day. Clergy from all across the state join us throughout the session. It is a wonderful tradition.

Giving a Capitol Tour to Westminster Class Reps

My office had the incredible opportunity to show the Westminster Middle School class representatives around the Capitol. These young students got to see Georgia's political process up close.

They got to speak with legislators from both sides of the aisle, Lobbyists, and Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper. The students asked insightful questions and absorbed much during their visit. 

Celebrating a Civil Rights Champion - Bob Willis

We celebrated Representative Inga Willis' father, Bob Willis' 100th birthday this week. 

Mr. Willis has lived a life of service. He began his journey serving in a segregated Navy when he fought in World War II. When he returned to the United States, he spent the next 34 years of his life as a civil rights federal investigator for housing and urban development. During this time, he helped restore water access to neglected communities, regulated housing rights in Savannah, and marched with John Lewis during the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Willis received the Presidential Award for Selective Service. It truly was an honor to have a distinguished man of service in our chamber.

Bills that Passed the House this Week

There were a lot of bills up for consideration and voted on this week. Read about them below.

In addition to passing bills that go through the traditional House committee process when they come over from the Senate, at this time of year we also consider “agrees/disagrees,” which refers to the process of trying to reconcile a version of a bill that has passed the House in a different form than in the Senate. If the Senate changes a bill we send over from the House, then the House has to either (1) “agree” to the changes the Senate made, in which case the bill achieves “final passage” or (2) “disagree” to the changes the Senate made, in which case the bill will go back to the Senate where the Senate will either insist on its changes or recede. If the Senate “insists,” then the bill likely will end up in a “conference committee” with 3 House members and 3 Senate members to hammer out changes that both chambers will be asked to agree to.  

On Friday, the House “agreed” to the Senate substitute to HB 369, which was a perfectly good bill (regarding mobile sale of food and beverages) when it left the House. BUT, the Senate stripped out the original HB 369 and replaced it with a terrible bill to require non-partisan elections in county races ONLY in the five metro counties. This bill is a raw political power grab and is likely unconstitutional. If non-partisan elections are good, then why not for all counties? The answer is simple: democrats, and in particular black women democrats, are winning in these counties and the republicans don’t like it. I called out the House republicans for such awful legislation and for circumventing the committee process to consider such a monumental change. I voted NO to this legislation. 

SB 395: The Department of Public Health and the Low THC Oil Patient Registry
This bill allows the Department of Public Health to disclose information from the Low THC Oil Patient Registry to the Georgia Composite Medical Board and other state licensing boards for investigatory, compliance, or disciplinary purposes. Physicians are currently required to submit reports twice a year to the Georgia Composite Medical Board explaining how they prescribe low THC oil and how patients respond for research purposes. This bill reduces that requirement to once per year and clarifies that a physician cannot lose their registration privileges simply for failing to submit the report. I voted yes.

SB 428: Waiver Requests for Medicare & Medicaid Services
This bill authorizes the Department of Community Health to submit a waiver request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This waiver would authorize Medicaid reimbursement of home and community-based services for those over the age of 21 in need of mental health services, but who do not require an institutional level of care. I voted yes.

SB 443: Enhancing Penalties for Obstructing Highways & Streets
This bill enhances the penalty for obstructing highways and streets to a high and aggravated misdemeanor. Currently, this offense is a misdemeanor. It further makes all convicted persons civilly liable for damages that results from the offense. This bill attempts to discourage citizens from using their First Amendment right to peacefully protest. Obstruction is already a crime, and this increased penalty is not necessary. I voted no.

SB 542: Protecting Congregants & Reigning in Predatory Clergy Members

This bill expands the current law relating to improper sexual relationships (i.e. between a school employee and student, corrections officer and inmate, etc.) to relations between clergy members and congregants. The bill creates the crime of clergy abuse for any member of clergy who preys on vulnerable congregants seeking counseling and spiritual guidance. Clergy abuse occurs more than we would like to think and is often unreported and unpunished. This bill will help change that. I voted yes and spoke in favor of the bill. 

SB 150: Supporting Retired Teachers Returning to the Classroom

This bill extends and expands a program that allows retired members of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia to return to work as full-time classroom teachers without losing their retirement benefits. Key changes include extending the program’s sunset date to June 30, 2034, and lowering the eligibility threshold from 30 years to 25 years of creditable service. The bill also streamlines hiring by removing the "areas of highest need" restriction, instead allowing these teachers to teach in core subjects like English language arts, science, and math. We need the wealth of experience retired teachers can provide. I voted yes.

SB 442: Harming Noncitizen Commercial Drivers

If a noncitizen moves to Georgia and wants to transfer a commercial driver’s license from another state, this bill requires them to take and pass Georgia’s commercial driver knowledge and skills test. Currently, CDL holders transferring from another state may be able to transfer their license without retesting, so this provision adds an additional requirement for noncitizens.

 
This bill requires that a commercial driver’s license issued to a noncitizen expire or be revoked when the person’s visa or authorized stay in the United States expires (or after five years, whichever comes first). This links CDL validity directly to a person’s immigration authorization period rather than allowing the license to remain valid longer than the person’s legal status. Standard Georgia driver’s licenses typically expire after 8 years. 

In 2023, the Senate conducted a Study Committee on Truck Driver Shortages. At no point did they discuss any “problem” with immigrant drivers. In 2022, the Kemp Administration (DDS) themselves issued a report of recommendations to address CDL shortages. Again, at no point did they discuss immigrants.

As of late 2025, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that there are approximately 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders in the U.S., representing about 5% of the total 3.8 million active interstate CDL holders.

If the concern is other states’ CDL driving tests not being good enough to license quality drivers, then we should not accept any out of state CDL driver's licenses. There is no unhateful reason to focus this legislation solely on immigrants. 

Trucking is the lifeline of commerce here in Georgia, and this bill puts unnecessary additional restrictions on CDL licenses. I voted no.

SB 589: The Quality Basic Education Act

This bill allows any child who turns four or five years old by September 1 to enroll in Georgia’s voluntary Pre-K program instead of kindergarten and those same students to enroll in kindergarten the following year instead of being required to go to the first grade. This is smart legislation that allows parents to decide when their child may need an extra year before kindergarten. I voted yes. 

Committee Work

In Rules Committee this week, we heard SB 513, which seeks to punish school absenteeism. While we need our students in school, this bill is not the answer. The bill would strip students of their right to participate in extracurricular activities after a certain amount of unexcused absences. This is bad for at least two reasons: (1) the policy on what counts as an unexcused absence is woefully inadequate and (2) taking a student out of a sport, debate, or other extra-curricular activity hurts students who are not able to avoid absenteeism based on circumstances at home and may cut ties between a student and a mode of spending more time away from a difficult home situation. You can hear my concerns articulated in my questions to the author.  

An Olympic Champion at the Capitol

We were honored to have Olympic Gold Medalist in Bobsledding Elana Meyers Taylor visit our chamber this week. Elana Meyers Taylor was raised in Douglassville, Georgia.

She has won three silver medals, two bronze medals, and four gold medals. Talk about a Georgia champion!  She was an inspiration and it was very cool to meet her and get to hold her gold medal (very heavy!).

Legislative Page Spotlight: Sylvia Anulewicz

I enjoyed having Sylvia Anulewicz with me as a page on Friday. Sylvia has paged many times before, as her mother is former State Representative Teri Anulewicz. It was special to have her page for me because her older brother also paged for me many years ago. Sylvia is a senior at Campbell High School and will soon be off to college – UGA or Rhodes? (You know what I'm rooting for!) Only time will tell! Her future is so bright!

Post Sine Die Legislative Town Hall — Less Than a Month Away!

Make sure your calendars are marked for my upcoming joint townhall with State Senator Sonya Halpern. We will be going over what we have witnessed so far under the gold dome.

We also will be answering questions, so please come with a curious mind! RSVP is not necessary but encouraged so we can anticipate crowd size. RSVP to Elijah Johnson at elijah@staceyevans.com.

What’s next?

Sine Die is next Thursday! Committee meetings are wrapping up for the session, so stay up to date with the link below!

📷 Watch the House Floor Session at 10am - Tuesday

In service,

Stacey Evans