State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia House of Representatives · District 48

Scott Hilton

Party Republican
In Office 2017–2018; 2023 – present
House Role Member · swing seat
Scope of This Review 2021 – 2026

Scott Hilton, a commercial banker from Peachtree Corners, represents House District 48 (parts of Gwinnett and north Fulton). The seat is a genuine swing district: Hilton first won it in 2016, lost it to a Democrat in 2018, then won it back in 2022. Yet unlike fellow swing-seat Republican Deborah Silcox (HD-53), his record is a near-uniform party line. (He was out of office in 2019, so the Heartbeat Bill is not shown below.)

9 / 9Hilton holds a true swing seat but votes a straight Republican line — YEA on all nine key bills below — a notable contrast with his more independent competitive-district colleague Deborah Silcox.

Methodology. Each vote is Rep. Hilton'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. Hilton'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.

02

Tort Reform

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

03

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

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

04

Gender-Affirming Care Ban (Minors)

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

05

Right to IVF

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

06

State Income Tax Cut

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

07

Property Tax Relief (LHOST)

SB 33 · 2026 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
House vote (Agree to Senate Amend to House Sub), 2026 session — 97–72
Status
Became law (2026 session)
Rep. Hilton'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.

08

Homelessness Enforcement

HB 295 · 2026 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
House vote (Agree to Senate Amend as HAm), 2026 session — 93–76
Status
Became law (2026 session)
Rep. Hilton'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.

09

Medical Cannabis Expansion

SB 220 · 2026 Session
YEA
Floor Vote
House vote (Agree to Senate Amend to House Sub), 2026 session — 144–21
Status
Became law (2026 session)
Rep. Hilton'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.

Constituent Access

Town Halls

Public meetings with constituents · swing HD-48

Hilton engages constituents across Peachtree Corners, Johns Creek, and Roswell through his House office and north-metro civic networks.

Documented Record

  • No fixed open constituent town-hall series surfaced in local press for the review period. Hilton — who also serves on the state's Georgians First small-business commission — engages through the north-metro delegation, business networks, and direct constituent service.

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

Sources

Campaign Finance

Campaign Finance

Who's funding a swing-seat Republican · recent cycles

Pinned — Familiar Names

Autism therapy + family

Hilton’s donors include Apollo Behavior Services (autism / ABA therapy — also a top donor to Sen. Anavitarte and Majority Leader Efstration), the conservative Old Breed PAC, and Meredith Hilton Law, the wills-and-trusts practice owned by the representative’s wife. He shares individual donors (David Howard, Debra Pettinato Ross) with HD-53’s Deborah Silcox.

Top Contributors

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

#ContributorTotal
1Meredith Hilton Law (Peachtree Corners, GA)$6,600.00
2Hilton, Robert (St. Petersburg, FL)$6,500.00
3Hilton, Chris (St. Petersburg, FL)$6,500.00
4Waddell, Tim (Peachtree Corners, GA)$6,000.00
5Old Breed PAC (Hudson, WI)$5,300.00
6Efstration, Chuck (Dacula, GA)$4,600.00
7Hanley, Richard (Peachtree Corners, GA)$4,000.00
8Apollo Behavior (Suwanee, GA)$3,300.00
9Competitive Georgia Action (Atlanta, GA)$3,300.00
10Blue Line Solutions, LLC (Chattanooga, TN)$3,300.00

$296,399 raised · $220,574 cash on hand — as of May 18, 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 Rep. Hilton'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.