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.
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
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
— Awards:
— Father's Name:
— Father's Occupation:
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
Type: resolution Chamber: upper
Type: resolution Chamber: upper
Type: resolution Chamber: upper