With two weeks remaining in the state 2025 legislative session, lawmakers are dialing in and pushing forward several pieces of legislation that aim to silence diverse communities, provide favors to big tech companies, and deny rights to gay and trans people.
Our policy experts helped stall many of those bills this week through testimony and lobbying with allies. The bills remain a threat, as it’s possible most will re-emerge for a vote before Sine Die.
Here are five bills we addressed this week that you should know about:
Consumer protection - Identical to a bill introduced during the previous session, SB 111 claims to protect Georgians against invasive data collection by regulating corporations, but its weak wording prevents anything close to that. Like its previous go-around, the legislation stalled, which happened after ACLU of Georgia Policy Director Christoper Bruce told a House committee that they’d be voting in favor of the worst consumer protection act in the country.
“Consumer privacy legislation must, at a minimum, contain strong restrictions on the amount of personal information that can be collected and the ways in which it can be used,” Bruce said, adding that SB 111 requires amendments before we even consider it a compromise.
Defending libraries - SB 74 criminalizes librarians for failing to remove books considered harmful to children. We’ve spoken to librarians who say the bill is already creating hostile work environments involving harassment and intimidation, as its passage would compound issues caused by existing laws, like Georgia’s classroom censorship law, and book bans pushed by extremist groups. It’s not about keeping kids safe — books about LBGTQ+ and people of color make up nearly 50% of attempted bans in libraries nationwide, according to the American Library Association.
“Choosing the right book for a kid is a talent and a sacred responsibility. It can affirm and validate them. Books are tools of empathy, which some people in our society no longer value,” said a retired Atlanta metro public school librarian.
Religious liberty - In previous legislative sessions, this so-called religious freedom bill was defeated. The current version of SB 36 is framed as an expansion of religious rights. In reality, it will be used to deny rights to gay people and many others. Advocates showed up in force to ensure it would not move forward, but we’re not done. Our First Amendment Policy Advocate Sarah Hunt-Blackwell testified that history shows how religion is weaponized against minority communities.
“It seems to be a reasonable conclusion that SB 36 would provide a mechanism which exploits and perpetuates discrimination,” Hunt-Blackwell said.
Medical marijuana - Fewer Georgians will suffer or become caught in the criminal legal system with the passage of SB 220, which improves medical marijuana laws by increasing the number of conditions eligible for treatment and reducing criminal penalties for possession. Getting it passed is necessary. For example, more than 30 percent of Georgia’s veterans live with a disability, but many do not qualify for medical cannabis under current law. The Bill passed the House Regulated Industries Committee and now heads to House Rules.
“The ACLU of Georgia strongly supports SB 220. By expanding access to medical cannabis, this bill prioritizes the health and well-being of Georgia’s patients,” said Bruce.
Trans rights - This wholly-unnecessary bill, HB 267, would do a lot of harm by forcing schools to ID students as only male or female, replace “gender” with sex, and fine staff who do not comply. The bill also bans transgender girls from participating in sports with their peers. Overall, it’s part of a broader wave of legislation across the U.S. and introduced in the Georgia General Assembly aimed at erasing trans existence, particularly in schools and colleges. The bill still has committees to go through before the Senate votes on it.
“It’s really hard to be a trans person in the United States and in Georgia right now. No one is transitioning for an athletic edge,” Noel Heatherland with Georgia Equality told House reps.
