GOP lawmakers save Kemp from rare threat of a veto override 

by Alander Rocha, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

June 22, 2026

Georgia Republicans on Monday blocked a Democratic attempt to push for what would have been the first vote to override a veto from Gov. Brian Kemp.

Atlanta Democratic state Rep. Stacey Evans called on her colleagues to override one of Kemp’s vetoes on a Republican-sponsored bill. The bill, which passed unanimously out of both chambers earlier this year, would have required funds appropriated to the Department of Human Services and the Department of Community Health for specific purposes to be kept in separate accounts and prohibit the two agencies from using those funds for other purposes.

Kemp, who is serving his final year in office, said in his veto statement last month that the measure “interjects the General Assembly into the operational oversight of executive branch agencies.” The bill was one of a dozen vetoed by the governor this year. 

The Legislature has not exercised its power to override a governor’s veto since 2008, and Evans pitched her motion to override one of Kemp’s vetoes as “a chance to show how the separation of powers works.” The Atlanta Democrat also pointed to specific line items the governor cut from the budget, a common practice that she said was “a blatant attempt to get around our veto override power.”

“We should not stand for it, and we need to make sure that we take the appropriate steps as legislators to ensure that the governor does not get a work around to our appropriation power,” Evans said when she first introduced the motion last week.

During the 2026 regular session, Republicans spoke strongly in the bill’s favor. Cedartown Republican state Rep. Trey Kelley asked in a House committee hearing why other agencies weren’t included in the legislation, saying that “anytime that we as a state can be accountable to our taxpayers for how we’re spending their money is great.” Cataula Republican state Sen. Randy Robertson, who carried the bill in the Senate, echoed those thoughts in the Senate committee hearing.

“I really like your bill. The only thing I don’t like is it doesn’t have every other government agency’s name in it too,” Robertson said.

Lawmakers are meeting for a special session right now mainly to take up an election-related issue they failed to resolve during the regular session earlier this year. Redistricting was also on the table until GOP lawmakers rebuffed Kemp’s call to redraw the state’s political maps at the last minute.

The proposed veto override vote was delayed last week to give the bill’s sponsor, Thomasville Republican Rep. Darlene Taylor, who was absent last week, a chance to weigh in. Taylor thwarted Evans’ attempt by saying that she is “already working with the governor’s office and the agency to implement this legislation, and if it is not fully implemented next year, I will be bringing this legislation back.”

Rep. Matthew Gambill, a Cartersville Republican who serves as one of the governor’s floor leaders in the House, then successfully blocked the attempt to override the veto using a procedural tactic.  

Evans later blasted Republicans after they blocked the move. She said that Democrats may consider additional attempts to override other vetoes while lawmakers are convening for the ongoing special session.

“Democrats are going to continue to stand up and continue to stand up for the priorities that this body set. There are a plethora of things that the governor vetoes that should be overriden,” Evans said at a press conference.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.