Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 12 R cosponsors

SB 471 — Education; requires a student to wear a face mask or face covering while present on school property; eliminate automatic repeal provision

Last action — House Second Readers

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 38% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 12 sponsors

    1 primary, 11 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (12 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend an Act providing that no local board of education, local school superintendent, or school administrator, teacher, or other school personnel shall make or enforce any rule that requires a student to wear a face mask or face covering while present on school property unless such rule provides that a parent or guardian of such student may elect for his or her child to be exempt from such rule, approved March 29, 2022 (Ga. L. 2022, p. 23/SB 514), so as to eliminate the automatic repeal provision; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. House Second Readers

  2. House First Readers

  3. Senate Passed/Adopted

  4. Senate Third Read

  5. Senate Read Second Time

  6. Senate Committee Favorably Reported

  7. Senate Read and Referred

  8. Senate Hopper

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 11 co-sponsors · 235 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (11)

Not signed on (235)

235 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 235 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

PASSAGE

Passed 51 Yea · 1 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 32000
Democrat 19103
Unaffiliated 0001
Total 51104
% of votes cast 91%2%0%7%
How each member voted (56)
Member Party Vote
VACANT — Not Voting
David Lucas Democrat Yea
Derek Mallow Democrat Yea
Donzella James Democrat Yea
Ed Harbison Democrat Yea
Elena Parent Democrat Yea
Emanuel Jones Democrat Yea
Freddie Powell Sims Democrat Yea
Gail Davenport Democrat Yea
Harold Jones II Democrat Yea
Jaha Howard Democrat Yea
Josh McLaurin Democrat Not Voting
Kenya Wicks Democrat Yea
Kim Jackson Democrat Not Voting
Michael 'Doc' Rhett Democrat Yea
Nabilah Parkes Democrat Not Voting
Nan Orrock Democrat Yea
Nikki Merritt Democrat Nay
RaShaun Kemp Democrat Yea
Randal Mangham Democrat Yea
Sally Harrell Democrat Yea
Sheikh Rahman Democrat Yea
Sonya Halpern Democrat Yea
Tonya Anderson Democrat Yea
Ben Watson Republican Yea
Bill Cowsert Republican Yea
Billy Hickman Republican Yea
Blake Tillery Republican Yea
Bo Hatchett Republican Yea
Brian Strickland Republican Yea
Carden Summers Republican Yea
Chuck Hufstetler Republican Yea
Chuck Payne Republican Yea
Clint Dixon Republican Yea
Drew Echols Republican Yea
Ed Setzler Republican Yea
Frank Ginn Republican Yea
Greg Dolezal Republican Yea
Jason Anavitarte Republican Yea
Jason T. Dickerson Republican Yea
John Albers Republican Yea
Kay Kirkpatrick Republican Yea
Larry Walker, III Republican Yea
Lee Anderson Republican Yea
Marty Harbin Republican Yea
Matt Brass Republican Yea
Max Burns Republican Yea
Mike Hodges Republican Yea
Randy Robertson Republican Yea
Rick Williams Republican Yea
Russ Goodman Republican Yea
Sam Watson Republican Yea
Shawn Still Republican Yea
Steve Gooch Republican Yea
Steven McNeel Republican Yea
Timothy Bearden Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 471 do?
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend an Act providing that no local board of education, local school superintendent, or school administrator, teacher, or other school personnel shall make or enforce any rule that requires a student to wear a face mask or face covering while present on school property unless such rule provides that a parent or guardian of such student may elect for his or her child to be exempt from such rule, approved March 29, 2022 (Ga. L. 2022, p. 23/SB 514), so as to eliminate the automatic repeal provision; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Who sponsors SB 471?
SB 471 is sponsored by Matt Brass (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Jason T. Dickerson (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), Steve Gooch (Republican), Max Burns (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Carden Summers (Republican), Ben Watson (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), and Greg Dolezal (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 471?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 471?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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