State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia House of Representatives · District 139

Carmen Rice

Party Republican

In Office 2024 – present

House Role Member · Columbus

Scope of This Review 2025 – 2026

Carmen Rice represents House District 139 in Columbus, winning the seat in 2024 after the death of Richard H. Smith, the powerful longtime chairman of the House Rules Committee who had held it since 2005. As a newer member, her recorded voting history is short — only the 2025–26 bills below are her own — and it is a straight Republican one.

8 / 8Rice voted YEA on all eight of the key bills she has been in office to vote on — with the Republican majority. The three older scorecard bills predate her 2024 arrival.

Methodology. Each vote is Rep. Rice's actual position from the official Georgia roll call (legis.ga.gov), transcribed into a verified vote database and cross-checked against the published Yea/Nay totals. The chamber tally and final status (became law / died in House) are noted per bill.

Riley Gaines Act

SB 1 · 2025 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 100–64
Status: Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Bars transgender women and girls from competing on female school and college sports teams and requires K–12 and college sports, locker rooms, and restrooms to be designated by sex assigned at birth. Supporters framed it as protecting fairness and safety in women's sports; opponents — including LGBTQ advocates and some parents — said it stigmatizes transgender students and invites invasive enforcement.

Sources

LegiScan — SB 1 bill text, history & roll calls

Tort Reform

SB 68 · 2025 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2025 session — 94–77
Status: Became law — Gov. Kemp's signature 2025 priority
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Overhauled Georgia's civil-litigation rules — limiting when businesses and property owners can be sued (notably for negligent-security claims), changing how juries are told about medical damages, and allowing trials to be split into liability and damages phases. Backers said it would lower insurance costs and curb runaway verdicts; trial lawyers and consumer advocates warned it makes it harder for injured Georgians to recover full damages.

Sources

LegiScan — SB 68 bill text, history & roll calls

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

SB 36 · 2025 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 96–70
Status: Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Georgia's Religious Freedom Restoration Act bars state and local government from “substantially burdening” a person's exercise of religion without a compelling interest. Supporters called it a long-sought protection mirroring the 1993 federal law; opponents — including civil-rights groups and some businesses — warned it could be used to justify discrimination, particularly against LGBTQ Georgians, since the state has no statewide anti-discrimination law.

Sources

LegiScan — SB 36 bill text, history & roll calls

Right to IVF

HB 428 · 2025 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 172–0
Status: Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a bipartisan vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Establishes a state right to access in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and protects providers — one of the rare bipartisan votes in this set. It followed national alarm after an Alabama court ruling threatened IVF, and aimed to reassure Georgia families pursuing fertility treatment that the procedure would remain legal and available.

Sources

LegiScan — HB 428 bill text, history & roll calls

State Income Tax Cut

HB 111 · 2025 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 110–60
Status: Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Accelerated Georgia's move to a lower flat income tax, cutting the rate ahead of schedule (to 5.19%). Supporters said it returns surplus money to taxpayers; critics cautioned that flat-rate cuts deliver the largest dollar benefits to higher earners and reduce the revenue available for schools, health care, and public services.

Sources

LegiScan — HB 111 bill text, history & roll calls

Property Tax Relief (LHOST)

SB 33 · 2026 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Agree to Senate Amend to House Sub), 2026 session — 97–72
Status: Became law (2026 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Authorizes a local-option homestead sales tax and related homestead relief, letting communities offset rising property-tax bills driven by climbing home values. Supporters framed it as relief for homeowners squeezed by reassessments; critics noted sales taxes are regressive and that any relief depends on each community choosing to adopt it.

Sources

LegiScan — SB 33 bill text, history & roll calls

Homelessness Enforcement

HB 295 · 2026 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Agree to Senate Amend as HAm), 2026 session — 93–76
Status: Became law (2026 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Restricts unsanctioned public camping and sleeping and presses local governments toward enforcement and state-directed approaches to homelessness. Supporters said it keeps public spaces safe and orderly; homeless-services advocates warned it criminalizes poverty and can push people away from services without adding any housing.

Sources

LegiScan — HB 295 bill text, history & roll calls

Medical Cannabis Expansion

SB 220 · 2026 Session

YEA

Floor Vote: House vote (Agree to Senate Amend to House Sub), 2026 session — 144–21
Status: Became law (2026 session)
Rep. Rice's Vote: Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a bipartisan vote.

Impact on Everyday Georgians

Expands Georgia's low-THC medical cannabis program — broadening the qualifying conditions and access for registered patients — and passed with bipartisan support. It widened eligibility for Georgians managing chronic and serious illnesses under the state's tightly regulated program.

Sources

LegiScan — SB 220 bill text, history & roll calls

Constituent Access

Town Halls

Public meetings with constituents · since 2024

Carmen Rice engages constituents through the Columbus / Chattahoochee Valley area delegation and the House or Senate office.

Documented Record

No specific open constituent town-hall event for Carmen Rice surfaced in local press for the review period. Rice works through the Columbus-area (Chattahoochee Valley) delegation, whose members periodically appear at joint legislative forums, and direct constituent service.

This is a newer member with a short public record; this section will be expanded as she holds constituent events. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below.

Sources

Campaign Finance

Campaign finance · a newer committee

Pinned — Filling Big Shoes

Succeeded a power broker

Rice took over the seat of Richard H. Smith, who chaired the House Rules Committee — one of the most powerful gatekeeping posts in the chamber — until his death in 2024. Her own committee is comparatively new, with limited itemized donor data on file so far.

Top Contributors

Carmen Rice’s largest reported contributors, pulled live from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile).

#	Contributor	Total
1	Competitive Georgia Action Inc. (Griffin, GA)	$3,300.00
2	Jordan, Leslie W. (Columbus, GA)	$3,300.00
3	Sayers, Tracy (Columbus, GA)	$3,300.00
4	Choudhury, Sanjay (Columbus, GA)	$3,300.00
5	Schuster, Todd A. (Cataula, GA)	$3,300.00
6	Civil Justice PAC, Inc. (Atlanta, GA)	$3,000.00
7	Butler, Steve (Columbus, GA)	$3,000.00
8	Blanchard, James H. (Columbus, GA)	$3,000.00
9	Lumpkin IV, Frank (Columbus, GA)	$2,500.00
10	Georgia Solidarity Network, Inc. (Atlanta, GA)	$2,500.00

$130,729 raised · $26,329 cash on hand — as of May 27, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).

Source: Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile).

Sources

Verification Resources

Vote positions are Rep. Rice's actual recorded votes from the official Georgia roll calls (legis.ga.gov), transcribed into a verified vote database and cross-checked against the published Yea/Nay totals. Campaign-finance figures are pulled live from the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile) and are current to the committee's most recent filed disclosure report; Georgia does not produce OpenSecrets-style sector/industry rollups.

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