# David Lucas Sr. (GA Senate D-26) — Legislator Fact Sheet · The GA Files > Key state votes by Georgia Senator David Lucas Sr. (District 26, Macon), his constituent access, and campaign finance — a state-level legislator fact sheet. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/DavidLucas.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia State Senate · District 26 # David Lucas Sr. Party Democrat In Office Senate 2013 – present Prior Service GA House 1974 – 2011 Scope of This Review 2019 – 2026 The scorecard below tracks how Sen. Lucas voted on eleven of the most consequential bills before the Georgia General Assembly (2019–2026) — abortion, LGBTQ rights, taxes, tort reform, religious liberty, homelessness, and more. A Macon Democrat first elected to the legislature in 1974, Lucas is one of the longest-serving lawmakers in Georgia history, and votes as a member of the chamber's Democratic minority. 3 / 11Lucas voted **NAY on eight of these eleven**, opposing the Republican majority on every abortion, LGBTQ, religious-liberty, and tax bill. His three YEA votes were the bipartisan IVF (HB 428) and medical-cannabis (SB 220) bills and the homelessness measure (HB 295). **Methodology.** Each vote is Sen. Lucas'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. 01 ## Riley Gaines Act SB 1 · 2025 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2025 session — 34–20 Status Became law (2025 session) Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB1/2025) 02 ## Tort Reform SB 68 · 2025 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2025 session — 34–21 Status Became law — Gov. Kemp's signature 2025 priority Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB68/2025) 03 ## Religious Freedom Restoration Act SB 36 · 2025 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 32–23 Status Became law (2025 session) Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB36/2025) 04 ## Gender-Affirming Care Ban (Minors) SB 140 · 2023 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2023 session — 31–21 Status Became law (2023 session) Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Prohibits hormone therapy and surgical gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Georgia, with limited exceptions. Supporters said it shields children from irreversible decisions; major medical associations and families of transgender youth opposed it, arguing it overrides parents and doctors and strips away evidence-based care. #### Sources - [LegiScan — SB 140 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB140/2023) 05 ## Gender-Affirming Care Funding Ban SB 39 · 2025 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Motion to Immediately Transmit), 2025 session — 32–18 Status Passed the Senate; died in the House (2025 session) — did not become law Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Would have barred the use of state funds — including the State Health Benefit Plan and Medicaid — to pay for gender-affirming care for state employees and prisoners. It cleared the Senate but died in the House. Supporters said taxpayers should not fund the care; opponents said it singles out transgender state workers and inmates for denial of medically recognized treatment. #### Sources - [LegiScan — SB 39 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB39/2025) 06 ## Heartbeat Bill (Abortion Ban) HB 481 · 2019 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Passage by Substitute), 2019 session — 34–18 Status Became law (2019); took effect in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. ### Impact on Everyday Georgians Bans most abortions once embryonic cardiac activity is detected — around six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant — with narrow exceptions. Blocked by courts for years, it took effect in 2022 after _Dobbs_. It sharply curtailed abortion access in Georgia and has reshaped how doctors manage pregnancy complications across the region. #### Sources - [LegiScan — HB 481 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB481/2019) 07 ## Right to IVF HB 428 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote Senate vote (Passage by Substitute), 2025 session — 53–1 Status Became law (2025 session) Sen. Lucas' 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB428/2025) 08 ## State Income Tax Cut HB 111 · 2025 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 30–23 Status Became law (2025 session) Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB111/2025) 09 ## Property Tax Relief (LHOST) SB 33 · 2026 Session NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute as Amended), 2026 session — 32–21 Status Became law (2026 session) Sen. Lucas' Vote Voted **NAY** — against 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB33/2026) 10 ## Homelessness Enforcement HB 295 · 2026 Session YEA Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Amendment to Senate Amendment), 2026 session — 34–19 Status Became law (2026 session) Sen. Lucas' 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB295/2026) 11 ## Medical Cannabis Expansion SB 220 · 2026 Session YEA Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute as Amended), 2026 session — 38–14 Status Became law (2026 session) Sen. Lucas' 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](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB220/2026) Constituent Access ## Town Halls Public meetings with constituents · review period 2019–2026 Lucas, a 30-year veteran of the legislature, convenes and chairs Bibb County legislative delegation meetings on local priorities. ## Documented Record - As the senior member of the Macon-Bibb delegation, **Lucas convenes Bibb County legislative-delegation meetings** to take up local bills and constituent priorities — telling reporters of one 2026 local measure, “I'm going to call a meeting, sit down with everybody, and find out what people want to do.” - A fixed standalone open town-hall series is not separately catalogued. He works the Bibb delegation and direct constituent service. Verified against the Georgia Senate and regional reporting. This is not an exhaustive list. State-level constituent-event records are thinner and more locally reported than federal ones; corrections with documented events are welcome via the contact link below. ## Sources - [13WMAZ — Lucas to convene Bibb delegation meeting](https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/macon/macon-bibb-third-term-bill-faces-new-push-in-the-2026-legislative-session/93-eb991ffe-3093-489f-92ac-13ccac9c13bb) - [David Lucas Sr. — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/David_Lucas_Sr.) Campaign Finance ## Campaign Finance Who's funding David Lucas Sr. · 2025–26 cycle Pinned — Industry to Watch Gaming-industry money The relationship worth watching for Lucas is the **coin-operated amusement-machine (COAM) and gaming industry**: three of his top ten reported contributors — Diamond Amusements, Lucky Bucks / Arc Gaming, and Atlanta Game World — are gaming companies. Lucas has been one of the General Assembly’s most persistent advocates for legalizing and expanding casino and electronic gaming in Georgia, including for Macon. The donor breakdown below is consistent with that record. ## Top Contributors Sen. Lucas’s largest reported contributors, from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile). The list is notable for the cluster of coin-operated gaming companies near the top, alongside a craft brewery, rural-broadband money, and individual donors. | # | Contributor | Total | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Retail Services & Systems, Inc. (Bethesda, MD) | $1,500.00 | | 2 | Georgia Solidarity Network, Inc (Atlanta, GA) | $1,500.00 | | 3 | Patel & Duong LLC (Norcross, GA) | $1,440.00 | | 4 | Creature Comforts Brewing Co LLC (Athens, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 5 | Georgia Rural Telephone & Broadband PAC (Atlanta, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 6 | Lucky Bucks LLC DBA ARC Gaming & Technologies LLC (Norcross, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 7 | East West Amusement, LLC (Norcross, GA) | $750.00 | | 8 | Dynamic Gaming, LLC (Norcross, GA) | $750.00 | | 9 | Funtime Amusement Group, Inc. (Norcross, GA) | $750.00 | | 10 | Magnolia Gaming III, LLC (Effingham, IL) | $750.00 | **$22,805** raised · **$74,863** cash on hand — as of **Feb 8, 2026** (GA Ethics latest filing). Source: the Georgia Ethics Commission (Georgia campaign-finance filings). Figures are reported totals for the period shown; this is a top-contributors view, not a full sector breakdown. Georgia does not produce the OpenSecrets-style sector/industry rollups available for federal members. ## Sources - [Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile) — campaign finance](https://peachfile.ethics.ga.gov) - [Georgia Ethics Commission — official filings](https://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Campaign/Campaign_ReportLog.aspx) - [OpenSecrets — Georgia state](https://www.opensecrets.org/states/GA) ## Verification Resources - [Georgia General Assembly — Senate roll-call votes](https://www.legis.ga.gov/votes/senate) - [David Lucas Sr. — official Senate page](https://www.senate.ga.gov/senators/en-US/member.aspx?Member=157) - [David Lucas Sr. — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/David_Lucas_Sr.) - [Open States — Georgia legislators & votes](https://openstates.org/ga/legislators/) - [LegiScan — Georgia legislation](https://legiscan.com/GA) - [Georgia Ethics Commission — campaign finance](https://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Campaign/Campaign_ReportLog.aspx) Vote positions are Sen. Lucas'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. [← All Legislators](https://thegafiles.com/legislators.html)