Bill to license hemp farmers, sellers in Georgia passes General Assembly
Hemp farmers and sellers would need a license to possess the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana under legislation that passed the General Assembly on Monday.
Georgia House tightens regulations on prescription drug pricing
ATLANTA - Third-party companies that help set prescription drug prices would face tighter regulations under legislation the Georgia House of Representatives passed unanimously Monday. Pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) negotiate between insurance companies and...
Tobacco tax increase surfaces in General Assembly
ATLANTA - Georgia’s third-lowest-in-the-nation tobacco tax would go from 37 cents a pack to $1.35 under legislation the Senate Finance Committee approved Friday. If the bill makes it through the General Assembly, it would represent the culmination of years of effort...
Georgia hate-crimes bill moves in Senate with police protections
Georgia Senate lawmakers advanced a bill late Friday that includes police officers and other first responders as protected classes in a contentious hate-crimes bill that has been propelled in recent weeks by a renewed push for police and court reform legislation in Georgia.
Georgia Senate passes budget on party-line vote
ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate passed a state budget Friday slashing spending by $2.6 billion over the objections of Democrats who argued majority Republicans could have avoided some of the cuts by raising revenues. The scaled-back fiscal 2021 budget, which passed 34-15...
Sports betting back on the table in Georgia Senate
Legislation to permit sports betting in Georgia made a comeback Friday in the state Senate as lawmakers scramble to drum up new revenues to plug the state’s coronavirus-ravaged budget.
Hate-crimes bill debated in Georgia Senate
Hate-crimes legislation got its first hearing in the General Assembly in more than a year Thursday amid growing tension over how strongly to punish bias-motivated offenses and whether to include “gender” as a protected classification.
Bills pushed to repeal citizen’s arrest law in Georgia
A Savannah lawmaker called for passage Thursday of legislation aimed at eliminating the Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law as part of a push for a new round of criminal justice reform amid nationwide protesting against police brutality and racial injustice.