A new bill in the Georgia legislature would, if passed, make school librarians liable for distribution of obscene materials to students, the latest shot in the ongoing culture wars over controversial materials in schools.
The bill, SB 154, would mandate that the “sale or distribution of harmful materials to minors” would be “applicable to libraries operated by schools.”
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Georgia Democrats are planning to introduce a series of gun control legislation for lawmakers to consider during the next legislative session.
Among the proposed legislation is a measure to prohibit supplying a semiautomatic assault weapon to anyone under the age of 21 years.
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Public records indicate Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams sponsored legislation when she was the Georgia House minority leader that was related to her private business interests. The legislation Abrams sponsored in 2015 – with four other Republicans – addressed taxes paid on debt that was not collected.
At the time the legislation was under consideration, Abrams was senior vice president at a company called NOWaccount, according to an archive of the company’s website.
Abrams had started NOWaccount in 2010 with two business partners. The company charged fees to small business for accepting the task of collecting the businesses outstanding receivables.
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Georgia lawmakers approved legislation they say would eliminate so-called “free speech zones” on college campuses.
House Bill 1, the Forming Open and Robust University Minds (FORUM) Act, ostensibly aims to protect free speech rights anywhere on a college campus, not just in a designated area. It now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, for his signature.
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Legislation to legalize horse race betting again has been introduced in the Georgia Legislature.
Similar bills have been pushed in Georgia over the past three years after the federal government lifted a federal ban on sports betting outside of Nevada in 2018.
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The Georgia General Assembly has approved a $27.2 billion spending plan for the 2022 fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The Senate and House agreed to spend more money on health care, education, transportation, state positions, internet access and economic initiatives.
The House approved the measure, 148-21, late Wednesday night after it cleared the Senate unanimously, 52-0. Lawmakers now must send the proposal for state spending through June 30, 2022, to Gov. Brian Kemp for consideration.
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A bill that would extend the length of time Georgia businesses are protected from certain COVID-19-related lawsuits cleared the Senate on Wednesday.
The Senate voted, 36-17, in favor of House Bill 112, which extends the applicability of the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act by a year, from July 14, 2021, to July 14, 2022.
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As early in-person voting began Monday, December 14, for the general election run-off of two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia, significant changes for absentee ballot signature verification and drop boxes put into place by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the State Election Board without the state legislature’s approval are still in place.
Meanwhile, registered voters “mailing” an absentee ballot for the general election run-off for the federal offices started more than three weeks ago on November 18, according to Georgia’s election calendar.
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The Georgia legislature may not call a special session – but the decision wouldn’t be for a lack of doubt in election integrity.
In an interview with The Georgia Star News, State Representative Colton Moore (R-Trenton) shared that legislators are gun-shy about calling a special session to address the general and runoff elections.
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