Georgia lawmakers slow-walk last day of 2022 session
Hot button bills approved as the clock approached midnight
The 2022 Georgia legislative session concluded late on Monday night with a last-minute dash to approve hot-button bills as the clock approached midnight.
The last day of the session, known as Sine Die, started out as a pretty uneventful Monday morning at the Gold Dome. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan threw the annual Sine Die pitch in the Senate chamber. Over in the House, longtime State Rep. Calvin Smyre gave an hour-long farewell address to his colleagues as he concluded the final session of his 48-year tenure.
At around 1:30 PM, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill aimed at overhauling Georgia’s lackluster mental health care system. The bill passed unanimously in both chambers and was lauded as a major bipartisan accomplishment.
Over the course of the afternoon, lawmakers found themselves taking several prolonged breaks, with some lasting for up to an hour. Many began wondering if leaders were attempting to run out the clock on several bills or whether there was going to be a mad dash to pass some of the more controversial bills that have been proposed this year.
As it turns out, it was a combination of both. Some of the bills that did not make it to the governor’s desk include legalizing medical marijuana, restrictions on access to abortion pills, loosening state gambling laws and beefing up no-smoking laws to include vaping.
But there were also some bills that were passed in the final hour. Republicans passed a bill that would give the state’s top law enforcement agency stronger powers to investigate election irregularities.
“The legislation gives the GBI power to investigate any potential infractions that could have put the results of an election in doubt. The GBI’s law enforcement authority would overlap with election investigators in the secretary of state’s office, which would also continue to look into election infractions.”
Republicans argue that it shouldn’t be controversial for the GBI to investigate election disputes, while Democrats fear that the bill could intimidate voters and poll workers. Gov. Kemp is expected to sign it into law.
There was also an amendment to a bill that would limit the discussion of race in school classrooms, a priority of the Governor and many Republican legislators this session.
After a bill targeting transgender female athletes appeared to be dead for the session, Republicans amended H.B. 1084 to allow athletic associations to ban transgender athletes from competing in sports that align with their gender identity.
The amendment also created an oversight committee that will perform studies to determine whether or not transgender high school athletes should be allowed to compete in sports with their preferred gender.
House minority leader James Beverly criticized the amendment. “To target trans kids, to ban kids from playing sports, and to attack teachers at the same time — appalling,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The bill quickly passed the Senate over Democratic objections and now heads to the governor’s desk.
An overview of the bills that passed this session can be found here.