# Karen Bennett (GA House D-94) — Legislator Fact Sheet · The GA Files > Karen Bennett (D, House District 94 — Stone Mountain), who resigned in 2026 and pleaded guilty to pandemic unemployment fraud: her votes, donors, and the case. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/KarenBennett.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia House of Representatives · District 94 # Karen Bennett Party Democrat In Office 2013 – Jan 2026 (resigned) House Role Former member · Stone Mountain Scope of This Review 2019 – 2025 Karen Bennett, a Stone Mountain Democrat, represented House District 94 (DeKalb/Gwinnett) from 2013 until she **resigned effective January 1, 2026** — days before being federally charged with pandemic unemployment fraud, to which she later pleaded guilty (see Scandals, below). While in office she voted with the Democratic minority on the Republican majority's marquee bills. (The 2026-session bills postdate her resignation and the seat was then vacant; they are not shown.) 0 / 7Bennett voted **against the Republican priorities** below through her final (2025) session; she was excused on the bipartisan IVF bill. (Her tenure ended before the 2026-session votes.) **Methodology.** Each vote is Rep. Bennett'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 House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 100–64 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Bennett's 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 House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2025 session — 94–77 Status Became law — Gov. Kemp's signature 2025 priority Rep. Bennett'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 - [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 House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 96–70 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Bennett'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 - [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 House vote (Immediately Transmit), 2023 session — 97–74 Status Became law (2023 session) Rep. Bennett'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 - [LegiScan — SB 140 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB140/2023) 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. Bennett'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 - [LegiScan — HB 481 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB481/2019) 06 ## Right to IVF HB 428 · 2025 Session EXCUSED Floor Vote House vote (Passage), 2025 session — 172–0 Status Became law (2025 session) Rep. Bennett's Vote Excused — did not 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) 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. Bennett'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 - [LegiScan — HB 111 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB111/2025) Constituent Access ## Town Halls Public meetings with constituents · 2013–2026 During her tenure Bennett engaged constituents through the DeKalb County House Legislative Delegation town halls. ## Documented Record - During her tenure Bennett was a member of the **DeKalb County House Legislative Delegation**, which holds pre- and post-session constituent town halls (e.g., the December 17, 2024 pre-session Zoom and April 22, 2025 post-session meeting in Decatur). - Her seat became vacant on her January 1, 2026 resignation, and a **special election was set** to fill House District 94. Bennett resigned on January 1, 2026; this record covers her tenure. State legislators' constituent-event records are thin and locally reported. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below. ## Sources - [Special election set for HD-94; Bennett resigns — OCG News](https://ocgnews.com/special-election-set-to-fill-georgia-house-district-94-seat-karen-bennett-resigns-pleads-guilty-to-pandemic-fraud-charges/) - [Karen Bennett — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Bennett_(politician)) Campaign Finance ## Campaign Finance Who funded Rep. Bennett · while in office Pinned — Committee Now Inactive Resigned January 2026 Bennett resigned her seat on January 1, 2026 ahead of a federal fraud charge (see Scandals). Her campaign committee is inactive; the official itemized filings remain with the Georgia Ethics Commission, linked below. ## Top Contributors Karen Bennett’s largest reported contributors, pulled live from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile). | # | Contributor | Total | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Georgia Reel Industry Professionals, Inc (Atlanta, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 2 | The Georgia Medical Political Action Committee (Atlanta, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 3 | GEORGIA ALLIANCE OF COMM. HOSPITALS, INC. (Tifton, GA) | $750.00 | | 4 | DIRECT TV (FairFax, VA) | $500.00 | | 5 | Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc (Washington, DC) | $500.00 | | 6 | SIDEPRIZE LLC (Atlanta, GA) | $500.00 | | 7 | Direct TV (El Segundo, CA) | $500.00 | | 8 | Amgen (Thousand Oaks, CA) | $350.00 | | 9 | PhRMA (Washington, GA) | $250.00 | **$5,350** raised · **$6,938** cash on hand — as of **Jun 28, 2026** (GA Ethics latest filing). Source: Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile). ## 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) Accountability ## Scandals Reported controversies, charges & ethics matters · past decade January 2026Financial / fraud ### Resigned and pleaded guilty to pandemic unemployment fraud Pleaded guilty (Jan 2026); agreed to repay ~$13,900; prosecutors agreed to seek no prison time. Resigned her seat effective Jan 1, 2026. Rep. Bennett, a Stone Mountain Democrat who served since 2013, resigned her House seat effective January 1, 2026 — days before being charged federally. Prosecutors said she improperly collected roughly $13,900 in federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in 2020 by certifying she could not work due to the pandemic while concealing that she was drawing a steady weekly church paycheck and ran an administrative business from home. She pleaded guilty in January 2026 to making false statements to obtain the benefits and agreed to repay the money; her lawyers said prosecutors would seek no prison time. A special election was set to fill House District 94. She was the second Georgia House Democrat charged in the pandemic-fraud sweep. Sources - [AJC — Bennett resigns from General Assembly](https://www.ajc.com/politics/2026/01/state-rep-karen-bennett-resigns-from-georgia-general-assembly/) - [GA Office of Inspector General — guilty plea](https://oig.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-01-21/former-state-representative-pleads-guilty-pandemic-unemployment-fraud) - [Decaturish — resignation after federal indictment](https://www.decaturish.com/news/beyond_dekalb/state-representative-resigns-after-federal-fraud-indictment/article_4a4c258c-649d-4700-b6da-770f5e25d4c4.html) 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 - [Georgia General Assembly — House roll-call votes](https://www.legis.ga.gov/votes/house) - [Karen Bennett — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Bennett_(politician)) - [Open States — Georgia legislators & votes](https://openstates.org/ga/legislators/) - [Georgia Ethics Commission — campaign finance](https://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Campaign/Campaign_ReportLog.aspx) Vote positions are Rep. Bennett'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)