Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, introduces Senate Bill 140 on the floor of the state House of Representatives.
ATLANTA – The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives approved a controversial bill Thursday that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender Georgia youths.
Senate Bill 140, which the House passed 96-75 along party lines, would prohibit hospitals and doctors from providing hormone-replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to transgender minors. However, it would allow some gender-related treatment for certain medical conditions and let transgender youths take puberty blockers.
Doctors and hospitals could lose their licenses for providing such care. And earlier this week, a House committee amended the bill to allow doctors to be held civilly and criminally liable for providing hormone-replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to Georgians under 18.
“As legislators we are charged with protecting our most vulnerable population in the state,” said Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, the bill’s House sponsor. “SB 140 does just that by establishing guardrails to ensure that children struggling with identity issues are not rushed into decisions that would alter their bodies forever.”
“Nothing in this bill stops an adult from pursuing a different lifestyle based on their feelings,” said Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, in support of the bill.
“We must draw a line for the long-term of children. … I believe that childhood is about giving young people time to develop and letting them learn by trial and error, but still protecting them from long-term harms.”
Democratic legislators spoke out in opposition to the bill, pointing out that major medical societies including the American Academy of Pediatrics support gender-affirming care that can include hormone-replacement therapy and surgery for transgender youths.
“We think this bill will in fact do real harm to some of our most vulnerable citizens,” said Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta. “I really do fear that we may lose some lives by passing this, not save lives but lose lives, and that should give everyone pause.”
House Democrats cited studies that show that transgender youths are much more likely to contemplate or commit suicide than other young people. They also contended the bill is at odds with the GOP’s recent push to protect parental rights.
“Most of us who are parents … want the freedom to make decisions for our families and our children,” said Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta. “Many of you in this chamber have said as much: You have declared that it is a parent’s right to make decisions about where their children go to school, which books they read and which subjects they study.”
“Yet, SB 140 attempts to substitute the judgement of the state for that of the parents of some of our most vulnerable children, those who identify as transgender. That is wrong, and it is not what this body should stand for.”
Because the House amended the bill in committee, it now heads back to the Georgia Senate.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – A Georgia House committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would codify a ban on the use of TikTok on state-owned devices.
“This is all about national security,” said Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, the bill’s main sponsor. “This is not a content moderation bill.”
The bill would codify into state law Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s directive last year prohibiting the use of TikTok, a highly popular video hosting service that runs user-submitted videos, and other similar applications.
TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, Byte Dance, and there is concern that its ties to the Chinese government could expose sensitive state data to a foreign government.
“It only takes one computer and one device to make us vulnerable,” Anavitarte told the state House’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee.
“The concern [is] …foreign adversaries having ownership [of social media platforms] and the security concerns on government devices.”
The bill would also apply to similar social media platforms that are directly or indirectly owned by foreign adversaries.
However, it provides exceptions for law-enforcement investigations, cybersecurity research and for other governmental purposes.
If passed, Georgia would join at least 25 other states that have banned TikTok on state-owned devices.
In other social media news, a separate House committee Wednesday approved a proposal to create a study committee focused on social media accountability. The study committee would be tasked with reviewing foreign influence on social media platforms in Georgia, the potential impacts of social media on youth mental health and censorship of speech by social media companies.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The Georgia House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation this week to require the state to assess whether educational requirements for many state jobs are necessary.
The “Reducing Barriers to State Employment” bill also requires the Georgia Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) to “insofar as practicable” reduce the number of jobs for which a four-year college degree is necessary. The state could continue to require college degrees or other certifications for jobs that are deemed to require them.
“As you know, both the private and public sector right now are in a war for talent, and we don’t want to place any artificial barriers in their way,” said Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, who sponsored the bill in the House.
“We want to make sure that we’re not requiring a four-year degree, advanced degree or certification that does not apply to the [state] job we’re currently hiring for and lose out on the opportunity to have our best and brightest apply for that job.”
Georgia experienced record-high turnover during the last fiscal year, according to a state workforce report published by the DOAS.
“What good is it to get people in the front door if they just walk right back out of the back door for a job with more competitive pay?,” said Rep. Jasmine Clark, D-Lilburn, during a brief debate on the bill.
Wages for state jobs are not on par with the private sector, which makes it tough to retain state employees, Clark said.
Gov. Brian Kemp has proposed a $2,000 pay raise for most state employees in his fiscal 2024 budget. Law enforcement officers on the state payroll and employees in several agencies with particular high turnover would receive additional $2,000 increases for a total pay hike of $4,000
The bill, which the state Senate passed last month, now moves to Kemp’s desk for his signature.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, listens to arguments for and against the bill he is sponsoring that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender youths. (Photo credit: Rebecca Grapevine)
ATLANTA – The Republican-controlled state House of Representatives’ Public Health Committee approved a controversial bill Tuesday that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender Georgia youths.
The bill would prohibit hospitals and doctors from providing hormone-replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to transgender minors. However, It would allow some gender-related treatment for certain medical conditions and let transgender youths take puberty blockers.
The panel also approved an amendment to allow doctors to be held civilly and criminally liable for providing hormone-replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgeries to Georgians under 18 before approving the bill as amended in a 12-10 vote along party lines.
House Democrats argued the bill’s ban on gender-affirming care for under-18s would put Georgia law at odds with the recommendations of several major medical societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Georgia chapter of the group also opposes the bill.
“Why do you think the judgment of the Georgia state legislature should supersede what the American Academy of Pediatrics has determined to be best practices in caring for gender diverse children?” Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, a physician, asked Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, the bill’s sponsor.
“I can’t speak to that,” Summers responded. “Instead of having a surgery…before the age of 18 years old…I want to put a pause there. I don’t think any child should have irreversible surgery. … Our job here is to protect children.”
But others in the standing-room-only hearing pushed back against the claim the bill would protect children, noting that transgender youths are far more likely to think about and attempt suicide than other children.
“These life-saving treatments [are] the reason I am able to speak to you today,” 18-year-old Leonardo Hinnant told the committee, explaining that he began hormone-replacement therapy at age 13 and had a double mastectomy a few years later. “The reality of it is, if this bill passes, transgender kids will die.”
“These decisions are not made with haste, especially for minors,” Hinnant added, explaining that he underwent months of counseling and many doctors’ appointments before finally undergoing surgery.
“This decision is not easy,” committee Chairwoman Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, said in response to Hinnant’s testimony. “I only wish there was an accompanying bill – if this one should pass – that says that we will always also stand behind transgender people and transgender children and not let you be discriminated against.”
“The fact that the legislature is second guessing well-established standards of care is troubling,” Jeff Graham, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group Georgia Equality, told Capitol Beat after the standing-room-only hearing.
“All medical professionals and all parents should be extremely concerned about the message this sends — that the legislature knows better than parents working with medical providers to make decisions regarding their children.”
Some on the right – such as Frontline Policy Action, a Christian advocacy group — are opposed to the bill as well, arguing that it does not go far enough and includes too many exceptions.
The bill next moves to the House Rules Committee, where lawmakers will consider whether it should go before the full House for a floor vote. If passed in the House, the state Senate would then vote on the bill again prior to the last day of the legislative session, March 29.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Students from the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition oppose House Bill 147, which gained state Senate approval today. (Photo courtesy: Georgia Youth Justice Coalition)
ATLANTA – The state Senate passed legislation Monday that will require Georgia public schools to conduct active-shooter drills by Oct. 1 of each year.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s “Safe Schools Act” also creates a school-safety and anti-gang certification for teachers and other school employees who complete a school safety and gang-deterrence training program.
“This modernizes school safety protocols for the year 2023,” said Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, the bill’s Senate sponsor. “There’s no greater priority than keeping our children, teachers and personnel safe.”
Though the bill ultimately passed nearly unanimously, it drew criticism from Democrats.
“This bill highlights our failure year after year to make meaningful changes to address the gun violence that is plaguing our schools, our communities, our streets and our homes,” said Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta.
Parent, who ultimately voted for the bill, noted that several Democratic-sponsored gun control bills have not received committee hearings during this year’s legislative session.
“Prevention of school shootings must involve a comprehensive approach if we are serious, including gun safety and gun violence prevention and mental health strategies,” she said. “Instead ,we’re here with a bill that offers synthetic protection.”
The bill’s focus on gang-violence prevention also drew concerns.
“I’m concerned that identification-focused training could result in racial profiling of students, and it could increase their likelihood of being exposed to the criminal justice system,” said Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson.
To address that concern, Merritt and other Democrats proposed amendments that would have struck language focused on deterring gang violence from the bill. However, majority Republicans rejected those amendments.
Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, also proposed an ultimately unsuccessful amendment that would have required, rather than allowed, local school districts to provide parents the ability to opt their children out of the intruder drills.
“We are disappointed, but we will continue to work as hard as we can to ensure that we minimize harm to Georgia students with regards to the racial profiling aspect and shooter drill trauma,” said Francesca Ruhe, a Georgia State University student who is also a lobbyist for the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, an organization made up of high school and college students.
Ruhe and other students pointed to research from Georgia Tech that found active shooter drills are associated with increases in stress and anxiety among both students and teachers.
The bill now moves to the governor’s desk for his signature.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
