2025 Policy Updates
Bill Tracking for the 2025-2026 Legislative Session
We aim to engage community members in the policy process through community education and by creating opportunities for individuals to be involved in advocacy. Below is some of the legislation we are keeping track of that may affect AAPI and other immigrant communities in Georgia.
ADVANCING IMMIGRANT JUSTICE | PROTECTING IMMIGRANT AND CIVIL RIGHTS | NATIONAL SECURITY AND CIVIL RIGHTS | VOTING RIGHTS & VOTER ACCESS | FEDERAL BILLS | OTHER BILLS
Advancing Immigrant Justice
We believe that basic rights and access to essential services should be available to all across race, ethnicity, language ability and immigration status.
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HB 82 - “Georgia Guest Worker Act”
Position: Tracking
Summary: HB 82 guides the Commissioner of Labor to create a state-administered guest-worker program within the Department of Labor for the purpose of filling needed labor shortages in the state by allowing employers to employ citizens of other nations for limited periods of time.
Status: Assigned to Industry and Labor Committee
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HB 437
Position: Support ✅
Summary: This bill mandates the State Board of Education to establish standards for local school systems’ administration of ESOL programs for English-language learner students. The bill provides for regulations requiring local school systems to conduct community outreach for their ESOL programs. It also introduces standards for foreign language interpreters in educational settings.
Status: Assigned to Education Committee
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SR 123
Position: Support ✅
Summary: SR 123 is a formal statement reaffirming the principle of birthright citizenship as enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Status: Assigned to Judiciary Committee
Learn more:"Know Your Rights: Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order," Asian Law Caucus
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SB 142
Position: Support ✅
Summary: SB 142 aims to address a critical shortage of healthcare professionals in Georgia by updating outdated barriers that prevent highly skilled healthcare professionals trained in other countries from practicing in Georgia. The bill would streamline the relicensure pathways for these foreign-trained medical professionals.
Status: Assigned to Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities
Protecting Immigrant and Civil Rights
We fight back against harmful policies that erode immigrants’ rights and demand every Georgian is treated fairly as an equal member of their community.
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HB 18 - “Dual Enrollment Act”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 18 creates tighter restrictions on certain non-citizen high school students’ ability to enlist in dual enrollment courses, which allows high school students to earn both high school and college credits. It would block access to students who are currently eligible, due to their immigration status.
Status: Assigned to Higher Education Committee
Call to Action: Keep Dual Enrollment for all Georgia High-Schoolers
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HB 268
Position: Tracking
Summary: HB 268 proposes the creation of an Office of Safe Schools within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and includes a number of provisions intended to create statewide threat management procedures for local school systems. The proposed provisions in this bill would increase law enforcement presence in schools and rely on metrics criticized for falsely targeting students who do not pose a threat. If passed, this legislation would implement policies that are likely to disproportionately impact Black and brown students and students with disabilities.
Status: Passed House by Substitute (159-13) | Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee
Watch parents and partners testify about the potential impact of this bill.
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HB 295
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: This bill would entitle property owners to demand property tax refunds from municipalities if the owner experienced a decline in property value or incurred expenses as a result of 1) lack of enforcement around homelessness (i.e. public camping, obstruction of public thoroughfares, loitering, public urination or defecation); and 2) municipalities adoption of “sanctuary polities” prohibiting or restricting local officials or employees from communicating or cooperating with federal officials or law enforcement officers with regards to immigration status information.
Status: Passed House Public Safety Committee by Substitute
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HB 319
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 319 seeks to make it illegal for state or local government employees who knowingly break laws related to hiding or protecting undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime. The law would not apply to government employees who hide or protect individuals who are victims of a crime or witnesses in legal proceedings.
Status: Assigned to House Public Safety Committee
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SB 21
High Priority
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: This bill waives sovereign and governmental immunities for local governments and their employees in matters related to individuals subject to immigration detainer requests. If passed, this bill would make it very easy for individuals to sue local governments OR their employees. This bill would further pressure local governments to work with ICE to detain individuals in the community.
Status: Passed Senate by Substitute (33-18) | Assigned to House Public Safety and Homeland Security
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SB 116
High Priority
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: SB 116 requires the Department of Corrections to collect DNA samples from detained individuals facing criminal charges who are subject to immigration detainer notices. The bill additionally requires the collection of DNA samples for individuals with detainer requests who have been charged (not convicted) with a misdemeanor. It also removes previous protections for individuals with immigration detainer requests who are charged, convicted, or sentenced with a misdemeanor for the first time.
Status: Passed Senate Public Safety Committee
Related Bills: SB 29
National Security and Civil Rights
We challenge legislation that has a potential to infringe on individual civil rights and promote xenophobia and sinophobia in the name of national security.
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HB 113
Position: Tracking
Summary: HB 113 requires the Georgia Technology Authority to keep a list of “concerned goods” produced by a “foreign country/company of concern” or third party vendors or resellers based in said countries. The bill mandates the termination of applicable existing contracts. Foreign countries of concern are designated by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and currently includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and the Maduro regime in Venezuela, but could change.
Status: Passed House (148-17) | Assigned to Senate Government Oversight Committee
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HB 150 - “Combatting Threats from China Act of 2025”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 150 requires universities to provide quarterly reports regarding funding received (i.e. gifts; grants; donations; payments in exchange for services, capital investments, salary, wage, compensation, fee, or other monetary exchange) from individuals or entities related to China. In addition to potential material impacts on certain international students, this bill has the potential to propagate Sinophobic rhetoric that could negatively impact Chinese and East Asian students at Georgia colleges and universities.
Status: Passed Committee on Higher Education by Substitute | Assigned to Senate Higher Education Committee
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HB 374
Position: Tracking
Summary: This bill requires any property owner that holds more than ten (10) or more contiguous, physically connected units (i.e. apartments or town homes) in a local jurisdiction to register in county databases. The reporting requirements mandate that property owners who register also have to report whether they are wholly or partially owned by a “foreign adversary country” or an agent acting on their behalf.
Status: Passed Governmental Affairs Committee by Substitute
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HB 602
High Priority
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 602 is a bill that would deny state-funded loans, grants, and scholarships to students who are punished by their schools and/or convicted of a crime related to their speech or protest activities. This bill is an attack on student activists for Palestine and threatens to punish students for protest and speech in violation of the First Amendment.
Status: Passed House Higher Education Committee by Substitute
Learn more: “HB 602: Financially Penalizes Student Protesters,” Project South
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SB 177
High Priority
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: SB 177 aims to enhance transparency to campaign financing. In reality, this bill dramatically expands the state’s oversight of individual and organizational political activity. Though sold as increasing transparency about campaign contributions from “hostile foreign countries,” the broad language in this bill makes it a vehicle for suppressing political dissent. The bill would grant the Attorney General unqualified discretion to investigate, penalize, and criminalize grassroots advocacy organizations and open up the potential for expanding scrutiny of civil rights organizations and student activist groups.
Status: Passed Senate (36-16)
Call to Action: Defend our First Amendment Rights: Stop SB 177
Learn More: Civil Rights Organizations Condemn Bills Furthering White Nationalist Agenda | SB 177 Fact Sheet, Project South
Voting Rights & Voter Access
We work to advance reforms that make voting more accessible for Asian American and other immigrant communities, and to defend and protect the rights of immigrant voters.
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HB 40
Position: Tracking
Summary: Provides for the Secretary of State to serve as the chair of the State Elections Board.
Status: Assigned to Governmental Affairs Committee
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HB 215
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: Limits Georgia’s Secretary of State’s ability to coordinate with other states in maintaining accurate voter rolls. Georgia currently participates in multi-state partnerships of election officials to share data about residency, death, or moving information about voters to and from other states to maintain voter registration lists.
Status: Passed Governmental Affairs Committee by Substitute
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HB 324
Position: Support ✅
Summary: Provides for preferential treatment for certain voters–namely those who are blind, deaf, amputees, pregnant, accompanied by children five years of age or younger, or children with special needs–during advance voting and during certain hours on Election Day.
Status: Passed Governmental Affairs Committee by Substitute
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HB 397
Position: Tracking
Summary: Removes Saturday voting requirements from the early voting period for municipal elections, subject to action taken during a public meeting of the city council or other municipal governing body. Also clarifies the removal process for a member of the State Elections Board and adjusts possible dates that special elections can be held.
Status: House Passed by Substitute (159-13) | Assigned to Senate Ethics Committee
Other Bills
We are in solidarity with issues that concern marginalized Georgians including anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, reproductive justice, environmental justice, education and K-12 discrimination, and increased criminalization and surveillance.
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HB 104 - "Equal Athletic Opportunities Act"
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 104 aims to prohibit transgender youth from participating in sports with their peers and from using bathrooms, locker/changing rooms, or sleeping facilities that align with their gender identity. SB 1 is the Senate companion bill.
Status: Assigned to Education Committee
Related Bills: HB 104, SB 30, SB 36, SB 39, HB 267
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HB 161
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 161 would grant expanded investigative powers to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to subpoena electronic communication record in cases involving cyberthreats. It also redefines domestic terrorism, introduces new penalities, and revises laws concerning immigration enforcement and local sanctuary policies
Status: Assigned to Judiciary (Non-Civil) Committee | Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee
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HB 267 - “Riley Gaines Act”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: HB 267 outlines a legal definition of "sex" to replace "gender" in Georgia Code The bill creates a legal requirement for restroom and sleeping arrangements at schools to be made according to sex (prohibiting transgender people from using a number of public spaces that align with their gender identity). This bill has a much broader reach than other bills concerning transgender Georgian’s rights in public space.
Status: Passed House Education Committee | Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee
Related Bills: HB 104, SB 30, SB 36, SB 39
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SB 1 - "Fair and Safe Athletics Opportunities Act"
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: SB 1 aims to prohibit transgender youth from participating in sports with their peers and from using bathrooms, locker/changing rooms, or sleeping facilities that align with their gender identity. HB 104 is the House companion bill.
Status: Passed Senate by Substitute (35-17) | Assigned to House Committee on Education
Related Bills: HB 104, SB 30, SB 36, SB 39, HB 267
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SB 7
Position: Tracking
Summary: SB 7 forces the sale of Atlanta jail to Fulton County, and requires cities to give sheriffs use of their jails and prohibits fees exceeding the actual cost of incarceration
Status: Senate Read & Referred
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SB 29
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: Allows for the collection of DNA for anyone (juvenile or adult) simply arrested, not charged or convicted as current law states, for the commission of a felony; not charged or convicted as current law states.
Status: Passed Senate by Substitute (44-11) | Assigned to House Public Safety
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SB 30
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: SB 30 aims to ban prescribed puberty-delaying medications hormone therapy for transgender youth. If passed, this bill could lead to a sudden cessation of care and major health implications for transgender youth in Georgia.
Status: Passed Senate Health & Human Services Committee
Related Bills: HB 104, SB 1, SB 1, SB 30, SB 36, SB 39, SB 185, HB 267
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SB 36 - “Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: SB 36 purports to provide for the preservation of religious freedom of people of faith. If signed into law, however, this bill creates potential license to discriminate against people of faith, LGBTQ people, women, and other minority groups in the name of religious freedom.
Status: Passed Senate (32-23) | Assigned to House Judiciary Committee
Related Bills: HB 104, SB 1, SB 30, SB 36, SB 39, SB 185, HB 267
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SB 39
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: SB 39 would ban insurance companies from covering gender-affirming care including prohibiting the state health benefit plan from covering gender-affirming care for adults and minors; prohibit any funding of gender-affirming care by state government; ban the provision of gender-affirming care to adults and minors by any state healthcare facility.
Status: Passed Senate by Substitute (33-19) | Assigned to House Committee on Health
Related Bills: HB 104, SB 1, SB 30, SB 36, SB 185, HB 267
Federal Bills
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H.R.29 | S.5 - “Laken Riley Act”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: This bill expands federal immigration enforcement by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to detain certain non-citizen immigrants who have been arrested for criminal offenses including burglary, theft, larceny, and shoplifting. This bill also authorizes states to sue the federal government for decisions related to immigration enforcement and non-enforcement. If signed into law, this bill would impose harsh penalties and threaten individuals without status with deportation for minor offenses (i.e. criminalized traffic violations) regardless of whether or not they are guilty.
Status: Signed into law
Related Bills: “Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024” (aka HB 1105)
Learn More: “Five Things to Know About the Laken Riley Act,” National Immigration Law Center
Take Action: Tell Senators Warnock and Ossoff to Vote No
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H.R. 22 - “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: The SAVE Act requires individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. If passed into law, voters would have to provide proof of citizenship each time they register to vote, including when they re-register after a move, a name change, or party switch. The bill would also make it impossible for third party organizations, like Advancing Justice-Atlanta, to register voters.
Status: Introduced in House of Representatives
Learn More: “There are Ways to Modernize Elections, The SAVE Act Isn’t One of Them,” Voting Rights Lab
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H.R. 32 - “No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities”
Position: Oppose ❌
Summary: H.R. 32 threatens to end federal funding to “sanctuary” jurisdictions–states, cities, counties–that have policies prohibiting local law enforcement from facilitating federal immigration immigration enforcement. Cities and states that refuse to participate in mass deportations risk losing federal funding for education, public health, transportation, and other unrelated programs and services.
Status: Introduced in House of Representatives