Gambling:

A second gambling bill has been introduced at the Georgia General Assembly. SB 208 would provide for the regulation and taxation of sports betting in Georgia. Status: Introduced and referred to the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.

SR 131 was introduced earlier this session and would legalize sports betting and casino gambling in Georgia by changing Georgia’s Constitution. It would also create a gaming commission to tax and regulate sports betting and casinos. Because it is a constitutional amendment, it must pass by a 2/3 majority in both the House and Senate and then get approved by Georgia voters. Status: Introduced and referred to the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.

Please contact your legislators in the state House and state Senate and ask for a “NO” vote on sports betting and casino gambling. We created the video below to explain our position on gambling along with additional resources.

Religious Liberty:

Senate Bill 36 — Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act — This bill mirrors the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Put simply, this law would give Georgians their “day in court” to challenge the government if their local or state government infringed on their religious beliefs. Status: Introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Citizen Impact has a webpage dedicated to RFRA. We encourage you to review that page here.

Other bills we are tracking:

• HB 350 is a new bill that would make it legal to install Newborn Safety Devices in the walls of medical facilities, police stations, fire stations, or ambulance services so that a mother can anonymously surrender her newborn baby (under 30 days old) to a safe place. The boxes would alert the staff that a baby was in it and the newborn would be immediately transported to a medical facility for treatment. Status: Passed out of committee on 2/20. Next stop is Rules Committee and then the full House.
• SB 30 would prohibit hospitals and other medical facilities from prescribing or administering, sex reassignment surgery; hormone therapy; or puberty blocking medications, for minors, including those suffering from gender dysphoria. Status: Introduced on 2/18.
• SB 39 would prohibit state health benefit plans or state funds in general from being used for gender-affirming care. Additionally, it would prohibit state operated healthcare facilities AND healthcare providers employed by the state from providing gender-affirming care. Status: Passed by the Senate on 2/11. The bill was sent to the House to be reviewed in the House Health Committee.
• SB 1 would prohibit biological males from participating in female sports in Georgia school systems. In the bill, female is defined as someone who has, had, will have, or except in “cases of genetic anomaly or historical incident” would be able to become pregnant or give birth. Status: Passed in the full Senate on 2/7. The bill was sent to the House to be reviewed in the House Education Committee.
• HB 267, the Riley Gaines Act, is a House bill similar to SB 1. It also defines male and female according to a person’s reproductive system. The bill prohibits biological males from playing in female sports or entering girl’s locker rooms and restrooms and vice versa. Status: Passed out of the House Education Committee. The next step is the Rules Committee and then a full vote in the House.
• SB 9 would prohibit creating and/or distributing obscene images of children using artificial intelligence. HB 171 is a similar bill that was introduced in the House. Status: Passed out of Senate Judiciary Committee on 2/7. After the Rules committee puts in on the Senate calendar, it must be voted on in the full Senate before being sent over to the House.
• SB 74 would repeal a previous exemption which protected libraries and librarians from liability for providing obscene materials to minors. Status: Introduced on 2/3.
• HB 328 deals with the “Qualified Education Tax Credit” used by so many of our schools. This bill would increase the annual aggregate cap on available tax credits from $120 million to $200 million and double the amount of time that donors have to submit their donation (from 60 days to 120 days). Status: Introduced on 2/6.

The following information is also good to share with your legislators.

**Please use these resources to help fight against the expansion of state-sponsored gambling:

• Fact Sheet – bad bet on expanding sports gambling
• Gambling – You Pay Whether or Not You Play
• Costs of Gambling
• The ABCs of Gambling
• Helpful article on how gambling targets our children – “Online betting comes for kids“