# Sam Watson (GA Senate D-11) — Legislator Fact Sheet · The GA Files > Sam Watson (R, Senate District 11 — Moultrie/south Georgia), a Colquitt County farmer and Senate Ethics chair: his votes, constituent access, and donors — a state-level legislator fact sheet. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/SamWatson.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia State Senate · District 11 # Sam Watson Party Republican In Office Senate since 2023 · House 2013–2023 Senate Role Chair, Senate Ethics Committee Scope of This Review 2019 – 2026 Sam Watson, a Colquitt County farmer, represents Senate District 11 around Moultrie in south Georgia and chairs the Senate Ethics Committee. He served a decade in the Georgia House (District 172) before moving to the Senate in 2023, and has voted a uniform Republican line on the bills below. (His 2019 vote on the Heartbeat Bill was cast as a state representative, shown below.) 11 / 11Watson voted **YEA on all eleven** of the key bills below — with the Republican majority every time. **Methodology.** Each vote is Sen. Watson'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. Watson's 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 - [LegiScan — SB 1 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB1/2025) 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. Watson's 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 - [LegiScan — SB 68 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB68/2025) 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. Watson's 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 - [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 YEA Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute), 2023 session — 31–21 Status Became law (2023 session) Sen. Watson's Vote Voted **YEA** — with 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 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. Watson's 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 - [LegiScan — SB 39 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB39/2025) 06 ## Heartbeat Bill (Abortion Ban) HB 481 · 2019 Session YEA 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 Sen. Watson's Vote Voted **YEA** — with the chamber majority, on a party-line vote. Cast as a state representative (House District 172) in 2019. ### 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. Watson'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 - [LegiScan — HB 428 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB428/2025) 08 ## State Income Tax Cut HB 111 · 2025 Session YEA Floor Vote Senate vote (Passage), 2025 session — 30–23 Status Became law (2025 session) Sen. Watson's 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 - [LegiScan — HB 111 bill text, history & roll calls](https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB111/2025) 09 ## 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. Watson's 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 - [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. Watson's 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. Watson's 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 · since 2013 Watson, a working farmer, engages constituents through his Senate office, weekly session columns in the Moultrie Observer, and south-Georgia agricultural networks. ## Documented Record - Watson publishes a weekly **“Under the Gold Dome”** session column in the Moultrie Observer recapping each week of the legislative session for constituents. - No recurring open in-person constituent town-hall series surfaced in local press for the review period. He works through the Colquitt-area delegation and direct constituent service. 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 - [Sam Watson — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Sam_Watson) - [Georgia Senate — member directory](https://www.legis.ga.gov/members/senate) Campaign Finance ## Campaign Finance Who's funding Sen. Watson · recent cycles Pinned — Leadership Money GOP leadership PAC + business Watson’s reported top donor is the **Georgia First Fund**, a Republican leadership PAC — the kind of caucus money that flows to committee chairs — rounded out by a consulting firm and Waste Management. A leadership-aligned profile for the Ethics chair. ## Top Contributors Watson's largest reported contributors from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile). | # | Contributor | Total | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Committee to Expand The Middle Class Candidate Committee (San Rafael, CA) | $6,600.00 | | 2 | Competitive Georgia Action Inc. (Griffin, GA) | $3,300.00 | | 3 | Georgia First Fund Inc. (Fayetteville, GA) | $3,300.00 | | 4 | Civil Justice PAC, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) | $3,000.00 | | 5 | Trulieve GA Inc. (Tallahassee, FL) | $2,500.00 | | 6 | PCI Gaming Authority (Atmore, AL) | $2,000.00 | | 7 | Georgia Solidarity Network, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) | $2,000.00 | | 8 | Unite America (Denver, CO) | $2,000.00 | | 9 | RAI Services Company (Winston Salem, NC) | $1,500.00 | | 10 | Rayonier Operating Company LLC (Yulee, FL) | $1,500.00 | **$252,896** raised · **$174,331** cash on hand — as of **May 6, 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 - [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 ## PPP Loan A COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program loan tied to this person's business Forgiven in full BusinessChill C. Farms, LLC (Moultrie, GA) Loan$47,300 ApprovedApril 2020 The vegetable farm Rep. Watson co-founded and runs took a $47,300 PPP loan, forgiven in February 2021. Sources - [FederalPay — SBA PPP data](https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/ga) The Paycheck Protection Program was a lawful pandemic-relief program; many loans were forgiven under its rules. Figures are from the SBA's public loan data via the source(s) listed. Forgiveness is stated only where the record shows it; a “paid in full” status does not by itself confirm forgiveness. ## Verification Resources - [Georgia General Assembly — Senate roll-call votes](https://www.legis.ga.gov/votes/senate) - [Sam Watson — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Sam_Watson) - [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 Sen. Watson'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)