Senate bill banning state funding for gender‑affirming care for some patients passes committee after tie vote

Senate Bill 39, which would prevent state taxpayer funds from paying for gender‑affirming surgeries and hormone treatment when that care differs from the patient’s sex assigned at birth, passed the Appropriations Committee after a tie vote broken by the chair.

Senator Burt Tillery, presenting the bill, told the committee the measure would limit State Health Benefit Plan coverage for gender‑affirming care. "What it states is that the Georgia taxpayer funds will not be used for transgender surgeries and care," Tillery said, and described an amendment that reorganizes and narrows parts of the bill.

Committee members asked detailed medical and legal questions. Representative Jennifer Clark and others pressed the sponsor on definitions in the bill and on why the draft specifically referenced partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) rather than the broader category of androgen-insensitivity conditions; Clark said many people do not learn of such conditions until later in life and asked how the bill would affect their access to care. The sponsor replied that the bill aims…