Hemp products industry gets scrutiny from Georgia lawmakers
ATLANTA - Joe Salome built up his intoxicating hemp products business from one small store to six, and he got licensed by the state last year after new rules gave the industry a path into the sunlight. Then, in a surprise move, some Republicans in the Georgia Senate...
IVF protection bill headed to Gov. Kemp
ATLANTA - Legislation guaranteeing Georgia women struggling to become pregnant the legal right to in vitro fertilization (IVF) gained final passage in the General Assembly Friday. The state House of Representatives voted unanimously to agree to minor changes Georgia...
General Assembly passes bill targeting fentanyl
ATLANTA - Legislation stiffening penalties for trafficking in fentanyl in Georgia cleared the General Assembly Friday. The Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act, which now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature, imposes a range of mandatory minimum sentences on...
State Senate puts its stamp on fiscal ’26 budget
ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate passed a $37.7 billion fiscal 2026 state budget Friday that will require some compromises with the state House of Representatives on state spending, particularly on prisons and education. The budget, which cleared the Senate 48-7, provides...
Senate Republicans try legislative maneuver to ban DEI in Georgia schools and colleges
ATLANTA - In a last-minute legislative maneuver, Georgia Senate Republicans have revived a measure that seeks to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the state's schools and colleges. These programs, known by the acronym DEI, were well-intentioned but have...
Measure to confront mass shootings, bomb threats, other school mayhem beats a deadline in the Senate
ATLANTA - A sweeping school safety bill in reaction to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School last fall cleared a Senate committee Thursday, keeping it in play just ahead of the deadline for final passage this year. The Georgia House of Representatives had already...
Senate to investigate groups founded by Stacey Abrams
ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate's Republican majority voted along party lines Thursday to investigate groups founded by former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams after they agreed to pay the largest campaign finance fine in state history. The New Georgia...
Georgia House-passed AI bill aims at political deception
ATLANTA - Legislation cracking down on the deceptive use of artificial intelligence in political campaigns cleared the Georgia House of Representatives Thursday. As introduced in the state Senate, the bill focused on obscene AI-generated images of children. But the...