Speaker Jon Burns introduces a House bill to ban transgender girls from school sports. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Both chambers of the Georgia Legislature advanced bills targeting transgender Georgians Tuesday.
A proposal to cut gender-affirming care for people on Georgia’s state health insurance plan passed a Senate committee, a couple hours after House Speaker Jon Burns held a Capitol press conference to announce his chamber’s attempt at banning transgender athletes from girls’ school sports.
“It’s a great day for Georgia, it’s a great day for the House, and it’s going to be a great day for every female athlete in our state because today, the Georgia House puts forward legislation to keep boys out of girls’ sports,” Burns said.
Health care ban
Transgender Georgians who work for the state government can be covered for gender-affirming care after the state settled a lawsuit in 2023. The case, Rich vs. Georgia, was brought by state workers who were prescribed treatments like gender-affirming surgery or hormone replacement therapy for themselves or their children but had that care denied.
Vidalia Republican Sen. Blake Tillery told the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee his bill will mean those workers will need to seek insurance elsewhere.
“I’m not going to try to hide behind the law and pretend like that would be an easy task,” he said. “But when you’re a state employee, your health benefit plan is paid by state taxpayer dollars, and I think we have a duty to our citizens and the citizens of Georgia. They have overwhelmingly elected us and we’ve made a position and a policy that we believe that shouldn’t be covered by state taxpayer dollars that I believe is firmly supported by them.”
Tillery said if the ban passes, care will end at the start of 2026.
Khara Hayden, an IT manager who has worked 10 years for the state, began transitioning after the settlement and said her relationships with her family as well as her mental and physical health have been greatly improved.
“I’ve been married for 15 years, and during that time, my wife and I always had discussions about, like, something’s wrong, I don’t know how to fix it. And finally accepting that I’m transgender, I’m progressing, and it’s helped me to be happier and healthier. I’ve lost, like,a hundred pounds in that time, so it’s been a significant improvement in my life.”
Hayden said she’ll be reconsidering her employment options if the bill becomes law.
“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “I enjoy serving the state. I’ve got plans to continue my career with the state, but with them looking at taking away my health coverage for the care I need, I might have to quit my job, find other opportunities that would provide me with the care I need.”
Carrie Scott, an attorney who works for a state agency, said she was able to get gender-affirming surgery about a year ago because of the settlement and has continuing costs for care. She said pulling the coverage would be equivalent to a pay cut that only affects transgender workers.
“If they cut this care that I need from the health insurance, it’s making it untenable for me to continue in the state health benefit plan, which is cutting my compensation in a way that’s not cutting other state employees’.”
“I hope that I don’t have to make a decision,” she added. “I need ongoing care that is covered by my health insurance plan that would not be covered anymore if this bill passed. That care is not optional for me, and so I would have to make a hard decision.”
Attorney Amanda Kay Seals, who helped argue the suit over Georgia’s prior exclusion, said if the bill becomes law, it will not survive a future challenge.
“If you try to undo the promises made by the state of Georgia in the Rich vs. Georgia settlement, the promises made to Georgia citizens and more specifically to the state’s employees and their families, the state will find itself in court again,” she said. “Passing this bill does not change what was true when we filed Rich.”
BAn on transgender athletes
Back in the House, Burns said his sports bill will bar transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams from kindergarten through college, including private colleges that play against public schools.
The bill, which will be carried by Fayetteville Republican state Rep. Josh Bonner, will also require schools to provide separate restroom and changing facilities for boy and girl athletes and create a right of action for people who believe they have been aggrieved under the law.
“I don’t want any girl in the state of Georgia to be told that no matter how much you practice, no matter how much you train, no how much you sacrifice, the moment you step onto that playing field, it’s not equal,” Bonner said.
Senate Republicans have prioritized their own version of a trans sports exclusion bill – it was the first bill filed in that chamber this year, but Burns declined to compare the two bills.
“I’m not sure what’s in Senate Bill 1, because we’ve been focused on providing these safeguards, leveling this playing field,” he said.
The House bill is named after swimmer Riley Gaines, who became an outspoken advocate against transgender participation in girls’ sports after she and other swimmers competed against and shared a locker room with a transgender woman at a 2022 championship held at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
The NCAA changed its eligibility rules after that competition amid a flurry of complaints.
Bills targeting transgender athletes have proved a major wedge issue in recent years, though their presence on Georgia’s sports fields remains close to zero.
Some Democrats have characterized the focus on transgender sports as a senseless attempt to score political points.
Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson has introduced a bill she says will protect girls’ sports by ensuring they receive equivalent funding and facilities to boys’ sports.
“If we want to have a real conversation about leveling the playing field, let’s talk about the severe lack of equipment provided to teams, like the six soccer balls given to girls’ soccer teams in South DeKalb or resorting to raising operating funds through athletic booster clubs and student fees to ensure they have proper equipment,” Jackson said Monday. “Let’s talk about the girls who never even get the chance to join a team because they can’t afford the fees at their public school.”
Democrats are largely opposed to the trans-focused bills, but not universally so.
Dawson Democratic Sen. Freddie Powell Sims’ name is listed as a co-sponsor of Tillery’s health care bill, and she voted for the Senate version of the transgender sports bill in committee.
Democratic Sen. Ed Harbison of Columbus voted against Tillery’s bill in committee, although his name was originally listed as a co-sponsor. Harbison said he misunderstood what was in Tillery’s bill.
Harbison said while he supports Jackson’s plan for sports gender equity, he has concerns about transgender athletes competing with cisgender women.
“It’s unfair to have previously identified male people, who want to change their – they want to identify as a woman, I have no problem with that, but to compete against gender-identified women, I think that’s another thing, that’s my belief,” he said.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Burns declined to clearly say whether the House would take up anti-transgender legislation other than the sports bill.
“No, we’re focused a very narrow focus on just this issue, boys in girls’ sports, and so the House talks about many things, I’m not sure what legislation will come down, but this piece of legislation, the Riley Gaines Act, is focused on what we’re talking about here today and providing these protections and level this playing field,” he said.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.