The Georgia Senate is advancing sports betting by way of a Constitution Amendment, which requires two pieces of legislation. Senate Bill 386 details how the legislation will operate (licensing, taxing, enforcement, etc.) Senate Resolution 579 is the companion piece of legislation which allows for the voters of Georgia to change our state constitution to allow sports betting. 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: SB 386 passed the full Senate on Feb. 1 and is in a House committee. SR 579 passed a Senate committee on Feb. 15 and will now go to the full Senate.

Please contact your state Senate and House member and ask for a “NO” vote on sports betting (and all other gambling legislation).

We created the video below to explain our position on gambling (not SB 386 specifically).

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“

Other bills we are tracking, including the religious liberty bill (listed at the bottom to include resources):

• Senate Bill 88 — Parents and Children Protection Act of 2023 — Prohibits an adult who is acting “in place of parents” (e.g., teachers, counselors, social workers) from discussing “information of a sensitive nature” (e.g., sex education, a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity) with a minor without the written permission of parents. Although it is well-intentioned and seeks to protect parents and students, we are opposing this bill because it would apply to private schools. The government should not have a say in what our private schools teach. Status: Passed Senate committee on Feb. 15, 2024 with the next step a full vote in the Senate.
• Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act (SB 351) is a good effort to protect children from addictive behavior on social media, requiring parental consent on social media accounts for children under 16. Status: Passed Senate committee on Feb. 15, 2024 with the next step a full vote in the Senate.
• Senate Bill 394 — Restricting Explicit and Adult-designated Educational Resources (READER) Act — This legislation would require the State Board of Education and local school boards to work together to keep books that contain material defined as “sexually explicit,” “restricted materials,” or “harmful to minors” out of public school libraries. Status: Passed committee in the Senate on Feb. 22, 2024 with the next step a full vote in the Senate.
• SB 466 is an important bill which updates the laws restricting child pornography to allow law enforcement to prosecute those who use digitally altered images, including CGI and AI, to create images that would otherwise be illegal. Status: Passed Senate committee on Feb. 22, 2024 with the next step a full vote in the Senate.
• HB 910 requires websites with obscene images to implement age-verification technology or face the possibility of civil penalties. Status: Passed the House Judiciary committee on Feb. 21, 2024 and must now go to the full House for a vote.

School Choice Bills

• House Bill 101 — Qualified Education Tax Credit — The bill would increased the annual aggregate cap on available tax credits by ten million dollars (from $120 million to $130 million). Status: Passed the House in 2023 and is now in a Senate committee.
• Senate Bill 233 — The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act — Creates an “Educational Savings Account” for parents to access up to $6,500.00 for their child’s qualified education expenses (e.g., private school tuition, tutoring services, curriculum). Current private school and home-school students are not eligible. Eligible students would be those in a “failing” public school (meaning the lowest-performing 25% in the state). We were able to strengthen the bill’s religious freedom language in 2023. Status: Passed the Senate but failed in the House in 2023. However, this legislation is still viable in 2024.

Religious Freedom Bills

• The PRAISE Act (HB 925) requires the government to treat houses of worship equitably during states of emergency. Status: Passed the House on Feb. 13, 2024 and is now in the Senate.
• Senate Bill 180 — 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: Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22, 2024 and will now go to the full Senate for a vote.

Please use these resources to help protect religious liberty:

• RFRA Fact Sheet