The GA Files

State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia State Senate · District 7

Nabilah Islam Parkes

Party Democrat
In Office 2023 – 2026 (resigned)
Senate Role Former member · resigned March 2026
Scope of This Review 2023 – 2026

Nabilah Islam Parkes represented Senate District 7 in Gwinnett County — Duluth, Norcross, and Peachtree Corners — from January 2023 until March 13, 2026, when she resigned to campaign full-time in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. Among Georgia's first South-Asian and Muslim women senators, she ran as a progressive and drew national attention after an Islamophobic attack ad. The record below reflects her tenure; the seat was vacant for the late-session 2026 votes, which are therefore not attributed to her. (The 2019 Heartbeat Bill predates her tenure and is not shown.)

1 / 7During her tenure Parkes voted NO on the Republican priorities below and YEA only on the IVF-protection bill. She resigned in March 2026 to run for Lieutenant Governor, so the late-session 2026 votes fell after her seat went vacant.

Methodology. Each vote is Sen. Parkes'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. Parkes' 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

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. Parkes' 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
Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 32–23
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Sen. Parkes' 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
Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2023 session — 31–21
Status
Became law (2023 session)
Sen. Parkes' 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

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. Parkes' 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

06

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. Parkes' 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
Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 30–23
Status
Became law (2025 session)
Sen. Parkes' 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 · 2023–2026

Parkes engaged constituents through her Senate office, the Gwinnett-delegation circuit, and the county's large immigrant and faith communities before stepping down for her statewide run.

Documented Record

  • Gwinnett-county legislators, including Parkes, took part in the county delegation's session town-hall circuit during her tenure. A standalone Parkes-only recurring series is not separately catalogued in local press.
  • Parkes resigned the seat on March 13, 2026 to run for Lieutenant Governor; a special election to fill Senate District 7 was pending as of this review.

State legislators' constituent-event records are thin and locally reported; this section reflects her time in office. Corrections are welcome via the contact link below.

Sources

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance

Who funded Sen. Parkes · recent cycles

Pinned — Resigned to Run Statewide

Individual & grassroots donors

Parkes’s reported Senate donors were a roster of individuals rather than industry PACs. She stepped down in March 2026 to run for Lieutenant Governor; the heavyweight fundraising of that statewide campaign runs through a separate committee not shown here.

Top Contributors

Parkes's largest reported contributors from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile).

#ContributorTotal
1Ahmed, Arif (Cumming, GA)$3,300.00
2Civil Justice PAC (Atlanta, GA)$3,000.00
3Crazee Mario's LLC (Lake Worth, FL)$2,000.00
4E STUBBLEFIELD, RACHEL (Atlanta, GA)$1,250.00
5Neouchy, Khaled (San Jose, CA)$1,250.00
6Chowdhury, Kamal (Atlanta, GA)$1,000.00
7Stripe INC (South San Francisco, CA)$1,000.00
8TM Petroleum INC. (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)$1,000.00
9United Gaming (Stockbridge, GA)$1,000.00

$817,257 raised · $0 cash on hand — as of May 7, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).

Source: the Georgia Ethics Commission (Georgia campaign-finance filings). Reported top donors, not a full sector breakdown; Georgia does not produce OpenSecrets-style sector/industry rollups, and the Georgia Ethics Commission holds the official itemized filings.

Sources

Verification Resources

Vote positions are Sen. Parkes'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