Sine Die is Friday
Georgia’s legislature is fast approaching its final day of the 2025 session. The last day lawmakers can still pass a bill is April 4, also known as Sine Die, Latin for “without day.”
Many of the bills we’ve been tracking have morphed significantly since Crossover Day on March 6. Expect a full roundup from Atlanta Civic Circle after the dust settles Friday at midnight.
‘Voter integrity’ bills
For instance, one wide-ranging elections bill under consideration in the House, Senate Bill 175, originally banned ranked-choice voting. Now it’s a franken-bill mirroring House Bill 397, a controversial ‘election integrity’ bill before the Senate that would likely reduce, not increase, the accuracy of Georgia’s voter rolls.
That’s because — among other provisions — the GOP-backed bill demands Georgia’s withdrawal from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). That allows member states to share voter-registration information so they can spot cross-registrations across states.
Legislation to reign in giant housing investors stalls
Hopes fizzled this session that legislators would reign in Wall Street investors buying up homes across Georgia and pushing up prices in housing markets statewide.
Several bipartisan bills stalled in the House – including proposals to allow landlord registries, establish corporate homebuying caps, and prohibit price-fixing. They faced strong opposition from the landlord and realtor lobbies, including a former Georgia attorney general, Atlanta Civic Circle Housing Reporter Sean Keenan reports. Since 2025 was the start of a two-year session, there’s always next year.
Delta flight attendants to hold union vote this year
Union organizers for Delta Air Lines’ flight attendants have told Atlanta Civic Circle that they aim to hold a vote to form a union with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) later this year, after several years of efforts. They spoke with us at the launch of a new Labor Institute at Clark Atlanta University — a novel initiative we’ll have more on this week.
Relatedly, the National Labor Relations Board, which referees union elections, is once again without a quorum. Read about that here.
Trial starts for ACPC’s open records suit against Atlanta Police Foundation
Local news organization Atlanta Community Press Collective’s (ACPC) is suing the Atlanta Police Foundation under Georgia’s Open Records Act for a host of records including communications and documents related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City.”
A bench trial over ACPC’s access to the documents – including contract negotiations, board meeting minutes, agendas, and communications pertaining to an aborted voter referendum over the training center – kicked off Monday in Fulton County Superior Court.
As a nonprofit that raises money for the Atlanta Police Department, the Atlanta Police Foundation is arguing that it’s not subject to the state’s Open Records Act. However, ACPC is suing, because, under the law, any private entity’s records related to a service or function for a government agency are subject to public disclosure. Fulton Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick will decide if the police foundation, which is overseeing the police training facility’s construction, must comply with the state’s open records law.
The construction cost for the controversial police and firefighter training center has ballooned to $120 million, with the city of Atlanta picking up $31 million plus $36 million over 30 years. The Atlanta Police Foundation is covering the rest through corporate and philanthropic contributions.
While the Atlanta Police Foundation is arguing that building the city’s police training center does not make it an extension of a government entity, there were a lot of city officials in the courtroom on Monday.
Of note, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat dropped by during oral arguments, as did Atlanta Police Department Chief Administrative Officer Marshall Freeman, who was previously a chief operating officer for the Atlanta Police Foundation. However, ACPC successfully asked for Freeman to be sequestered, since it has subpoenaed him as a witness in the case. The judge told him to step outside until he testified in the afternoon.
ACPC has also subpoenaed Atlanta City Council Member Liliana Bakhtiari as a witness. Bakhtiari is the city council member who’s been the most critical about the police training center.
Atlanta activism steps up against Trump
If you’ve been driving on Atlanta’s freeways, you may have noticed billboards that read “Tariffs are a tax” – just one aspect of the activism in Atlanta against Trump administration actions. The billboards are sponsored by the Canadian government, which is pushing back on President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, set to go into effect April 2.
Meanwhile, demonstrators picketed Tesla dealerships across Georgia, including in Decatur, as part of worldwide protests against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE actions to slash the federal government.
Today’s newsletter was written by Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon and edited by Meredith Hobbs.
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