'Lawmakers' Day 16: Senate debates puberty blockers for minors; House Democrats' affordability agenda

Caption

On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, lawmakers gathered for a press conference in honor of HOA, COA & POA Day. Lawmakers advocated for more regulations on homeowners and property owners' associations.

Credit: Georgia Senate

On Tuesday at the Capitol, some old bills came back from the dead in the Senate and sparked controversy. Meanwhile, the House passed procedural bills updating Georgia's code. 

In the Senate, the day started with the recognition of Georgia Farm Bureau Federation Day. 

"Keep in mind that agriculture is the largest contributor to the economics of Georgia," said Tom McCall, President and CEO of the Georgia Farm Bureau. "What we contribute gives you all all the money you all get to spend while you're sitting in this chamber and send back home."

The Senate then addressed two bills on the rules calendar. 

Senate Bill 384 will allow motor vehicle owners to register their cars for a five-year period instead of the current yearly process, and under SB 435, the Georgia Development Authority would be renamed the Georgia Agricultural Development Authority. 

"And all this bill does is ask that we put agriculture back in the name, because our friends at the GDA are getting phone calls from mayors and county commissioners wanting to borrow money from infrastructure, and the Georgia Development Authority is for farmers, and GFA is for our municipalities and counties," Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) said.

Both were passed unanimously. 

Then, House Bill 54 — which was not on the calendar — was brought up in chambers. It was originally a House bill that dealt with home health care professionals, but Senate Republicans decided to add some amendments. 

The first of its amendments added language that would prohibit puberty blockers for children under 17. 

"You may recall that prior, we had a very long bill, several different pages that described other issues related to that," Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah) said. "That has already been passed into law. And this is the only thing that lacks being put into the law. If minors are left on puberty blockers or put on puberty blockers, then they are close to 95% going ahead and making their transition from male-female to female to male. But the fact is if they're allowed to go through a natural process called puberty, then they're much less likely, most do not go and transition to another sex."

A second amendment would keep state medical plans from paying for gender-affirming treatments. 

"Folks that I know in my district and around the state, across the political spectrum recognize public tax dollars shouldn't fund sex change drugs for people," Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) said. "If they wanna do that, they can do that themselves. This bill does nothing to limit individuals funding that themselves, it simply says state tax dollars can't be used for that purpose, state facilities can't used for the purpose, and state paid and employed doctors can't be part of that with state money. That's all this does."

Both amendments were part of an original Senate bill that was changed when it got to the House. 

Democrats objected, calling it mean-spirited and part of the divisive culture war politics of 2024, and, more importantly, out of touch with the concerns of Georgians this election year.

"We had a normal health care bill at a time when people's enhanced subsidies have been ripped away," Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) said. "200,000 Georgians lost their health insurance since the holidays. In just a couple months, hundreds of thousands more are expected to drop off the rolls. So we had a good access health care bill. What happened today is that Georgia Republicans swooped in like fighter jets over the Super Bowl dropping anti-trans amendments to make this entire debate about trans people."

Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta) also denounced the new amendments.

"This is not making food more affordable; this is not lowering the cost of taxes," he said. "This is instead telling parents that your child should not have the same rights as other children in this state. Your child should be forced to live in a body that they do not feel comfortable with. At some point this has to stop. I don't care how you feel about trans children in this state. At some point, we just need to leave them alone."

Both amendments passed along party lines, 30 to 18. The bill now has to go back to the House. 

In the House, lawmakers spent the day passing updates to Georgia code with little opposition. 

"This bill is the one that sat down from the federal government that for our safe operation of motor carriers, commercial motor vehicles and drivers and safe transportation of hazardous materials," Rep. Lauren McDonald (R-Cumming) said. "All we're doing here is changing the date, the annual date from 2025 to 2026."

Bills passed dealt with updates to workers' compensation, annual property bills, and annual updates to transporting hazardous materials. 

After adjournment, House Democrats unveiled their legislative package tackling affordability, this session's buzzword. 

"Today, House Democrats are rolling out our affordability agenda, as you can see," Minority leader Rep. Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus) said. "We believe affordability must be the standard by which we measure every policy. If it doesn't make life more affordable for Georgians, then we're not interested in supporting it. Affordability for us is not a new buzzword that means more tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected. For us, it means making housing more accessible by increasing the supply, protecting renters from exploitation, and ensuring home ownership is within reach for young families and working Georgians."

They said the bills will address health care, housing and child care costs. More details will be released later this week, they said. 

Also, lawmakers advocated for more regulations on homeowners and property owners associations. 

"We have to work together to protect and promote the American dream of home ownership," Rep. Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain) said. "We have to remember that this is a massive, massive problem and the misery alone is producing a lot of money for those who do not want to operate within the law."

On Thursday, debate over name, image and likeness rights for high school athletes is expected in the House.

GPB's Lawmakers returns for Day 17 on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. on GPB TV.