Georgia Gov Kemp signs bill banning inmate transgender treatment at taxpayer expense

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill Thursday that prohibits state funds from being used for inmate transgender care.

"Taxpayer dollars should not be used for procedures like this," Kemp said before signing the bill at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.

The state is facing two lawsuits from inmates over transgender treatments. Ronnie Fuller, housed in Pulaski State Prison, is asking the state to pay for a mastectomy. Fuller is a female who identified as a male, according to a document filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department filed a statement of interest in the case of Jane Doe vs. the Georgia Department of Corrections but withdrew its statement last month. The department filed a statement in the Fuller case, according to a release.

“The prior administration’s arguments in transgender inmate cases were based on junk science,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement. "There has never been an Eighth Amendment right for inmates to demand elective and experimental surgeries. States’ limited resources need not be wasted to provide these dubious surgeries to inmates."

Kemp signed five other bills, including one that would improve the state's 911 communication centers by transitioning it to Next-Generation 911. The amended fiscal year 2025 budget included $5 million for the project.

"Once complete, this system will improve both response times and the impact of our first responders," Kemp said. "And that means safer, healthier communities literally in every corner of our state."