Georgia lawmakers face a key deadline Thursday, the last day for legislation to pass either the House or Senate and advance to the other legislative chamber for consideration this year. Lawmakers on Monday will decide questions including whether to tighten rules on law enforcement cooperation with immigration officials and enact state protections for religious liberties.
Some key proposals have already moved forward, including a constitutional amendment that could allow a statewide vote on legalizing sports betting and a plan to cut income taxes. Proposals that would have curtailed automatic voter registration and limited how private schools could talk to students about gender identity appear unlikely to advance.
Proposals that don’t pass by the end of Thursday could still be resurrected later this year, but it becomes more difficult. Because this is the second year of a two-year session, most measures that don’t pass Thursday will effectively be dead.
GEORGIA BUDGETS $392M TO OVERHAUL CAPITOL, INCLUDING ITS GOLDEN DOME
TO BE DECIDED THURSDAY
IMMIGRATION: House Bill 1105 would require local law enforcement to apply to help federal agents enforce immigration laws and enact criminal penalties for sheriffs who don’t contact federal officials to check prisoners’ immigration status.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: Proponents say Senate Bill 180 would protect religious liberty from being trampled by state and local governments, while opponents say it’s a license for people and groups to discriminate against LGBTQ+ in the name of religion.
FILM TAX CREDIT: House Bill 1180 would require more use of Georgia-based employees and contractors to get the top 30% income tax credit on film production, and would cap credits eligible to sold to third parties to 2.5% of the state’s annual budget, or about $900 million.
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION: Senate Bill 390 bars state and local governments from giving money to the American Library Association. The sponsor says the the group’s ideology is…
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