The newly-minted House Minority Leader, Carolyn Hugley, has been in this role for 27 legislative days. As the Georgia House Democrats congratulated the Democrat from Columbus and ushered in new leadership, everyone knew there would be battles on the horizon.
The hours are ticking down on a busy Week 8, with the final day of that week being Crossover Day. Crossover Day is the last day for a bill originating from one chamber to pass with a positive floor vote. The same process will happen in the Senate. Once those bills are passed, the bill will ‘cross over’ to the other legislative chamber. So the next few days are going to be very important. They’re going to be very busy and chaotic.
With that as a backdrop, Hugley was introspective as she sat down with The Atlanta Voice inside her office. While the Republicans have held onto power for the last twenty years, Hugley explained what it means to be the Minority Leader in this moment. Part of that is the recognition that the Republicans may co-opt legislation as their own and take credit for it. Why? Because they possess all the levers of power.
“The biggest compliment for us in the Minority is to have a Republican steal your bill and pass it,” Hugley said. “And so that’s why we have to continue to push forward good legislation and to continue to rally around it, inform people about it, educate on it, so that at the end of the day, we’re not concerned about whose name is on the bill, but we want to help Georgians. That’s why we continue to do what we do.”
Hugley has served in the Georgia Legislature since 1992. She has served as the Caucus Whip from 2002 through 2018. After November’s caucus elections, Hugley told reporters the caucus would focus, ‘on our value proposition and raising the funds that we need and putting forth the candidates that we need.’ Hugley says the Democratic caucus represents 45% of Georgians, and that number will increase ahead of the next elections. She believes the Democrats will become the majority by 2030.
“And so some of our ideas might be batted down, but they’ll come back up again,” says Hugley. “And so that’s why we continue to do what we do. It takes resilience, tenacity, and courage to be in the minority. Everybody can’t do that, and that’s why I admire all of our members, because we do this knowing what the outcome is going to be in many cases. But we have to be here to give the opposing view, and we have to be here to speak truth to power on behalf of the 45% of Georgians that we represent.”
Hugley discusses the Tort Reform debate
Minority Leader of the Georgia House, Carolyn Hugley, presides over a ceremony honoring former Georgia State Representative, Calvin Smyre, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025 inside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp threatened to primary Republicans in recent weeks in order to get his tort reform package across the finish line in the Senate. Hugley says the Governor is taking a page from President Donald Trump in terms of how he manages Congress. However, tort reform is something that the legislature has debated before. The ruling was overturned by the courts in 2005. The Georgia State Supreme Court deemed the caps Republicans slapped on rulings at that time were unconstitutional.
“When you’re in the majority, a lopsided majority, and you have to coerce your members to pass your bill. What does that say about your legislation? It is a red flag,” Hugley says. “Our caucus is concerned about the effect on the everyday people of this state. Corporations? They have their lobbyists. But the only people speaking for the everyday citizen happens to be us. That’s our job. And of course, we’re going to do that on tort and on every other bill.”
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Tort Reform — from the other side of the aisle
Hugley has experience in this area. She has been an insurance agent for thirty-six years. What concerns her most about the whole tort discussion is the notion that insurance rates are going to automatically go down if tort reform passes. That is a lofty promise knowing that in Georgia and surrounding states, once-in-a-generation weather events are becoming more and more common. They used to be outside of the norm.
Also in Georgia, new causes of action are being added that will allow people to sue someone. As a result, insurance will put all your money together with others that are found in similar situations, such as the affected and afflicted families that suffered from Hurricane Helene for example, and whatever the claim outcomes are, those persons are paid.
However, rates have never gone down. As a matter of fact, insurance companies will continue to fight, in this case, hammer-and-nail, to stay out of the courtroom. Hugley lays out an example of why tort is a slippery slope for Republicans.
“And in the old days, you could tell me what kind of car you had, how old you were, how many accidents you had, and I could pretty much tell you what your rates were going to be,” Hugley explains. “But now a car is a moving computer. Everything is computerized. And so even a little fender bender, if I hit the rear end of your car, there’s technology in that bumper that did not used to be there. Sometimes we don’t think about that. And so that’s why I’m concerned about them saying that the insurance rates will go down if we pass tort. Liability is only a portion of what happens in the insurance area.
“Georgia must be the number one place to live, learn and earn”
Georgia House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley delivers a speech during a press conference on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)
The Minority Leader will always remind lobbyists, the press, and the public that Georgia must not only be number one for business. Georgia must also be the best state to live, learn and earn. However, that moniker is being tested. Recently, 13,000 employees at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were fired by Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Recently, State Representative Saira Draper hosted a press conference featuring many of the affected individuals at the State Capitol, as she calls on the State to make these highly-skilled individuals whole again.
Meanwhile, as the Trump administration and Elon Musk attempt to shrink the size of the federal government via ‘wood chipper’, Governor Kemp said the CDC could use ‘a little right-sizing.’ Hugley was asked what Georgia Democrats are doing to speak up for those individuals and advocate for them.
“It’s a part of the shock, awe and chaos that we’re seeing from the federal government,” Hugley said. “So what we have to do in this moment is to stand strong and educate and advocate continuously on behalf of the people. We need to make sure our Department of Labor is ready to handle the people who never, ever thought that they would have to face a layoff situation.
And, we’ve got to understand that our state has to be prepared to meet the citizens where they are. Statements like, ‘the government can do some right-sizing’, it’s not helpful. And that’s what we got to make sure that we continue to speak out and hold our powerful officials accountable.”
Maternal Mortality remains top-of-mind for Hugley and the Democrats
The Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Carolyn Hugley, greets members of the Georgia House ahead of The State of The State Address on January 16, 2025 at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)
It is the sanctity of life, the unbelievable moments of seeing mom and dad, mom with a newborn baby. It’s unspeakable how beautiful and awe-inspiring that moment can be. On the other hand, in our state, we have the worst maternal mortality rate in the United States of America. Hugley gets asked, quite often, ‘How do we effectively solve this problem once and for all?’
“We have to look at health care access,” Hugley says. “We need more health care practitioners in those maternity healthcare deserts that we have across our state. Also, we have to make sure that we look at every available option to have health practitioners assist, particularly women of color, with the whole process of pregnancy and birth.”
Hugley admitted her son and his wife are expecting their second child. Her prayers are the baby arrives safely, and her daughter-in-law is able to deliver and safely continue living her life. It speaks to the holistic nature of prenatal and postnatal care.
“Many on the other side of the aisle represent districts for all practical purposes are health care deserts,” says Hugley. “For those pregnant mothers, they have to travel great distances. The longer an expectant mother goes without having health care, the greater the risk. Not only to her, but to her child. Maternal mortality is not just up until the birth of the baby, it goes beyond that.”
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