Share on WeChat
https://www.powervoter.us:443/william_ligon%2c_jr
Copy the link and open WeChat to share.
 Share on WeChat
Copy the link and open WeChat to share.
 Share on WeChat
Scan QRCode using WeChat,and then click the icon at the top-right corner of your screen.
 Share on WeChat
Scan QRCode using WeChat,and then click the icon at the top-right corner of your screen.
Quick Facts
Personal Details

William T. Ligon, Jr. is a Republican member of the Georgia State Senate, representing District 3. He was first elected to the chamber in 2010. He has served as State Senate Majority Caucus Leader.

Ligon earned his B.S. from Valdosta State College and his J.D. from Mercer University School of Law. His professional experience includes working as the senior partner at the firm of Ligon, Middleton and Lindberg, P.C., and as a municipal court judge for the city of Brunswick.

Education

  • Bachelors, Valdosta State College
  • JD, Mercer University School of Law

Professional Experience

  • Bachelors, Valdosta State College
  • JD, Mercer University School of Law
  • Senior Partner, Ligon, Lindberg and Laier, Professional Corporation, 1993-present

Political Experience

  • Bachelors, Valdosta State College
  • JD, Mercer University School of Law
  • Senior Partner, Ligon, Lindberg and Laier, Professional Corporation, 1993-present
  • Senator, Georgia State Senate, District 3, 2010-present
  • Former Special Master, United States District Court, Southern District of Georgia
  • Candidate, Georgia State Senate, District 3, 2018
  • Majority Caucus Chair, Georgia State Senate, 2015-2017
  • Municipal Court Judge, City of Brunswick, 1997-2009

Former Committees/Caucuses

Member, Jekyll Island Legislative Oversight Committee, present

Former Vice Chair, Education & Youth Committee, Georgia State Senate

Member, Georgia State Senate Appropriations Committee

Chair, Georgia State Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee

Former Vice-Chair, Georgia State Senate Education Committee

Vice Chair, Georgia State Senate Ethics Committee

Member, Georgia State Senate Health and Human Services Committee

Member, Georgia State Senate Judiciary Committee

Former Member, Georgia State Senate Public Safety Committee

Member, Georgia State Senate Reapportionment Committee

Former Chair, Georgia State Senate State and Local Governmental Operations Committee

Former Vice Chair, Judiciary - Non-Civil Committee, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Rules Committee, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Subcommittee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Subcommittee on Higher Education, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Subcommittee on Judicial, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Georgia State Senate

Former Member, Subcommittee on Pharmacology, Georgia State Senate

Current Legislative Committees

Member, Appropriations

Chair, Banking and Financial Institutions

Vice Chair, Ethics

Member, Health and Human Services

Member, Judiciary

Vice Chair, Reapportionment and Redistricting

Member, Science and Technology

Member, Subcommittee on Judiciary Group B

Member, Subcommittee on Technology and Education

Religious, Civic, and other Memberships

  • Bachelors, Valdosta State College
  • JD, Mercer University School of Law
  • Senior Partner, Ligon, Lindberg and Laier, Professional Corporation, 1993-present
  • Senator, Georgia State Senate, District 3, 2010-present
  • Former Special Master, United States District Court, Southern District of Georgia
  • Candidate, Georgia State Senate, District 3, 2018
  • Majority Caucus Chair, Georgia State Senate, 2015-2017
  • Municipal Court Judge, City of Brunswick, 1997-2009
  • Member, Christian Renewal Brunswick, present
  • Member, Coastal Georgia Gun Club, present
  • Member, Gideons International, present
  • Board Member, Maranatha Faith Ministries, Incorporated, present
  • Former Chair, Glynn County Young Republicans
  • Member, National Rifle Association, present
  • Former Intern, United States Senator Mack Mattingly

Other Info

— Awards:

  • The Rising Star Award from the Georgia Republican Assembly, the Defender of Liberty Award from the American Conservative Union, Legislator of the Year Award from Green Law as part of the Environmental Heroes Celebration, the Clean Water Champion Award from the Georgia Water Coalition, and a 100% Voting Record from the National Federation of Independent Business

  • Bill

  • Senior Pastor, Christian Renewal Brunswick

Favorite Book:

Wall Street Journal; WORLD Magazine; Field & Stream; American Rifleman

Favorite Quote:

"The rights of the colonists...may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of The Great Law Giver..." -Samuel Adams

Favorite Type of Music:

String Rays; Backbeat Boulevard; Gospel Music; Bluegrass Music

Hobbies or Special Talents:

Hunting; Hiking; Camping

Spouse's Occupation:

Former Public School Teacher

Policy Positions

Georgia State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test

Abortion and Reproductive

1. Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
- Pro-life

2. Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Should it be illegal to knowingly perform an abortion that is based on race, color, or gender discrimination?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

7. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

8. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- No

9. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- Yes

10. Other or expanded principles
- Life issues no longer just concern the unborn. We must also work to protect the sanctity of life for the elderly and handicapped.

Budget, Spending, and Tax

State Spending

Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.

1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Decrease

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Decrease

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Slightly Decrease

5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

State Taxes

Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease

6. Sales taxes
- Slightly Increase

7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

8. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

Budget Stabilization

Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Georgia's budget.

1. Tapping into Georgia's "rainy day" fund
- No

2. Increasing taxes on health insurance plans
- No

3. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- Yes

4. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- Yes

5. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- Yes

6. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

7. Privatizing certain government services
- Yes

8. Selling Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) loans to private investors
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No

6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime and Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized?
- No

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

5. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- No

6. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Economic

1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

2. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- No

3. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No

4. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

5. Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- No

6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

1. Do you support national education standards?
- No

2. Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams?
- No

3. Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

5. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

6. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Georgia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment and Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- No

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No

3. Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops?
- No

4. Do you support state funding for improvements to Georgia's energy infrastructure?
- No

5. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- No

6. Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

2. Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No

3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- In regard to question a, my answer means that I support restrictions only for felons or someone who is under a restraining order to prevent acts of violence against another.

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes

4. Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance?
- No

5. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

6. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Georgia?
- No

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

1. Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
- Yes

2. Should Georgia allow same-sex couples to form civil unions?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for stem cell research?
- No

4. Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- No

5. Do you support the state's use of affirmative action?
- No

6. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Georgia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

7. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Georgia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- No Answer

State Bills