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Georgia House set to vote on $32.5B 2024 spending plan, adding millions for law enforcement
House lawmakers are set to vote Thursday on a spending plan for next year that includes additional salary bumps for hard-to-fill state jobs and more money for law enforcement and behavioral health services. The proposed $32.5 billion budget cleared the committee hurdle Wednesday and is scheduled to go before the full chamber Thursday. From there, […]
Crossover Day wrap: Flurry of bills passed at pivotal deadline
Dozens of bills cleared a key legislative deadline Monday, with some controversial measures – like a ban on some gender-affirming care – squeaking by as the clock wound down. And in the House, it was notable what didn’t come up for a vote at all: sports betting. The bill likely represented the last shot this […]
School vouchers, election laws, gender-affirming care on agenda as lawmakers race to beat the clock
It’s crunch time under the Gold Dome. After a slow start, lawmakers have shifted gears in the ramp up to a key legislative deadline Monday, when a bill must clear at least one chamber to have the smoothest path to the governor’s desk. Lawmakers will weigh in on dozens of bills in a marathon day […]
New anti-abortion bills, gun safety legislation among long-shots as lawmakers reach key deadline
They can’t all be winners. Monday is Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to move from one chamber to the other without extreme legislative maneuvering. Many measures will be left in the dust when time runs out, despite the earnest efforts of politicians, advocates and lobbyists. Other bills – like proposals for more abortion restrictions […]
Georgia Senate next stop for House bill that aims to expand access to mental health services
A proposal billed as the next step toward improving access to behavioral health services in Georgia easily cleared the state House Thursday. The bipartisan measure would streamline data sharing among state agencies, study the state’s crisis bed space capacity and expand a loan repayment program meant to grow the behavioral health workforce. “We know that […]
Attacks on power substations elsewhere spur Georgia House to stiffen penalties for infrastructure sabotage
House lawmakers have approved extra prison time for anyone who intentionally attacks – physically or electronically – a utility substation or any other “vital public service.” The bill, sponsored by Elberton Republican Rep. Rob Leverett, could mean as much as an additional 10 years in prison if a prosecutor can prove the attack was carried […]
Stiffer penalties for violent protests on the march after Georgia House passes GOP bills
State House lawmakers passed a pair of GOP bills targeting demonstrators who resort to violent tactics when protesting, but opponents decried the tough-on-crime measures as unnecessary and wrong-headed. One of the proposals would make it a felony to riot and add rioting to the list of offenses where bail must be set by a superior […]
Bill to raise age of defendants assigned to juvenile courts passes Georgia House panel
A House panel signed off on a bipartisan plan Tuesday to divert some 17-year-old defendants to the state’s juvenile court system, backing the bill over the objections of Georgia sheriffs. Georgia is currently one of three states where 17-year-olds accused of a crime are adjudicated alongside adults in state superior court. The bill’s sponsor, Canton […]
Proposed Georgia House mental health reforms aim to increase access to beds, caregivers
A bipartisan group of lawmakers intends to build on last year’s major behavioral health bill with another wide-ranging measure that advocates celebrated as proof of sustained energy behind efforts to improve access to care in Georgia. The 51-page bill – HB 520 – was filed Tuesday and boosted by House Speaker Jon Burns at a […]
Republican state lawmaker renews effort to divert 17-year-olds to juvenile court system
Georgia is one of three states where a 17-year-old who is accused of a crime stands for trial alongside adults in state superior court. A bipartisan proposal would instead send many of these older teens to juvenile court, where Rep. Mandi Ballinger argues they should be – and where she says many people likely already […]
New commission, pay hike for caregivers proposed to help Georgians with disabilities
Lisa Newbern dreads her son Griffin’s 18th birthday in three years, when he will no longer qualify for services for young people with disabilities. Her son, who has Down Syndrome, will apply for government-funded services meant to keep people out of institutional settings. But Georgia’s pace of funding new slots has not left her feeling […]
State lawmaker’s revival of Georgia ‘religious freedom’ legislation sparks civil rights concerns
A new push for greater religious protections in Georgia has revived one of the most bitterly debated measures under the Gold Dome and renewed calls for a state-level nondiscrimination law. State Sen. Ed Setzler, an Acworth Republican who sponsored the state’s 2019 abortion law, has filed a bill that would extend federal protections passed in […]