Today is Crossover Day, one of the more frenzied days at the State Capitol as lawmakers try to get their bills out of either the House or the Senate to “cross over” to the other chamber. With so much activity, we’re highlighting two important issues today.
First, when it comes to cancer, time is the ultimate currency for both doctors and patients.
Yet here we are in the midst of another legislative debate on whether incumbent providers, primarily hospitals, should have a “competitor’s veto” over additional access to care – even for treating cancer.
In this instance, Senate Bill 367, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), would eliminate Georgia’s certificate of need (CON) requirement for all facilities, service lines and equipment dedicated to treating cancer. This legislation would rectify a regulatory system that forces patients to travel unnecessary distances for treatment, while their oncologists spend time and money filing applications and legal appeals.
Read more in our commentary, Why is Georgia Unnecessarily Restricting Access to Cancer Care?
Second, for four decades, the American regulatory state operated under a convenient, if constitutionally dubious, doctrine: that when a federal law was “ambiguous,” the tie went to the regulators.
Georgia lawmakers are considering ending the practice known as “judicial deference” at the state level. Here’s what that means: Right now, when an agency and a regulated party disagree over what a law requires, courts primarily give benefit of the doubt to the agency’s interpretation. Changing this practice would require Georgia courts to decide questions of law without defaulting to an agency’s preferred interpretation.
While this may sound like a procedural tweak, it has real consequences.
Read more in our second commentary, Who Decides What Georgia Laws Mean?
Thanks for reading,
– Kyle Wingfield
Friday’s Freshest 🗞️
In the running debate over Georgia’s inflated housing prices, there are the usual suspects: high interest rates, the cost of building materials, Wall Street investors. But while Georgians seek to assign blame for why “starter homes” are increasingly unattainable, a lesser known culprit remains the cost of time.
Data centers have been an integral part of energy infrastructure for much longer than they’ve been a ubiquitous topic in public policy conversations. But the rapid advance of artificial intelligence over the last few years has meant increased demand for more data centers.
Recently, President Donald Trump cheered many self-styled consumer advocates by saying that credit card interest rates should be capped at 10%, and later gave his backing to a proposal aimed at curtailing the power of Visa and Mastercard. Both proposals would in fact harm the very consumers they are intended to help, but their negative effects would go further.
Georgia lawmakers have raised transparency concerns over federal “guidance” communicated to the state Department of Education (GaDOE). While this issue might seem like the ultimate in esoteric “inside baseball,” it reflects a serious challenge to state and local governance in education and has far-reaching consequences for Georgia’s students, parents and educators.
The Promise Scholarship is enjoying a successful first year with 7,744 participating students. Each one gets $6,500 for private school, homeschooling or another non-public educational option.
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With affordability a top concern heading into the elections this year, Georgia’s Senate Republicans are proposing billions of dollars in cuts to the state income tax. A study committee assigned by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican and advocate for abolishing the 5.19% tax, approved recommendations on Wednesday that would eliminate it for lower-income earners starting in January, eventually abolishing it altogether.
Since the 1980s, the percentage of individuals that move to a different state has dropped from well over 10% to single digit metrics, says the United States Census Bureau. Georgia ranks among the top states for in-migration—but lowest among its neighbors—according to U-Haul’s 2025 Growth Index.
House Speaker Jon Burns is backing a plan to ban cellphone use during the school day for Georgia high school students. The Republican said he expects House lawmakers to pass a measure during the session that begins next week extending Georgia’s K-8 cellphone ban to high school students.
A $3.7 billion project in Spalding County called Wallace Jackson Data Center Campus was outlined Tuesday in a state infrastructure filing. The project is slated to include 10 data center buildings spanning nearly 5 million square feet, which is more floor space than three Lenox Square malls.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns (R- Newington) laid out his new priorities as the legislative season set to kick off. Foremost, Burns said, was tackling a literacy crisis that’s seen one in three Georgia students lack reading proficient by the all-important third grade benchmark.
Featured Report
Institutional investors have become a central focus in debates over housing affordability in metro Atlanta, but the evidence tells a more complicated story. This report evaluates investor activity in context, showing how underlying housing shortages and post-recession policy changes have played a far larger role in shaping today’s market.
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One More Fact 💡
Across the country, states are increasingly taking steps to rein in costly regulations that can slow economic growth and raise prices for consumers. Over time, regulatory codes tend to grow larger and more complex, often accumulating rules that remain long after their original purpose has faded.
In response, several states have begun implementing reforms designed to review and reduce unnecessary regulations. Alaska and Indiana, for example, have launched initiatives requiring state agencies to inventory existing rules and justify their continued need, with goals of significantly reducing regulatory requirements over the next several years. Other states have adopted “REINS-style” reforms that require legislative approval before major regulations with significant economic impact can take effect, restoring greater oversight by elected lawmakers.
These efforts reflect a broader recognition that regulations impose real costs. While sensible rules can protect public health and safety, excessive or outdated regulations can make it harder to start businesses, build housing and create jobs.
The issue is especially relevant as Georgia lawmakers debate policies affecting housing affordability, economic growth and investment. As other states work to streamline regulations and ensure rules deliver benefits that justify their costs, Georgia has an opportunity to consider reforms that promote transparency, accountability and a more competitive economic environment.
More Commentary
Georgia won’t lower cost of housing until state tackles the ‘regulatory tax’
Major Education Bills Advance in Georgia Legislature as Session Nears End
The Fight Against Red Tape Continues in Georgia