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 a local or state law restricting the free exercise of religion and make their local or state government prove why it is necessary for them to infringe on Georgians’ religious beliefs. Status: Passed in the Senate on 3/4. A “clean” RFRA (one without any amendments passed through the House Judiciary Committee on 3/27. The next step is passing the House Rules Committee before going to a full vote in the House.

It is vital that Georgia Christians stay active on this issue, and Citizen Impact has a webpage dedicated to RFRA. We encourage you to review that page here to find out how you can be involved.

Gambling:

A committee to study gambling was introduced in the House on 3/21. This study committee would help determine, in meetings during the next several months, “how legalization of gaming…would contribute to the economy and workforce development of this state as to revenue expectations and quality of jobs being available when weighed against what social and societal ills may come to Georgia…if gaming is approved by the citizens of this state.”

HR 450 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize sports betting in Georgia by changing Georgia’s Constitution. Because it is a constitutional amendment, it must pass by a 2/3 majority in both the House and Senate and then be voted on by Georgia citizens. Status: Did not pass by Crossover Day (3/6).

HB 686 is the enabling legislation for HR 450 which means it contains the detailed information on how the law is carried out. Status: Did not pass by Crossover Day (3/6).

A bill that doesn’t pass out (get approved) of its originating chamber by Crossover Day usually means that the bill will have to wait until the next year to be considered again. However, this issue will not go away easily and we will continue to monitor all gambling legislation (these bills could be added to a bill that was passed in time for Crossover Day).

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

Other bills we are tracking:

• SB 30 would prohibit hospitals and other medical facilities from prescribing or administering, sex reassignment surgery; hormone therapy; or puberty blocking medications, for minors. The bill was amended to allow minors officially diagnosed with gender dysphoria to take puberty blockers with parental consent. Status: Passed in the Senate on 3/3. Passed out of committee in the House on 3/27. The next step is a full vote in the House.
• 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. It is scheduled for a hearing in the House Health Committee on 3/31.
• SB 1 has been combined with HB 267, to be the Riley Gaines Act. The law would prohibit biological males from participating in female sports and entering female locker rooms and restrooms in Georgia school systems. In the bill, male and female are defined according to a person’s reproductive system. Status: Passed in the full Senate on 2/7. Passed out of the House committee on 3/25. The next step is a full vote in the House.
• HB 171, or the Ensuring Accountability for Illegal AI Activities Act is a bill that would prohibit distributing obscene images of children and provide mandatory minimum sentences for those who do. Status: Passed in the House on 2/26. Passed out of committee in the Senate on 3/27. The next step is a full vote in the House.
• SB 74 would repeal a previous exemption which protected libraries and librarians from liability for providing obscene materials to minors. Status: Passed in the Senate on 3/3. It is assigned to the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.
• 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: Passed in the House on 3/6. Assigned to the Senate Finance Committee.
• HB 350 is a 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 but did not pass by Crossover Day. This usually means the bill will have to wait until next year to be considered again.

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“