During the 2024 election season, the topics debated throughout the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia were education, immigration, the cost of living, and women’s healthcare. Even though Atlanta’s progressive roots and Civil Rights lineage and history are strong, there may be a hedge of protection. However, a mere four-hundred steps from Atlanta City Hall lies Georgia’s political battleground: The Georgia State Capitol. Atop the Georgia State Capitol, the building’s dome is capped in 24 carat gold leaf. Inside ‘The Gold Dome’, Georgia’s laws are created. Plus, the powers of cities, counties, and municipalities can be either uplifted or chopped down within this 40-day legislative session. For example, the City of Atlanta cannot solve Georgia’s atrocious maternal mortality rate. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the City Council can’t protect the right to vote and equitably fund education. However, Georgians from all 159 counties can visit the Gold Dome during this time and discuss the issues with lawmakers.The Georgia General Assembly meets for forty legislative days, between the dates of Monday, January 13th through Thursday, April 3, 2025. With that in mind, here are the topics that will likely be debated during the 2025 Legislative Session. Education: The State’s funding formula shall be re-examinedGeorgia State Superintendent Richard Woods wants to modernize Georgia’s education funding program, known as the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula. When it was instituted forty years ago, it was a landmark achievement by Governor Joe Frank Harris. It factors specific variables such as the number of students, the cost of each student based on their grade or instruction program, school expenses and the training and experience of teachers and certified staff. The Georgia Department of Education is seeking to modernize the formula in a list of legislative priorities for 2025. Connected to QBE, the controversial school voucher program that passed during the 2024 Legislative Session will begin disbursing money at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. As a refresher, there is $6,500 set aside per child per year for private school or homeschooling for kids in the lowest 25% of performing public schools. The money for the program comes from funds set aside for K-12 public schools in Georgia.Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at the Georgia State Capitol. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)During his press conference, House Speaker Jon Burns said the important issue that affects Georgians is education. “We want every child in this state to have an opportunity for a good quality of education,” Burns said during a Jan. 8 press conference. The Georgia Education Savings Authority, the overseers of this program, predict at least 1 out of every 5 children in Georgia will be eligible for vouchers. Georgia currently has about 1.75 million public school students. The authority will accept applications beginning January 21, 2025 and the portal closes February 21, 2025.Healthcare: Practice or Be Prosecuted?  Georgia’s maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the country with 33.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. That is according to data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics between 2018 and 2021. Republicans are looking to codify in vitro fertilization into Georgia law during this Legislative Session.  The GOP has no appetite regarding any reform of the state’s heartbeat ban, which was passed in 2019. Amber Nicole Thurman died in 2022 after becoming septic when doctors delayed performing a Dilation and Curettage (D&C) procedure. Thurman suffered in pain for more than 20 hours. When doctors finally operated, it was too late. Thurman’s ordeal is the first publicized case of a woman dying as a result of Georgia’s abortion ban.  Doctors can be charged with felony under Georgia’s abortion ban with few exceptions, specifically when the mother’s life is under threat.  “I think our law is clear,” Burns said. “I think there should be some understanding from physicians, they’re very intelligent folks, on how the Heartbeat Bill works.” Democrats within the General Assembly are continuing to champion a woman’s right to choose plus pushing for Medicare and Medicaid expansion. During the 2024 Legislative Session, Democrats introduced bills in both legislative chambers designed to protect access to contraception and in vitro fertilization. That fight will continue.  “For us, that means expanding access to affordable healthcare,” said Georgia State Representative Tanya Miller in a statement. “It means we stop leaving federal funds on the table that could feed hungry children so they can learn or see a doctor when they are sick. It means making our state safer for pregnant women and mothers.” Georgia State Representative Tanya F. Miller, D-Atlanta, speaks from the well inside the Georgia House Chamber on Monday, March 20, 2023. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice) School Safety: How much oversight is necessary? The fallout from the Apalachee High School shooting in September 2024 stretched far and wide. Colt Gray was fourteen when officials said he brought his semiautomatic rifle to school, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine people. Speaker Burns plus Superintendent Woods believe agencies must share information on students likely to commit violent acts in schools.  The public is asking the State of Georgia to spend for more police officers in schools, school counselors, social workers and mental health counseling, and for mobile panic buttons and technology to detect guns.  Georgia Democrats are pushing to limit children’s access to guns. Conversely, Republicans refuse to limit gun rights. Speaker Burns also wishes the Legislature clarifies the legislative intent and rules around the use of school cameras. The speaker said the original intent was to have the cameras operating during the times when students are arriving and departing school, not 24 hours a day.  Insurance/Tort Reform – A simpler way to say, ‘no more frivolous lawsuits’ Awards in personal injury and wrongful death cases were reported in Georgia totaling more than $3 billion. This is according to a 2022 study published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform. That is an example of a ‘tort’. It is defined as a wrongful act, such as a car accident or medical injury, that leads to a lawsuit. It ranges from incidents such as slip-and-falls to medical malpractice to product and premise liability. Supporters of tort reform say stopping frivolous lawsuits and payouts would lead to lower insurance rates for businesses and consumers. Their argument is if Georgia is the number one state to conduct business, it cannot be a ‘judicial hellhole’. Currently, Georgia law allows jurors to award damages for the “full value of life”. As a result, some verdicts have skyrocketed. Jury verdicts of $10 million or more are defined as ‘nuclear verdicts.’ Twelve verdicts awarded $10 million or more in 2023. Supporters of tort reform cite the $1.7 billion verdict against Ford Motor Co. in Gwinnett County that was voided by the Georgia Court of Appeals. “We want to be very respectful if a Georgian is legitimately injured and there’s a claim, we want to make sure that Georgian has his day in court and certainly is, then is made whole,” Burns explained. “I believe, though, that insurance companies will come to Georgia. Competition is good. It’s not one simple solution to this, but I think the first step is a reasonable opportunity to swing back a little bit on some of the issues that have favored the plaintiff side in the legal system.” Sports Betting: Will this wager finally pay off? In 2024, Senate Resolution 579 and Senate Bill 386 could have passed. But, Democrats were not willing to agree on how to spend the revenues from sports betting. For example, the Democrats wanted to spend the taxes on expanding the HOPE Scholarship and funding school meals for K-12 public school students.  State Senator Sam Cowsert amended the bill to propose up to $22.5 million to treat gambling addictions. Currently, 38 states permit sports betting, including Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina. Mississippi allows betting inside casinos. However, Georgia Republicans have no appetite for the building of casinos or legalizing horse racing. But, Governor Brian Kemp has long since been protective of the HOPE Scholarship program. “My position has been very clear on gaming. That being said, the Legislature, especially, if they’re trying to do a constitutional amendment, it doesn’t really matter what I think,” Kemp said during a December press conference. “My whole thing is if they’re going to do something like that we need to make sure it does not cannibalize the lottery and HOPE scholarship.” A constitutional amendment means any legislation must pass by two-thirds vote in both houses before voters can weigh. That vote can take place during November’s local elections. When the Georgia Lottery was created in 1992, it passed via constitutional amendment and the voters made the final decision.  The Balance of Power The Republicans currently hold all levers of power. They have a 33-23 majority in the state Senate, which features three new Democrats and one new Republican in 2025. Meanwhile, in the House, eight new Republicans and 12 new Democrats will join the ranks. While the Democrats won a net gain of two seats, Republicans retained their majority in the House. The GOP has 100 seats to the Democrats’ 80.The post Georgia’s 2025 Legislative Session: education, healthcare, and sports betting in the spotlight appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.