# Steve Gooch (GA Senate D-51) — Legislator Fact Sheet · The GA Files > Steve Gooch (R, Senate District 51 — Dahlonega), the former Senate Majority Leader running for Lieutenant Governor: his votes, constituent access, and donors — a state-level legislator fact sheet. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/SteveGooch.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- State Level Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia State Senate · District 51 # Steve Gooch Party Republican In Office 2011 – present Senate Role Former Majority Leader · 2026 Lt. Governor candidate Scope of This Review 2019 – 2026 Steve Gooch, a Dahlonega Republican, represents Senate District 51 across the north-Georgia mountains and has served since 2011. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2023 to 2025 — the chamber's chief vote-counter and floor strategist — and is running for Lieutenant Governor in 2026. He has voted a near-uniform Republican line below, breaking only to oppose the medical-cannabis expansion. 10 / 11Gooch voted **YEA on ten of eleven** key bills with the Republican majority, breaking only with a **NO on the medical-cannabis expansion (SB 220)**. **Methodology.** Each vote is Sen. Gooch'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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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 Senate vote (Passage by Substitute), 2019 session — 34–18 Status Became law (2019); took effect in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade Sen. Gooch's Vote Voted **YEA** — with 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) 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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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. Gooch'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 NAY Floor Vote Senate vote (Agree to House Substitute as Amended), 2026 session — 38–14 Status Became law (2026 session) Sen. Gooch's Vote Voted **NAY** — against the chamber majority, on a bipartisan vote. Gooch voted NO on expanding medical-cannabis access. ### 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 2011 Gooch engages constituents through his Senate office and north-Georgia civic networks, and — as a 2026 Lieutenant Governor candidate — through statewide campaign appearances. ## Documented Record - No recurring open constituent town-hall series tied to the Senate seat surfaced in local press for the review period. As former Majority Leader, Gooch's public schedule centered on floor leadership; he works the north-Georgia delegation and direct constituent service. - As a **2026 candidate for Lieutenant Governor**, Gooch now appears widely at Republican forums and campaign events statewide. 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 - [Steve Gooch — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Steve_Gooch) - [Steve Gooch — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Gooch) Campaign Finance ## Campaign Finance Who's funding Sen. Gooch · recent cycles Pinned — Leader’s Money Farm Bureau + statewide business As former Majority Leader and a Lieutenant Governor candidate, Gooch draws statewide business money — the Farm Bureau impact fund, a global staffing firm, and the Enterprise rental-car PAC — the donor base of a senator building a statewide campaign. ## Top Contributors Gooch's largest reported contributors from the Georgia Ethics Commission (PeachFile). | # | Contributor | Total | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Apollo Behavior Services LLC (Suwanee, GA) | $3,300.00 | | 2 | The GEO Group INC. (Boca Raton, FL) | $2,500.00 | | 3 | Georgia Solidarity Network (Atlanta, GA) | $2,000.00 | | 4 | Georgia Food Industry Association (Smyrna, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 5 | Robbins Government Relations (Atlanta, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 6 | Delta Air Lines Georgia (Atlanta, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 7 | Lyft Inc (San Francisco, CA) | $1,000.00 | | 8 | Veteran's Memorial Coalition, Inc. (Gainesville, GA) | $1,000.00 | | 9 | Publix Super Markets, Inc. (Lakeland, FL) | $1,000.00 | | 10 | Bulldog Gaming LLC (Bolingbrook, IL) | $1,000.00 | **$17,800** raised · **$210,389** cash on hand — as of **May 5, 2026** (GA Ethics latest filing). Source: the Georgia Ethics Commission (Georgia campaign-finance filings). His Senate committee, not the separate Lieutenant Governor campaign committee. 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) ## Verification Resources - [Georgia General Assembly — Senate roll-call votes](https://www.legis.ga.gov/votes/senate) - [Steve Gooch — Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Steve_Gooch) - [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. Gooch'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)