Under the Gold Dome: Week 12

Just past midnight on Thursday, April 1, the 2021 legislative session came to close as the Speaker and Lt. Governor declared, “Sine Die!” Sine die is a Latin term meaning “without assigning a day for further meeting.” The final two days of session were action packed as we gave final passage to several important bills. While days 39 and 40 are always long, the hours are well worth it to ensure we bring forth sound policy for the betterment of our great state.

Public Safety: Those committing crimes, especially against our Georgia children, will be held accountable through the passage of Senate Bill 117. This bill works to close a loophole in Georgia law by creating a new crime for “persons of trust” who engage in sexually explicit conduct with minors. Person of trust includes any person whom a parent or guardian has trusted to educate or supervise their child. Penalties under the bill are as follows:

• First degree- imprisonment between one to 25 years; maximum fine of $100,000; punishment increase dependent on victim age/severity of the conduct.

• Establishes increased punishments for a second degree of the crime.

• Create a felony for subsequent offenses.

We are confident that this addition to Georgia will bring much deserved justice to those entrusted by our children and their families.

Probation Reform: Our probation system will see reform under the passage of Senate Bill 105. This bill works to streamline the process for those seeking to end their probation sentences early for good behavior. Offenders may petition to end their probation early if they have fulfilled certain behavioral incentives such as:

• Payment of all restitution owed.

• Not having probation revoked in the past two years.

• Not being arrested for anything other than a non-serious traffic offense.

By streamlining this early termination process through this bipartisan bill, our state could incentivize and allow more offenders to move forward in their lives. This bill has also been sent to the governor’s office. 

Education Expansion: Educational opportunities to our homeless or foster students will be expanded through Senate Bill 107. This legislation will allow homeless or foster students to qualify for in-state tuition at University System of Georgia (USG) institutions as well as at Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) institutions for 10 years or until the student achieves a diploma, certificate or bachelor’s degree. Stipulations of the measure are as follows:

• State-funded foster care assistance would not be considered as income to determine financial aid.

• Waives tuition and fees, such as mandatory rooming and board fees, for qualifying foster and adopted students who attend TCSG schools.

• Requires students to first apply for FAFSA and use any federal aid available before remaining fees or tuition are waived.

SB 107 is enacted into law, it could provide a pathway for homeless or foster students to earn a college degree and, eventually, a career.

Student Protection: In further protection of our Georgia students, we also passed Senate Bill 85, also known as the “Max Gruver Act.”  This bill will expand how schools and state law addresses hazing among Georgia students. Currently, it is illegal for anyone to haze a student in connection with gaining acceptance to a membership, office or other status in a school organization, and the penalty for this crime is a high and aggravated misdemeanor. This measure expands this to include coercing a student using social or physical pressure to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug or other substance that would cause the student to vomit, become intoxicated or unconscious. Further requirements under SB 85 are as follows:

• Requires certain colleges to establish policies to report and disclose hazing incidents among students and student organizations.

• Adjudications regarding hazing within a school organization must be made public within 15 days of the settlement.

• Schools required to post certain details about these incidents on their website, excluding students’ personal information.

We are hopeful that strengthening Georgia’s hazing laws will help prevent hazing incidents in our state that are extremely harmful, and even deadly, for students.

2022 Full Fiscal Year Budget: We successfully fulfilled our only constitutional obligation by adopting House Bill 81, the state’s Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022) budget. This budget for the next fiscal year begins July 1, 2021, and is set by a revenue estimate $27.2 billion, which is an increase of $1.34 billion, or 5.2 percent, over the original Fiscal Year 2021 budget which was passed last June. Despite the pandemic, we were still able to allocate approximately 90 percent of the new revenue for the FY 2022 budget to Georgia’s education and health and human services agencies. The upcoming fiscal year not only restores 60 percent of the reductions made to K-12 education, but also keeps and increases funding for our other top priorities, such as mental health care, crisis intervention services, access to health care and salary increases for critical state workforce positions.

Bills of Interest: We also gave final approval to important bills including House Bill 146, which would extend paid parental leave to many of our valuable state employees; Senate Bill 6, or the “Tax Credit Return on Investment Act of 2021,” which would establish opportunities to examine our state’s tax revenue structure, as well as expand tax incentives for several industries to restore our economy; Senate Bill 195 to increase the responsibilities of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission and allow licensed low THC oil producers to partner with universities and colleges for joint medical research.; House Bill 154 which will reform several of Georgia’s adoption and foster care laws, including lowering the age at which a person is allowed to petition for adoption from 25 to 21 years old. 

Now that we have concluded the 2021 legislative session, we now turn to our continued efforts within our district. While we enjoy our time in Atlanta, we are excited to catch up with all of you in the coming months. Thank you for allowing us to serve you on the state level as it is an honor to be your voice under the Gold Dome. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. In the meantime, we hope to see you in the district very soon. May God bless you and may He continue to bless the great state of Georgia. 

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