Opinion: Two different approaches to an election-year session
House, Senate leaders take competing approaches to election year politics
The 2024 Georgia legislative session, which came to an end last week, saw House and Senate leaders take competing approaches to dealing with election-year politics.
Election year sessions are always noteworthy because Gold Dome watchers are eager to see if the Republican majority will take a more balanced governing approach to avoid alienating moderates and independents ahead of the general election, or if they will spend the annual 40-day sprint passing red-meat bills to try and animate the conservative base.
As it turns out, this year saw each chamber attach itself to one of the two approaches.
With the blessing of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the state Senate’s presiding officer, the upper chamber has been engaging in some of the more controversial debates this session.
Republicans in both chambers passed a bill reestablishing a panel to investigate complaints against local prosecutors. But Senate leaders took things a step further, forming a special committee to scrutinize Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her case against Donald Trump. House Speaker Jon Burns, on the other hand, criticized the Senate committee and said that this a matter for the courthouse, not the statehouse.
The final days of the session saw Senate votes on religious liberty, severing ties with the American Library Association, new “America First” license plates and bans on “puberty blockers” for minors. None of these bills came up for votes in the House.
State Sen. Jason Esteves says that Senate Republican leadership spent this session trying to appease the “extreme wing” of their party at the expense of hardworking Georgians.
“It’s unfortunate because we have so much that needs to be done,” the Atlanta Democrat said.
The lower chamber took a more heads-down approach this year, focusing instead on issues like mental health, the state budget and tax incentives for Georgia movie studios.
But the Senate also rejected its share of House bills. A bipartisan bill addressing mental health concerns for student athletes was rewritten by Senate leaders to push for a host of base-pleasing priorities.
Senators also declined to take up a revised bill that would have placed a three-year pause on the granting of new mining permits at the Okefenokee Swamp. And both chambers pared back efforts to cap film credit incentives.
The two opposing styles of legislating can be traced back no further than the LG and the Speaker themselves.
Lt. Gov. Jones, a Republican from Butts County, is one of Donald Trump’s top Georgia allies. He ascended to the state’s No. 2 job in 2022 after serving in the state Senate, where he was a vocal proponent of the former President’s false claims about the 2020 election results. The Senate’s heavy focus on firebrand issues this session could be an early preview of the 2026 primary for governor, when potential candidates like Jones will need to flex their conservative muscles.
Speaker Burns, meanwhile, just wrapped up his second session as the House’s top lawmaker — a role he stepped into after the sudden passing of David Ralston, whose absence is still very much felt in the chamber. Burns, a mild-mannered southeast Georgia farmer, has attempted to maintain his late predecessor’s steady hand: steering clear of controversial issues and instead opting for a more conventional, low-drama approach to legislating. “Some folks choose politics,” the Speaker said on Sine Die. “The House chooses results.”
Another factor could simply be the size and structure of each chamber. The 180-seat House has several members who come from competitive suburban districts where pocketbook issues are the talk of the town.
The state Senate has 56 members. Its smaller size enables the Republican majority to pursue these culture war debates since many of its members hail from rural and more conservative constituencies where the only competitive race is the May primary.
All this doesn’t mean there weren’t any areas of agreement between the two chambers. Gov. Brian Kemp quickly signed the aforementioned prosecutor oversight bill into law. The state budget was nearly unanimously approved, though not everyone walked away from the negotiating table satisfied. New laws creating a private school voucher system and cracking down on illegal immigration were also passed this session.
But neither House nor Senate leaders are showing signs of backing down from their approaches to legislating. If anything, the standoff is just beginning. And a lot could hinge on the race for the White House this year, with Georgia set to once again take center stage.
A Democratic victory in November might vindicate House leaders who have been trying to keep the temperature down. But will a Republican win lead to an overall rightward shift in priorities under the Gold Dome when lawmakers return next January?