Evans Examiner: The Special Session & Governor’s Vetoes
The Governor has called a Special Legislative Session at the Georgia Capitol on June 17th, vetoed legislation passed in the 2026 Legislative Session, and made line item veto cuts to the FY 2027 budget. Read below for an update and discussion on what this all means!
Special Session
The session was called for two reasons:
Redrawing voting maps for the 2028 election cycle
The Legislature will consider new Congressional and legislative district maps that would be used beginning with the 2028 elections. The Governor is clinging to the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v Callais as an excuse for this map drawing session, but make no mistake, this effort is unnecessary and is intended to deprive minority voters of representatives of their choice.
There is no need to redraw our maps and further gerrymander and dilute the voting power of our minority communities. I will loudly and publicly oppose any attempts to do so.
This is a costly exercise in job protection for Republicans who know their days are numbered. Republicans are more concerned with keeping their jobs than they are worrying about the quality and availability of your jobs and way of life. The Governor’s call for this power grab comes on the heels of the Governor cutting cost of living raises for State retirees, cutting Veteran benefits, and cutting aid for the most vulnerable among us. To be blunt, this makes me sick to my stomach. Georgia deserves better.
To address Georgia's voting QR code system
As I reported to you at the end of the 2026 legislative session, because of a law passed several years ago, there is a deadline of July 1 for Georgia to stop using QR codes to count ballots. Despite this move years ago, no viable alternative to the QR counting process was proposed and the Secretary of State's office was not funded to work on a change. Since we did not pass any bill to address this issue during the regular legislative session (despite many of us trying), we will be taking this up during the special session.
Special sessions move quickly, but the decisions we are going to make will have lasting impacts on communities across our state. I will keep you updated throughout the process.
The Governor’s Vetoes’
The Governor has completed his review of all legislation that passed through both the House and Senate this session.
12 bills were vetoed and I'd like to speak about one in particular.
One bright spot was Veto 10 on Senate Bill 204. This bill would have expanded the ability of gun owners to sue local governments over certain local firearm regulations. The Governor vetoed it over concerns that it could expose law enforcement officers to lawsuits simply for enforcing the law.
Unfortunately, the Governor did not see fit to tackle the unconstitutional bills the Republican majority forced through the legislature — HB 369 & SB 33.
HB 369 will make District Attorney and other county races nonpartisan only in Cobb, Clayton, Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties — all of which currently have Black Democratic women serving as District Attorney. Meanwhile, the other 154 counties in Georgia would keep partisan District Attorney elections. Georgians can see the double standard for what it is, and it is unacceptable.
SB 33 changes how property taxes are levied, which is something can only be changed through a constitutional amendment. The House already voted on a proposed constitutional amendment to address property taxes, and it failed. Rather than accept the outcome, Republicans inserted the same proposal into an unconstitutional bill that later died in the Senate — only to revive it again through, you guessed it: SB 33, which created another problem for that bill. SB 33 is a revenue bill, and the Georgia constitution requires all revenue bills to originate in the House. As you can tell by the opening letters (SB) this bill did not. Thus, it is unconstitutional for a second reason. Georgians are tired of political games being played at their neighbors’ expense.
If you'd like to read about the other bills the Governor vetoed and his signing statements, click here.
The Governor’s Budget Cuts
The Governor also reviewed the FY 2027 budget (HB 974). There were 113 specific line items where agencies were instructed to disregard the language and withholding spending the appropriation. It is an open question whether these "instructions" are effective. While the Governor can line item veto complete items in the budget, he is not able to reduce line items, which is what he's attempted to do through several of his actions.
Here are some of the highlights of those purported budget cuts.
Healthcare and Behavioral Health
Waiver Slots: Instructions were given to withhold $9,274,016 intended for 900 additional New Options Waver and Comprehensive Support Waive Program (COMP) slots for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities; instead, funding will only provide for 100 slots.
Medical Residencies: A withholding of $747,146 was applied to Graduate Medical Education, reducing the number of new residency slots from 124 to 105.
Mental Health Training: The Governor withheld a $500,000 additional appropriation for behavioral health training in high-needs schools, directing the department to use existing funds instead.
Professional Wellness: A $500,000 appropriation for the Georgia Composite Medical Board to address healthcare professional career fatigue and wellness was withheld.
Medicaid Caseworkers: Increased appropriations for Katie Beckett Medicaid caseworker salary enhancements were withheld because the department had already implemented the increases using existing funds.
Stroke Registry: An increased appropriation of $360,095 for the Coverdell Strike Registry was withheld as the program is being maintained with existing resources.
Behavioral Health Loans: A $4,000,000 increase for service-cancelable loans for behavioral health professionals was withheld in favor of redirecting existing Peace Officer Loan Repayment Funds.
Education and Early Care
Pupil Transportation: The administration withheld $30,656,866 for pupil transportation operations, limiting funding updates strictly to updated bus counts.
School Safety: The Governor vetoed $11,960,000 in debt service intended to fund $50 million in bonds for school safety equipment.
Pre-K Programs: Funding for the Rising Pre-K program was cut to support only 25 new classes rather than 50. Additionally, $2,745,660 for Pre-K teacher leave was withheld to align rates with the standard K-12 formula.
Character Education: A $3,000,000 appropriation to expand character education programming was withheld.
School Nurses: A withhold of $867,401 was applied to calculated formula adjustments for school nurses.
Charter Schools: $500,000 for planning grants for State Completion Special Schools was withheld as no schools are confirmed to open in FY 2027.
Summer Transition Arts: A $350,000 appropriation to expand an arts education partnership for the Summer Transition Program was withheld as it does not fund core curriculum.
Public Safety and Law Enforcement
Prison Operations: $2,337,080 was withheld from Lee Arrendale State Prison, and language regarding the expansion of operations for Georgia Correctional Industries was disregarded.
Gang Case Management: Instead of purchasing statewide licenses, $1,850,000 was withheld, and $1,250,000 was redirected to provide grants for local governments to procure their own systems.
Offender Communications: A withhold of $354,024 was applied to the offender call monitoring contract.
GBI Hiring: Instructions to hire new medical examiners and fellows on specific pay scales without base funding were disregarded to prevent unfunded mandates.
Retirement Benefits: Additional appropriations for retirement benefits for Capitol Police ($59,490) and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement ($51,128) were withheld, with instructions to recoup costs through existing service agreements or federal funds.
Human Services and Miscellaneous
Foster Youth Support: The Governor withheld $600,000 for foster youth clothing and supplies and $500,000 for non-profits placing foster youth near biological families.
Elections and Professional Licensing: A withhold of $300,000 was applied to the State Elections Board, and $84,083 was withheld from the Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Board for a safety specialist.
Railroad and History: Funding of $150,000 for the SAM Shortline Railroad and $125,000 for a Georgia Capitol history publication was withheld.
Technical Education:$150,000 for a childcare center at Southeastern Technical College was withheld.
Vetoed Capital and Bond Projects
Public Libraries: Vetoed funding for construction or upgrades at O'Kelly Memorial Library ($46,300), Dallas Public Library ($277,800), Willis L. Miller Library ($53,245), and general library repairs and technology upgrades totaling over $941,000.
Technical Colleges: Vetoed facility projects at Savannah Technical College ($119,917), Athens Technical College ($253,680), Columbus Technical College ($550,880), and Georgia Northwestern Technical College ($291,732).
Military College: Vetoed $119,917 for repairs and renovations at Georgia Military College.
In service,
Stacey Evans