Ben Watson
State Senator
The Georgia General Assembly continued its limited 40-legislative day session this past Monday and has completed its first 13 days of the legislative session. There are several bills of particular interest making their way through the legislature.
One of the biggest issues discussed by the legislature is the decision by various schools and the NCAA to allow biological males to participate in women athletics. On Thursday, the Senate added their consensus when they passed legislation by a 35-17 margin to prohibit biological males from playing on girls’ sports teams in schools. In addition, I believe the Senate and the House will ultimately include my legislation, Senate Bill 30, to prohibit the prescription puberty-blocking drugs to minors.
Many Georgians are aware of the tragedy in which an illegal immigrant murdered Athens college student Laken Riley. The illegal immigrant had previously been arrested on other criminal charges but released back into the public.
Compounding the tragedy, the City of Athens had previously voted to make itself a “sanctuary city” for immigrants.
This past week, the Senate’s Public Safety Committee passed Senate Bill 21 by a margin of 5-3, and now heads to the entire Senate for consideration. This legislation builds on a 2024 immigration bill, known as House Bill 1105, that sought to punish local governments that failed to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. S.B. 21 would remove local government agencies of their sovereign and governmental immunities from lawsuits in the event that an undocumented person commits a crime. The legislation holds local governments accountable for their actions and poor decisions.
One of the key buzzwords for this year is DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), created by President Donald Trump and dedicated to the elimination of wasteful rules, regulations, and spending. Using the DOGE concept as a guide, the Georgia Senate has initiated the Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025, designed to remove burdensome regulations on small businesses. The promise of the Red Tape Rollback Act is to bring common sense reforms to state governments and make it easier for small businesses, which represent 90% of all business in America, to own, operate, and grow.
At the request of Tybee Island, I have introduced Senate Bill 78, a bill creating the City of Tybee Island Building and Public Facilities Authority. This is a bill that will make it easier for Tybee Island to acquire, construct, equip, maintain, and operate certain projects for use by the City of Tybee Island for its governmental, public, and administrative functions.
I will keep you updated on legislation affecting our community as we progress through the session. Thank you for your continued interest in the work of our General Assembly. As your public servant, feel free to visit me at the Capitol or to reach out by phone or email. I am in 325A Coverdell Legislative Office Building. My office phone number is (404) 6567880, and my email is ben.watson@ senate.ga.gov. I look forward to continuing to serve you.
