The juices are starting to flow at the Capitol. Today’s post will review the current body of bills, covering issues like: guns, redistricting, RFRA, healthcare & medicaid, sexual violence, and a handful of other bills that look interesting.
GUNS, GUNS, GUNS
Major Players:
Guns area got a lot of attention on Monday, with bills intended to both limit access and “protect” weapons permit holders. This is in addition to a couple of bills that have already been introduced.
SB 33: Carried by some of the top Democrats in the Senate, this bill would prohibit folks from bringing guns into any government buildings.
You are thinking: Isn’t this already illegal?
Answser: -ish.
The law already restricts where licensed weapons holders can go, but does not prohibit guns in all public buildings. For example, someone with a permit can take a weapon into the capitol cafeteria because it does not have any security screenings at the building’s entrance. However, licensed gun owners cannot go into the capitol itself, because that space is managed by state troopers and requires passing through a security screening process of some kind.
SB 34: Also being carried by the Democrats, this bill would expand the current law around folks with diagnosed mental illness getting a gun permit.
HB 55: Bans 3-D printed guns.
HB 58: Also being carried by Democrats. This bill keeps guns away from folks convicted of crimes related to intimate partner violence or family violence. Not accused, not arrested, not charged with; but convicted of a crime of family violence.
HB 74: If you are an Uber or Lyft driver and have a permit, you can keep a weapon in your car. (It’s a short bill, so click the linked bill number to read the legalese of it).
HB 2: Let’s not forget House Bill 2, pre-filed by Rep. Matt Gurtler (R-Tiger), is essentially a “guns everywhere” kind of bill. Called the ‘Georgia Constitutional Carry Act of 2019,’ it would eliminate a big chunk of laws that limit who can have a gun and where they can have it.
This bill was pre-filed but has not been re-introduced — which is required if it’s going to go anywhere.
HB 33: Gives military personnel more time to apply for or renew a gun permit, and a large window to carry a weapon with an expired permit (6 months, if they’ve been out of state on active duty).
This bill was already assigned to the Public Safety and Homeland Security committee. And, it just so happens that one of the co-sponsors of the bill chairs the committee, as are some other powerful chairs (and even a few Democrats).
REDISTRICTING
Major Players:
SR 52: Creates an independent redistricting commission! This is about stopping political gerrymandering.
RFRA!
Major Players:
The first official RFRA bill of the session is here! This is the nickname given to so-called “religious freedom” bills that have been widely contentious in previous years.
HB 53: Gives broad protections to students, teachers, and staff in public school who are voluntarily expressing their religious views. The sponsor, Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton), has named this the “Student and Educator Faith Protection Act.”
Read more on this over at my old haunt, Project Q.*
HEALTHCARE
SB 4: There should be private lactation rooms available for use in both the main capitol building and an ancillary building that house most of the legislators’ offices plus committee hearing rooms.
The lead sponsor of that bill, newly elected Sen. Jen Jordan, put out a press release the same day stating she would, “introduce legislation intended to focus on the issues that women face every day in this state.”
HB 10: Requires sex ed classes to teach about toxic shock syndrome. (This is a bill that has been introduced before; and no, comprehensive sex ed is not part of this).
MEDICAID
Major Players:
The folks at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities will also be keeping on eye on this legislation, as it may directly or indirectly impact the communities they serve.
Democrats in both the House and the Senate have now each introduced a bill to expand Medicaid. This would be straightforward Medicaid expansion — extending coverage to about 240,000 adults who currently fall into the coverage gap — at an estimated cost to the state of $200M.
House Bill 37 and Senate Bill 36 have nearly identical language, with the House version adding a cap for Medicaid expansion to 138 percent of the federal poverty level and the Senate version adding an ‘out’ if the federal government covers less than 90 percent of the cost of expansion.
I previously covered the issue of Medicaid expansion (what Democrats want) versus Section 1115 waivers (what Republicans will likely pursue). So check that out for a deeper dive on this issue!
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
There’s a couple bills attempting to address sexual violence in the context of power dynamics (i.e. a teacher, a coach, a supervisor). They’ve been a little tough for me to dive into, so I’ll get someone else to help me get info on those bills posted. For reference, those bills are: SB 40 and HB 43.
OTHER BILLS OF INTEREST
HB 17: Smoking in a car with a child would become a misdemeanor that carries a $100 fine. (This is not the first time this legislation has been introduced).
HB 42: Student debt cannot be a reason a board does not issue an otherwise qualified individual a license to practice.
HB 63: Creates some wiggle room for doctors and patients around the insurance practice of “step therapy.” This is when an insurer will not cover a certain medication — even when it’s prescribed by a doctor — until a patient tries and fails to respond to cheaper medications.
HB 80: Mandates that individuals “cooperate with child support enforcement programs,” in order to receive food stamps (formally called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
HR 53: This strongly supported measure — it has 36 co-sponsors — proposes that a constitutional convention be called, solely for the purpose of changing the U.S. Constitution to add term limits for members of Congress.
HR 6: This substantially less popular resolution (which is the type of legislation used to pass Constitutional Amendments) would add term limits to Georgia’s Constitution. It only has two co-sponsors.
SB 6: A bill the Department of Corrections wants to keep drones out of correctional facilities — both in terms of drones as a delivery mechanism and drone based photography.
SB 19: Creates tuition grant program for public safety officers.
THAT’S ALL!
Find me under the gold dome with my “I believe survivors” pin or online at Twitter.com/Capitol_REB.
*Disclosure: I am doing paid, contract work for Project Q during the legislative session. I will be getting a handful of byline or “with additional reporting by” credits. However, I am not being paid or otherwise incentivized to promote their content.