The GA Files

State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia State Senate · District 49

Drew Echols

Party Republican
In Office 2025 – present
Senate Role Chair, Economic Development & Tourism
Scope of This Review 2025 – 2026

Drew Echols, an Alto Republican and co-owner of the family-run Jaemor Farms, represents Senate District 49 in Hall County and took office in January 2025. He succeeded his wife, Sen. Shelly Echols, after qualifying for the seat in her place in March 2024 and winning the Republican primary over Josh Clark, 52.7% to 47.3%. A former president of the Hall County Farm Bureau and the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, he served as Gov. Brian Kemp's Senate floor leader in 2025 and has chaired the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee since January 2026. He was unopposed in the May 2026 Republican primary and faces Democrat William Wallace in November.

—Echols voted YEA on all nine key bills below that reached a Senate vote during his tenure — with the Republican majority every time. (SB 140 and the 2019 abortion ban predate his term.)

Methodology. Each vote is Sen. Echols'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
Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2025 session — 34–20
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Sen. Echols' 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

02

Tort Reform

SB 68 · 2025 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2025 session — 34–21
Status
Became law — Gov. Kemp's signature 2025 priority
Sen. Echols' 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

03

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

SB 36 · 2025 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 32–23
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Sen. Echols' 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

04

Gender-Affirming Care Funding Ban

SB 39 · 2025 Session
YEA
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. Echols' Vote
Voted YEA — with 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

05

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. Echols' 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

06

State Income Tax Cut

HB 111 · 2025 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 30–23
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Sen. Echols' 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

07

Property Tax Relief (LHOST)

SB 33 · 2026 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute as Amended), 2026 session — 32–21
Status
Became law (2026 session)
Sen. Echols' 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

08

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. Echols' 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

09

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. Echols' Vote
Voted YEA — with the chamber majority, on a bipartisan vote. Final passage, March 18, 2026. On the bill's first Senate passage (March 6, 2025) he voted NO.

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

Constituent Access

Town Halls

Public meetings with constituents · since 2025

Echols meets constituents mainly through Hall County Chamber events and delegation forums rather than a town-hall series of his own.

Documented Record

  • December 11, 2025 — joined the Hall County legislative delegation at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues breakfast at Lanier Technical College, discussing tax reform and transportation.
  • January 11, 2026 — published an open letter to Senate District 49 residents ahead of the legislative session.
  • January 23, 2026 — re-formed the Lake Lanier Caucus with Rep. Matt Dubnik in response to constituent complaints about taste and odor in Lake Lanier drinking water.
  • May 20, 2026 — told a Greater Hall Chamber meeting that a $2 million Lake Lanier water study had been cut from the FY2027 state budget.
  • No recurring open town-hall series of his own is documented in local press as of September 2026.

State legislators' constituent-event records are thin and locally reported; this section will be expanded as more events are documented. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below.

Sources

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance

Who funds Sen. Echols · 2026

Top Contributors

Committee filer: Echols, Jarred D. $200,956 raised, $112,513 spent, $107,323 cash on hand. His largest donors include his wife's former Senate committee, a residential land-development PAC, a Gainesville poultry processor and fellow Senate Republicans' committees.

#ContributorTotal
1Keith Cook (Flowery Branch, GA)$6,600.00
2Friends of Shelly Echols (Alto, GA — his wife's former Senate committee)$6,600.00
3Georgia Residential Land Development PAC (Atlanta, GA)$5,300.00
4Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc. (Gainesville, GA)$4,000.00
5Metro Atlanta Chamber PAC (MACPAC) (Atlanta, GA)$3,500.00
6The Law Offices of Blake A. Poole LLC (Gainesville, GA)$3,500.00
7Georgia Republican Senatorial Committee (Roswell, GA)$3,300.00
8Larry Walker for State Senate (Senate President Pro Tem's committee)$3,300.00
9Conditioned Air Systems Inc. (Gainesville, GA)$3,300.00
10Walters Management (Gainesville, GA)$3,300.00

Source: The GA Files' tally of primary Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile) records, cycle-to-date as of September 14, 2026. Donor rows come from the commission's top-contributor summary. Corrections are welcome.

Sources

Verification Resources

Vote positions are Sen. Echols'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 top reported contributors via Transparency USA; Georgia does not produce OpenSecrets-style sector/industry rollups, and the Georgia Ethics Commission holds the official itemized filings.

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