The GA Files

State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia House of Representatives · District 177

Dexter Sharper

Party Democrat
In Office 2013 – 2026
House Role Former member · Valdosta
Scope of This Review 2019 – 2026

Dexter Sharper of Valdosta was the Democratic voice of the Lowndes County delegation, representing House District 177 from 2013 until his resignation in March 2026. He stepped down after being charged with fraud connected to COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits; the seat is being filled in a 2026 special election. His recorded votes below cover his time in office through 2025 (the 2026-session bills, cast after the seat was vacated, are not his).

2 / 7Sharper generally voted the Democratic line — but he crossed his party to vote YES on the Riley Gaines Act (the transgender-sports ban), a notable break, while opposing the other Republican priorities and supporting the bipartisan IVF bill.

Methodology. Each vote is Rep. Sharper'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
YEA
Floor Vote
House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 100–64
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Sharper's Vote
Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. A crossover: one of the few Democrats to back the transgender-sports ban.

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

02

Tort Reform

SB 68 · 2025 Session
NAY
Floor Vote
House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2025 session — 94–77
Status
Became law — Gov. Kemp's signature 2025 priority
Rep. Sharper's 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

03

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

SB 36 · 2025 Session
NAY
Floor Vote
House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 96–70
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Sharper's 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

04

Gender-Affirming Care Ban (Minors)

SB 140 · 2023 Session
NAY
Floor Vote
House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2023 session — 97–74
Status
Became law (2023 session)
Rep. Sharper's 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

05

Heartbeat Bill (Abortion Ban)

HB 481 · 2019 Session
NAY
Floor Vote
House vote (Agree to Senate Substitute), 2019 session — 92–78
Status
Became law (2019); took effect in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
Rep. Sharper's 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

06

Right to IVF

HB 428 · 2025 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 172–0
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Sharper'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

07

State Income Tax Cut

HB 111 · 2025 Session
NAY
Floor Vote
House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 110–60
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Rep. Sharper's 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

Constituent Access

Town Halls

Public meetings with constituents · 2013–2026

Sharper represented Valdosta for more than a decade as the Lowndes delegation's lone Democrat before his 2026 resignation.

Documented Record

  • No recurring open legislative town-hall series in the review period is documented in local press. Sharper was the long-serving Democratic member of the Valdosta-area delegation until he resigned in 2026.

State legislators' constituent-event records are thin and locally reported. This page documents the record of a member who has since left office; the District 177 seat is being filled in a 2026 special election.

Sources

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance

Campaign finance · a modest committee

Pinned — Resigned Under a Fraud Charge

Stepped down in 2026

Sharper resigned from the Georgia House in March 2026 after being charged with fraud related to COVID-19 pandemic unemployment funds — among the most serious marks against any legislator documented on this site. His District 177 seat is being filled in a 2026 special election. (See sources.)

Top Contributors

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

#ContributorTotal
1Publix Supermarkets (Lakeland, FL)$500.00
2Food Industry For Good Government (Smyrna, GA)$300.00
3Georgia manufacturers PAC (Atlanta, GA)$250.00
4Georgia Amusement & Music Operators Association PAC (Braselton, GA)$250.00

$2,600 raised · $8,821 cash on hand — as of Jun 28, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).

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

Sources

Accountability

Scandals

Reported controversies, charges & ethics matters · past decade

March 2026Criminal — fraud

Pleaded guilty to pandemic unemployment fraud; resigned

Pleaded guilty; resigned from office

Sharper resigned his House seat on March 9, 2026, days before pleading guilty to federal fraud charges. Prosecutors said he collected $13,825 in emergency pandemic unemployment assistance he was not entitled to, making false statements while still earning income from other work.

Sources

Each item is drawn from published reporting or official records, with sources listed. Where a matter was dismissed, settled, withdrawn, or remains pending, that disposition is noted; allegations are identified as such, and inclusion does not imply a finding of guilt. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below.

Verification Resources

Vote positions are Rep. Sharper'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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