Controversial legislation banning transgender student athletes from participating in female sports in Georgia cleared the Republican-controlled General Assembly Monday.

Senate Bill 1, which the Senate’s GOP majority passed early last month, passed the House 100-64 virtually along party lines early Monday afternoon. The Senate then gave the bill final passage several hours later, voting 34-20 also along party lines to approve several changes the House had made to the measure.

The legislation prohibits Georgia public school and college students from competing on teams that do not match the sex on their birth certificates. It also applies to private institutions that compete against public schools and colleges.

Noncompliant public schools would risk loss of state funding and exposure to lawsuits. 

During Monday’s House floor debate, Republican supporters said transgender students born male enjoy an unfair competitive advantage over women in sports to the point of threatening female athletes’ safety.

“It is a narrowly tailored commonsense bill that eliminates the potential for male advantage,” said Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, who carried the Senate legislation in the House. “Allowing that advantage on the field puts females at risk.”

Democrats countered that the bill targets transgender students, already a vulnerable group of young people studies have shown are particularly susceptible to mental health problems.

“This bill does not make our children safer,” said Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn. “It’s a license to harass, bully, and harm.”

Other opponents said the bill isn’t necessary because no transgender males are currently competing in women’s sports in Georgia. House Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of seeking to score political gains at the expense of a tiny minority of Georgians.

“This is not about fairness. This is not about safety. This is about politics,” said Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates. “It’s a manufactured crisis designed not to solve a real problem but to create division and fear.”

But Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, chairman of the House Education Committee, said the bill’s purpose is to promote “fairness, safety, and integrity” in school and college sports.

“This legislation does not target individuals,” he said. “It targets inequity.”

After the votes, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones – who presides over the Senate – called the bill a “historic step toward achieving a critical goal” for the 2025 legislative session.

“Since I took office in 2023 as lieutenant governor, the Senate has led the way to make protections for females competing in athletics on any level a reality,” Jones said.

“Today, the General Assembly sent a clear message – biological men are not welcome in girls’ sports or spaces here in Georgia,” added House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington. “The House was proud to support this measure, which builds on prior protections championed by the House.”

The bill now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk for his signature.

Capitol Beat is a nonprofit news service operated by the Georgia Press Educational Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers throughout Georgia. For more information visit capitol-beat.org.