Dead Bills Equal Victories

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, March 4, 2016 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

For this legislative session, Monday was the 30th day and extremely important. Bills that didn’t make the cut are dead, unless they are amended onto other bills before the session ends at midnight March 24th.

Among bills that died are the casino bills that are expected to be brought up again next year. But as of now, the state constitution will NOT be amended to allow casino gambling resort facilities in Georgia, and the bill regulating a casino gaming business is dead, too. However, you won’t find those words in the final action on these bills. The official report is, “H.R. 807 and H.B. 677 are postponed until the next legislative day.”

H.B. 929, also poised to pass on Day 30, was left in the House Rules Committee whose members decide which bills go to the House floor for a vote. Thankfully, those 37 members decided Georgia should NOT abandon the Electoral College and join the movement to elect the president by national popular vote. They must’ve realized that the Electoral College is important because it levels the states’ playing field for presidential elections.During the session, an uneasy moment came when H.B. 849 passed committee and became eligible for a House vote. H.B. 849 is the “Georgia Civil Rights in Public Accommodations Act,” introduced so someone could attach amendments to provide civil rights status for “sexual orientation,” “gender,” and “gender identity.” The committee rejected those proposals, but added “sex” as a one-word amendment and passed H.B. 849 out of committee. Had it become law, it would have established the Equal Rights Amendment for public accommodations, meaning everyone, regardless of sex or sexual orientation, would use the same public restrooms and other intimate public facilities. Thankfully, H.B. 849 died on Day 30.

H.B. 716 introduced January 26th never made it out of committee. If it had not died, no professional counselor in Georgia could have spoken negatively about sexual orientation to any person under 18 years old. Had it passed, a professional psychologist or psychiatrist or religious counselor could NOT explain the disadvantages of alternate lifestyles to a child or teenager brought in for consultation, even if the minor and parents were begging for help.

The death of these bills represents five victories for conservatives, with more to come. Several good bills are poised to pass in the next nine days. So, I’ll keep you posted. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.