March 27, 2026

Two More Days of Session

Sine Die is next Thursday, April 2, so we have two remaining days of the 2026 General Assembly Session. We are seeing and experiencing exercises of raw power, a lack of independent analysis on complex issues, and purely partisan votes - regardless of how significant the issue may be to all Georgians. I am hoping the Republican leadership will allow more honest and substantive debate as we end the Session.

DEKALB LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS CONVERSATION TOMORROW!

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TWO DAYS LEFT

I expect to develop a more objective view of the session’s strengths and weaknesses in the coming days or weeks, once the Governor has finalized his vetoes. At this point, however, the 2026 Session appears particularly discouraging.

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BUDGET AND PROPERTY TAXES

The two major issues remaining for resolution between now and Sine Die are the Fiscal Year 2027 budget and final legislation reflecting House leadership’s plan to lower property taxes.

There remain significant differences between the House and Senate budgets. Speaker Burns is committed to major funding for literacy programs and teachers, while the Senate has dramatically increased the number of New Option Waiver Program (NOW) and Comprehensive Support Waiver Program (COMP) waivers for individuals with developmental disabilities. The House has allocated significantly more funding for the Department of Human Services, specifically for DFCS staff and caseworkers, as well as for strengthening service delivery systems. The House and Senate budget proposals subject to negotiation can be found HERE.

The House and Senate budgets reflect different priorities, and the final budget will be negotiated between these approaches in the last days of Session. Final legislation relating to property tax reductions remains unknown as of today. Stay tuned—I will report on progress over the next week.

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EXTENDED STAY HOTELS & LEGAL ISSUES

"What in the heck are we doing?"

This week, unified Republican leadership advanced a bill through the House Judiciary Committee that would eliminate tenant rights that may have been recognized by the Georgia Supreme Court. Rather than clearly defining what rights long-term residents of extended-stay hotels should have—and responding to the Court’s call for the General Assembly to address a significant gap in the law—the majority instead chose to remove those protections altogether and reverse the Court’s decision.

We now know that between 5,000 and 10,000 parents and children are living in extended-stay hotels in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. Thousands of these children are picked up daily by public school buses. The hospitality industry has characterized these families as “criminals” or “squatters,” and all amendments offered by Democrats were voted down along purely partisan lines.

In a complicated procedural maneuver, a separate Senate bill will now be used to move this policy to the House floor, rather than advancing the original legislation. While difficult to explain, this process appears designed to efficiently achieve the outcome sought by the hotel industry.

Below are videos of three Judiciary Committee meetings held over a 24-hour period on the subject of extended-stay hotels. These recordings offer a revealing view of how the majority advanced this legislation. I think you will find that watching these meetings cumulatively is quite illuminating. We fought for as long as we were allowed.

Video #1: Wednesday evening, March 25th (meeting lasts two minutes)

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Video #2: Thursday morning, March 26th (meeting lasts 50 minutes)

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‍Video #3: Thursday afternoon, March 26th (meeting lasts 45 minutes)

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PACKAGE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEGISLATION

As of the completion of Day 38, it does not appear that any bill proposed by the Minority Caucus affordable housing work group will pass in the 2026 Session. I have previously reported on the progress of HB 1166, which passed the House and aimed to reduce obstacles to building tiny homes on a homeowner’s property. However, objections were raised in the Senate—primarily from “Buckhead homeowners”—and there was no meaningful discussion of how existing protections would already allow home owners to prevent unwanted accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The Senate declined to proceed with any substantive debate on HB 1166.

I was promised multiple times by Republican leadership that there would be a serious discussion of affordable housing proposals, and those promises were not kept.

Despite the lack of passage of specific bills, the work has been worthwhile. We have elevated the issue and clearly communicated across multiple audiences and media outlets. The urgency of the problem only continues to grow.

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THE CITY SCHOOLS OF DECATUR SCHOOL BOARD, THE ECLC, AND SB 625

Senator Elena Parent, Representative Omari Crawford, and I are the three elected members representing the City of Decatur in the Georgia General Assembly. We agreed to introduce Senate Bill 625, which requires the Decatur School Board to conduct a referendum before building a new early childhood learning center (ECLC).

This bill is progressing through the final days of the 2026 Session, and I believe it will pass both chambers and be signed by the Governor. Neither the City Schools of Decatur School Board, nor the Superintendent, have thus far responded to any questions we have raised directly.

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DEKALB DAY AT THE CAPITOL

Thanks to CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and all of the leaders in DeKalb County for joining us at the Capitol on Monday, March 23rd!

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NEW POLL QUESTION: EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL DWELLERS - TENANTS OR GUESTS?

I have reported to you throughout this Session and in years past about the use of extended-stay hotels by thousands of families in Georgia as their only means of housing. The majority party is pushing through a bill that calls families living in extended-stay hotels over 90 days "squatters" and "criminals" if they miss any payment, even though many hotels and motels in my House District 84 advertise as a housing option. See this CBS news segment from earlier this year: https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/dekalb-county-families-turn-to-extended-stay-hotels-as-rents-soar/

Should families living long-term in extended stay hotels over 90 days have basic tenant protections under Georgia law?

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PREVIOUS POLL RESULTS

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OUT AND ABOUT

I always like to share with you my activities as your Representative for House District 84. Please let me know at mmo@mmolaw.com if you have any suggestions for events that you would like for me to attend in your neighborhood. Thanks!

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March 25 - Emory Women’s Golf Team are national champions! Omari and invited them to be recognized on the House floor—- welcome!!

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March 25 - Thanks to my intern Noah Mallory for helping me at the Capitol! Here we are in the House anteroom with my chief of staff, Caroline Herring.

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March 25 - These two good bills have a long and positive history that finally resulted in passage based on the work of many. During Hurricane Helene many hospitals lost total power—- lessons learned. And, as we have expanded the number of medical residencies across Georgia, we have attracted the best and brightest from across the world to fill Medicare funded slots. Darlene Lynch of Appleseed has worked tirelessly on a bill for internationally trained physicians for years, now SB 427. Both these bills represent progress—- thank you Kim, Darlene, and all for your patience and commitment.

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March 23 - Thank you, Maria Saporta, for an excellent column highlighting HR 1007 that supports arts involvement in mental health therapies! We appreciate your interest!

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March 23 - Great way to start a Monday at the Capitol! Holding Elana Meyers Taylor’s gold medal! And, her father was an Atlanta Falcon—- so cool!

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March 20 - Great visit from Decatur High School Close Up Group today— they are on the way soon to DC. They joined us to watch the Governor sign the elimination of the gas tax for 60 days. Good idea!

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Sen. Kim Jackson and I nominated Former Senator Steve Henson for the DOT Board of Transportation to represent Congressional District 4— he won!! Congratulations!

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UPCOMING DATES

Saturday, March 28 - DeKalb County League of Women Voters series

Thursday, April 2 - SINE DIE

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QUICK LINKS FOR YOU

I am on the following legislative committees. You can watch live every time they meet. Click on the links below for livestreams, agendas, archives and more.

Committees:

Subcommittees:

Appropriations - Human Resources
Governmental Affairs - State and Local Government
Judicial - Leverett (two)

You can search for and track bills, watch the House (or Senate) in Session, watch committee hearings, monitor legislation by committee, and find contact information —- all on the revamped General Assembly website. Here are quick links:

General Assembly website: https://www.legis.ga.gov/
House Session meetings and many committee hearings are available to watch online: https://www.legis.ga.gov/house
Archived videos of meetings and hearings: https://www.legis.ga.gov/house/media-services

Make your views known and tell me what issues interest you the most.

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