Bill Fincher

Voted to accept the Senate's final version of HB 1247, the 'Georgia Bureaucratic Deference Elimination Act.' The Georgia House agreed 98-70 and the bill became law as Act 718. The law bars courts from deferring to a state agency's own reading of laws and rules. Its 'Red Tape Rollback Act of 2026' sets new steps for writing rules. It also makes each agency send the Office of Planning and Budget a review of its own rules. The law opens to the public any settlement of an unlawful employment practice claim against a member of the General Assembly. The claimant's name is removed, but the member is named. A separate part requires some privately funded groups that shelter or serve homeless people to take part in Georgia's Homeless Management Information System. That duty is narrow. It reaches only groups within 1,000 feet of a school, college, child care center, public park, or playground. It applies in one metro area, not statewide, and skips groups that served fewer than ten people in the past year. A group that does not take part gets a non-criminal citation.

April 2, 2026Supports Government Efficiency

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Bill 443. It made purposely or recklessly blocking a highway or street a high and aggravated misdemeanor, a more serious grade of minor crime. Blocking a sidewalk or other public passage stayed a plain misdemeanor. The crime applies only when a person refuses to clear the way after an officer's order. A violator may also be sued for damages caused by the blockage. The Georgia House passed it 96-69, completing passage. It became law as Act 512, effective July 1, 2026.

March 23, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026

Co-sponsored HB 1303, which the Georgia House passed by substitute on March 4, 2026; it addressed possession of a controlled substance in the presence of a child.

March 4, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legis.ga.gov · researched August 20, 2026

Voted yes to pass Senate Bill 472, a school money-oversight bill. The Georgia House passed it 96-58 and it became law as Act 722. The law lets the State Board of Education ask the governor to suspend local school board members, with pay. That follows state auditor findings of money mismanagement or the worst level of state monitoring. In districts flagged as high risk, a superintendent's contract may not run longer than 12 months. Some auditor findings became grounds to fire a superintendent for cause. Early advances of state money are capped at half the district's state funds from the year before. State auditors must audit every local school system and state charter school each year.

March 25, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026

Voted to pass House Bill 1164. A state audit committee must review high- and moderate-risk school systems, with wider risk tests, yearly audit and payment certifications, responses to budget problems, and more public financial notices. The state may change or end some charter contracts by itself, and superintendent contract extensions are limited while a system is high risk. The Georgia House passed it 103-68, and it became law.

February 26, 2026Supports Public Education Quality

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 28, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Bill 3EX as rewritten in the House. It sets up a nine-member committee to design a new statewide voting system that uses hand-marked paper ballots, and it bars the current Secretary of State from helping choose or buy that system. It also orders a hand recount when a close statewide race is decided by half a point or less, and the state pays counties back. The Georgia House passed it 94-79, and it became law.

June 23, 2026Supports Election Integrity

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 5, 2026

Voted yes as the Georgia House agreed 104-71 to the Senate's rewrite of House Bill 463. The Senate had replaced the bill's entire text. House Bill 463 started as a property tax break for senior citizens who volunteer for local governments. The version voted on here was a state income tax package instead, titled the Georgia Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2026. It cut the personal income tax rate from 5.19 percent to 4.99 percent starting in 2026. Later yearly cuts rose from 0.10 to 0.125 points and now run down to 3.99 percent. It also cut corporate and partnership income tax rates. The exemption for each dependent rose from $4,000 to $5,000, and the standard deduction for a single filer from $12,000 to $15,000. Up to $1,750 of overtime pay and $1,750 of cash tips became free of state income tax. People 65 and older may leave out more retirement income. The law repealed tax breaks for alternative-fuel and zero-emission vehicles, data center equipment, and high-technology computer equipment. It became law as Act 465, effective May 11, 2026.

April 2, 2026Supports Personal Income Tax Reduction

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 28, 2026

Voted to pass Senate Bill 552, the True Patriotism and Universal Student Access (TPUSA) Act. It lets public school students form political clubs and hold political meetings on the same terms as other clubs unrelated to classes. A school that allows such clubs must give them the same use of rooms and the same chance to announce meetings. Schools may not treat a student group worse because of the political content of its speech. Students may wear political messages if the dress code allows other messages. Schools keep their power to maintain order, discipline, and attendance. The Georgia House passed this House version 95-68, the Senate agreed the same day, and it became law as Act 497.

March 31, 2026Supports Civil Rights

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 27, 2026

Voted yes, 97-65, on the House's last vote on House Bill 1185, accepting the Senate's changes. The law makes it harder for shareholders to sue companies and to see company records. Lawsuits over a public company's internal affairs now go to Georgia's State-wide Business Court. Other companies can send such suits there through their bylaws or charter. Investors in listed companies must meet a share-ownership minimum, up to 1 percent, to sue on the company's behalf. Judges may no longer award legal fees when a shareholder case wins only extra disclosures. The governor signed it as Act 460, effective July 1, 2026.

March 31, 2026Opposes Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched August 28, 2026

Co-sponsored HB 1263, which the Georgia Senate passed by substitute on March 31, 2026; it addressed the period for insurance-premium fee refund claims.

March 31, 2026

Source: legis.ga.gov · researched August 20, 2026