Highlights From Under the Gold Dome: Week Seven

With only one full week of legislative days remaining before the Georgia General Assembly arrives at Legislative Day 28, Crossover Day, things in the Senate are busy. Here is a brief update on the progress of several pieces of legislation of note: • House Bill 18, the Amended FY 2023 Budget, passed in the Senate with bipartisan support. The legislation will now be sent back to the House for approval of the Senate’s substitute.

• Senate Bill 110, known as the “Back the Blue Act,” sponsored by my colleague and Senate Majority Caucus Secretary, Sen. Larry Walker (R – Perry), would provide financial support for Georgia’s sheriff’s departments by establishing a voluntary “check off” on auto insurance premium invoices to allow Georgians to conveniently donate $3 to local law enforcement.

• Senate Bill 141, known as the “Child Protection Act,” which seeks to prohibit the use of puberty blocking hormones and gender reassignment surgeries for children under the age of 18. SB 141 was heard this week in the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services for the first time.

• Senate Bill 140, re stricts physicians or hospitals from conducting irreversible medical procedures that relate to gender dysmorphic conditions such as cross-hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgeries when the patient is under the age of 18. SB 140 was also heard in the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services this week for the first time, too.

• Senate Bill 73, which passed out of the Senate with unanimous bipartisan support last week, has been assigned to the House Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications. I look forward to providing you with updates on the progression of this bill.

• Several Other Bills aimed at combating crime, including SB 68, SB 63, which deals with setting bonds for offenses, passed the Senate and now head to the House.

There’s definitely more going on that I can cover in this column, and in fact I’m typing this between two meetings on a host of bills right now. If you have questions about one in particular or something you’ve heard on the news, please don’t hesitate to call.

Next week, the Senate will convene Monday through Thursday for Legislative Days 24 through 27. Crossover Day will fall on the follow Monday, March 6. We have a full week of committee meetings and floor sessions ahead of us. I look forward to continuing to work alongside my fellow Senators as we quickly approach the home stretch to Sine Die. As always, thank you for allowing me to serve you in Atlanta.

Sen. Blake Tillery serves as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He represents Senate District 19, which includes Appling, Bacon, Jeff Davis, Long, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Wayne and Wheeler Counties and a portion of Coffee County. He can be reached at 404.656.5038 or by email at blake.tillery@senate. ga.gov.