March brings about the official start of what will most likely be a lively campaign season, full of ‘barbecues & barking’ in the State of Georgia. This week, candidate qualifying brings campaign hopefuls for federal and state offices all across the Peach State to Atlanta. 

SREA will put together a full summary of qualified candidates in the coming weeks. But for now, let’s look at who’s qualified as of this writing. 

Near the top of the ticket, incumbent US Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Atlanta) will look to extend his tenure another six years as he prepares to face off with one of the GOP hopefuls. Right now, District 10 Congressman Mike Collins (R-Jackson), District 1 Congressman Buddy Carter (R-St. Simons), and former college football coach Derek Dooley (R-Tiger) have all qualified and will face off for the Republican spot on the ballot in the May 19 primary.  

In the gubernatorial contest, frontrunner Lt. Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson) and recent entrant billionaire Rick Jackson (R-Alpharetta) have been trading barbs with dueling media buys. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R-Alpharetta) and Attorney General Chris Carr (R-Dunwoody) are still working hard to chip away at the top of the ticket. Polling shows this race is still a very wide open contest with more than 35% of the electorate polling as undecided.  

On the Public Service Commissioner side, recently elected incumbent Commissioner Peter Hubbard (D-Decatur) will face off in a District 3 rematch with ousted PSC Commissioner Fitz Johnson (R-Marietta).  

PSC Commissioner Tricia Pridemore (R-Marietta) officially qualified to run for Congressional District 11, which will open up her District 5 seat. As of this writing, two people have qualified for District 5 - engineer & planner Dr. Joshua Tolbert who recently ran for State Senate qualified as a Republican; and on the Democratic side, we find college professor & ratepayer advocate Angelica Pressley. SREA will look to engage with both candidates after qualifying ends. 

In addition to the political action under the Gold Dome, this Friday, March 6 brings us to the Crossover Day deadline in the General Assembly. Bills that do not pass out of their respective chambers of origin are dead unless amended into other bills. Below are a handful of measures SREA is tracking as we move into the homestretch of the 2026 legislative session.  

• House Bill 320 by Rep. Trey Kelley (R-Cedartown), which seeks to add regulations focused on the recycling of Solar Panels after they are damaged or decommissioned. HB 320 passed the House floor on Thursday, February 26 by a margin of 162-4. 

• House Bill 1133, sponsored by Agriculture Chair Robert Dickey (R-Musella), aims to enable the Georgia Environmental Finance Commission (GEFA) to allow local governments to invest in placing solar installments on closed landfills. HB 1133 passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee, and is now in the Rules Committee where it hopes to make the House Floor.  

• House Bill 1381 sponsored by House Minority Leader Sam Park (D-Duluth) is a bipartisan measure that was introduced last week, which seeks to require grid modernization assessments to be filed with integrated resource plans. Also mandates justifications for new transmission construction over alternative technologies and addresses cost recovery. HB 1381 was heard in the House Energy Committee on March 3.  

• Senate Bill 34, by Chairman Chuck Hufstetler (R-Rome) seeks to prohibit utilities from charging residential customers and small businesses for costs associated with powering large load customers (commercial data centers) This includes costs for expanding generation, transmission, and distribution to handle data center demand. SB 34 was heard in the Senate Regulated Industries committee this past Tuesday, Feb. 24. Ultimately, SB 34 was amended (closer to the HB 1063 version) at the behest of the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power due to the fear of “lack of flexibility.” Sen. Hufstetler lamented that this amendment was a poison pill. SB 34 passed as amended in committee and subsequently passed the rules committee.  

However, on Thursday, Feb. 26, as SB 34 was scheduled to be heard on the floor, Senator Hufsteter was able to build enough support to amend and reverse the changes to his bill. Hufstetler had 11 signatures from majority Republicans in the Senate, plus his own and near-unanimous backing from Democratic caucus. This maneuver caused Senate leadership to abruptly adjourn for the day leaving the fate of SB 34 in limbo as we head toward the March 6 crossover deadline. More on that drama can be found on the link.  

• Senate Bill 410, sponsored by Rules Chairman Matt Brass, initially was a measure that would immediately remove tax incentives for the data center industry upon signature from Governor Kemp. SB 410 was amended in the Senate Finance Committee to add the repeal of the tax exemption, grandfathering of existing certificates, and no new certificates after SB 410 goes into effect (upon signature from the Governor). SB 410 will be heard again in Senate Finance on March 5 at 9:00 am.  

On Tuesday, March 2, Governor Kemp signed HB 973, which is the FY2026 Amended Budget. Some of highlights include: $2 billion returned to Georgia taxpayers, and makes investments in transportation, mental health services, and public safety. HB 973 also includes spending $1.17 billion from the state's budget surplus for income tax rebates ($250 for single filers and $500 for married couples and families). 

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