Parent Press: Week 11 of the 2023 Legislative Session

The 2023 legislative session will adjourn Sine Die (Latin for Without Day -- meaning no appointed date for resumption in 2023) at midnight-ish on Wednesday, March 29.  This session, like the previous 10 I have served for, will end with much accomplished and more work to do.  The legislative process requires patience and compromise, both of which are in short supply.  Sometimes, though, we have to continue working during the interim between sessions to study issues and refine the language in bills before they can travel successfully through both chambers to the Governor’s desk.  And, more often than I would like, we find that good bills don’t even get on the track with a chance to cross the finish line because the Republican majority did not allow them a committee hearing or a floor vote.

Past the Finish Line

The Governor signed SB 140 on March 23, limiting transgender children’s access to medical care and implicating doctors in criminal and/or civil penalties for providing care that may be sanctioned by medical professional standards but outlawed by this legislation.  My Democratic colleagues worked hard to oppose the bill and voted unanimously against it.  This legislation was not filed to protect children from undergoing dangerous gender altering surgeries.  In fact, these surgeries are very rarely performed on minors. It's unclear if any are performed in Georgia at all.  This bill is a blunt sledgehammer to address gender dysphoria which we are only beginning to understand.  Denying families dealing with their beloved children’s challenges the ability to access the medical care they need is cruel and unjust.  I believe we need to dive deeper into this issue before we act by thoughtfully gathering data.  What we don’t need is a culture war instigated by Republicans who own the agenda.  You can hear my remarks from the well HERE.

As they say, when you have lemons, make lemonade.  And, we did.  We are so excited to spread the news that The Lemonade Stand Act passed the House and then the Senate agreed unanimously this week!  I filed this bill because constituents came to me with a dilemma: their kids wanted to continue operating their lemonade stand, but the parents knew it was illegal for them to do so without having the required business license and permits.  They didn’t want their kids to break the law even if the risk of getting caught was slim.  Other kids in Georgia had been shut down by the police.  

Upon signature from Governor Kemp, kids under 18 can sell lemonade, pre-packaged foods and other non-consumable goods as soon as this summer without having licensure, permits, or fear that the police may interfere as long as the owner of the private property they operate on approves, make $5K of less per calendar year and are enrolled in school. I look forward to sipping what lots of young entrepreneurs will be selling and to seeing new businesses sprout within my district! Considering the lack of time spent focused on important issues, and with much of that time exhausted on harmful legislation such as SB 140, I am thankful that SB 55 was able to serve as an uplifting victory for the legislature and Georgia’s children everywhere this session. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!  

 Across the Finish Line,More Work To Do

SB 86, which included the language from a bill I filed early in the session to require state agencies to provide data on Georgia’s dual enrollment program, received final passage from the Senate last Thursday.  This program is so important to the success of our youth,  our workforce development and our collective economic health.  We cannot allocate resources equitably or in a goal-oriented fashion without information.  I am disappointed that my Republican colleagues stripped the language that would require enrollment data to be disaggregated by socio-economic indicators.  This is all part of an effort to discredit the idea of equitable access to higher education, I'm afraid.  I will be back to work on this next session. I am hoping that a proposed study committee on dual enrollment will occur over the interim.

Important Upcoming Votes

Even though both the House and the Senate have passed the budget, HB 19, there is still wrangling behind the scenes on several line items.  The Lieutenant Governor embroiled himself in a battle over a hospital he would like to see built in his county (allegedly on property his father owns), but legislation is required to change the required Certificate of Need for hospital construction.  Included in this battle is funding for higher education, just as the Governor claims to prioritize workforce development, along with an effort to by State officials to have Wellstar potentially take over of the Augusta University Health System, the financially rocky organization that runs the Medical College of Georgia.

The press is working hard to keep you informed, so I suggest reading the Georgia Recorder and the AJC.  As I write the newsletter, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones has backed down from working to pass legislation to alter the hospital Certificate of Need rules, but continues to claim that powerful lobbyists tried to strike a deal with him to allow a new hospital in his native Butts County if he relented on a broader health care deregulation proposal.  

Antisemitism has been rising nationally and here in Georgia.  The Jewish community has been very concerned and, in response, Rep. Carson filed HB 30 in the House, which was similar to HB 1274 which was filed but not sent to the Senate for a floor vote in the 2022 session.  While we do have a Hate Crimes law, antisemitism is different from other forms of racism.  While many know it when they see it, too many remain uneducated and insensitive to the signs, symbols and words often use in antisemitic acts.  

As you know, we have many Jewish members in our district, but they don’t agree on the language proposed in the bill.  This year, when HB 30 was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, amendments were brought to address concerns among those opposing the bill, and the author requested that the bill be tabled so work could continue on refining the language.  The bill was heard a second time as HB 144 last week in the Senate Committee on Children and Families and passed.  I do expect the bill to come to the Senate floor for a vote this week, and assuming there are no amendments I will vote “YES” on HB 144. 

Advocates Are the Best 

The Capitol halls were flooded with advocates pleading with legislators to vote NO on SB 140.  Thank you!

Looking Ahead

The legislative session ends on March 29 with Sine Die.  With spring break following in early April for many, I am planning a Town Hall meeting for the evening of Thursday, April 20 along with Reps. Mary Margaret Oliver and Becky Evans to recap the session and hear about what you want you want your legislators to work on in the interim as we prepare for the 2024 legislative session.  Stay tuned to details on location and time.