There is just one more week of the Legislative Session to go! This week, we had multiple committee days, where we do not meet as a full House, but rather focus on hearing and voting on bills in committee. We’ll have two more committee days next week before Sine Die on Friday.
Votes This Week
SB 123: This bill addresses chronic absenteeism in Georgia’s public schools. The bill would formally define chronic absenteeism as students who missed 10 percent or more of the school year. It would also introduce targeted intervention strategies to boost student attendance, while providing support over punishment for schools and students struggling with absences. I voted yes and this bill passed.
SB 193: This bill authorizes the Technical College System of Georgia to establish the adult workforce high school diploma program. It will both expand access to education for adults who did not previously have it and help emphasize the important role of our technical colleges. I voted yes and this bill passed.
SB 63: This bill allows homeschooled students to take certain exams at the public school in their district. These include PSATs, SATs, ACTs, and AP Exams. I voted yes and this bill passed unanimously.
SB 72: This bill gives terminally ill patients the right to try experimental treatments that have not yet been approved. It also provides protections for doctors who are assisting their patients in these treatments. I voted yes and this bill passed unanimously.
SB 85: This bill provides grants for young adults who were formerly in foster care to help pay for college and post-secondary education. I was happy to vote yes on this bill to increase access to education, and the bill passed.
SB 233: this bill adds members to the Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, extends its sunset, and revises some of its duties. This bill was supported by members of the commission. I voted yes and this bill passed.
SB 180: This bill provides opportunities for apprenticeship sponsors to enter into apprenticeship program contracts with the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia. It also provides funding for these apprenticeships. This expands a program that was previously only available for other types of employment, continuing our commitment to supporting the work of Technical Colleges. I voted yes and this bill passed.
SB 245: This bill gives grandparents who have already been granted legal visitation rights to their grandchildren the right to petition to change those rights in the event that one or more of the children’s parents become incarcerated, incapacitated, or deceased. This protects the rights of grandparents while ensuring that parents’ rights come first. I voted yes on this bill in committee and before the full House, where it passed.
Fighting Against Red Meat Bills
On Tuesday, I joined my colleagues Rep. Shea Roberts, Esther Panitch, and Karla Drenner to hold a press conference highlighting five bills that Republicans are pushing through the Judiciary, Judiciary Non-Civil, and Judiciary Juvenile committees. These are extremist bills that will not serve the people of Georgia. We call on our colleagues of both parties to fight to keep them from passing. These five bills are below.
RFRA, the so-called religious freedom bill. Without a civil rights amendment, this bill gives businesses a license to discriminate. This bill has passed out of committee in the House – see more about that fight below.
SB 61 adds to the list of crimes for which children may be tried as adults. The bill has not yet been heard in committee.
SB 244. This bill is specifically designed to make the taxpayers of Fulton County pay for President Trump’s legal fees in his election subversion case. It has passed through the Senate and out of committee in the House.
HB 441 would define life as beginning at fertilization, banning all abortions, IVF, and many forms of birth control. This bill had a hearing on Wednesday but has not been voted on.
SB 74 could criminalize librarians for doing their jobs. It essentially amounts to a book ban, furthering Republicans’ insistence on focusing on culture war issues instead of the real issues Georgians care about. So far, it has not been heard in committee.
RFRA Updates
While we managed to keep it from passing out of committee last week, Republicans played dirty to bring it back this week. You can see the clips from our hearing last week, where they first mislead us about it coming to a vote and then refused to add civil rights amendments. All of the Democrats were joined by two Republicans to prevent it from passing then.
BUT this week, Republicans on the Judiciary committee called in reinforcements to get enough numbers to force it through. As you can see the clip below, we do not believe they followed proper procedure, but we were unfortunately outnumbered. Like I told the press this week, I would be more than happy to pass this bill with a common-sense amendment to protect civil rights. Without it, however, I remain committed to fighting RFRA if or when it comes to the floor this coming week.
Post-Sine Die Town Hall
We’re coming up on our last town hall of the Session! Join us April 15th for a post-Sine Die discussion and final update on what made it through.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/qYLu70uwQG2lFFl4rJd8sw
Friends Keep Friends Informed
Thank you for staying involved! Now it’s time to bring your friends along with you. You can invite someone to subscribe to this newsletter via our website. You can get in-depth information on current bills, committee meetings, and watch livestreams of session at https://www.legis.ga.gov/.
Your questions, concerns, and needs are important to me. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more updates. All of my constituents are welcome to visit my office at the Capitol. We encourage you to stop by!
My office is located at:
18 Capitol Square, SW
409-D, Coverdell Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Thank you for allowing me to continue to serve you,
