Georgia House panel debates proposed public school trans bathroom bill, prompting sharp criticism
Georgia lawmakers are considering assigning bathrooms based on the type of gamete a student’s body produces, a move LGBTQ+ advocates say would create needless hardship for transgender students. Getty Images Where should transgender students go to use the bathroom? That’s one of the questions pondered by the Georgia House Education Policy Subcommittee Thursday as it…
‘Religious liberty’ legislation emerges from eight-year slumber at the Georgia Capitol
Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzler, front, is the lead sponsor of a religious freedom law he contends will protect Georgians from local and state government infringing on their rights to practice their faith. File photo Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder The Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a divisive bill on Thursday that its backers contend will give…
GOP lawmakers ready to ease limits on hospital construction, set aside Medicaid expansion for now
State Rep. Butch Parrish, a Swainsboro Republican, is the main sponsor of a new health care bill. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder (file) A long-awaited health care proposal from House leaders would ease health care business regulations in some cases, but the measure is just as notable for what it does not do: expand Medicaid. Instead, the…
Gold Dome culture wars: GOP bills aim to limit school sex ed, remove books and install chaplains
Fewer library books, more chaplains and the Ten Commandments could soon be on the way to Georgia public schools. Getty Images Sex. That’s what students in Georgia could be hearing less about if a raft of legislation moving through state Senate committees keeps moving before the big legislative deadline at the end of the month.…
Georgia Senate panel OKs bill to erase personal information of judges from public records
During a State of the Judiciary address on Feb. 7, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs referenced the need to pass a law restricting public records containing home addresses and other personally identifiable information of judges. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder A state Senate Committee Wednesday advanced a bill endorsed by Georgia’s top judiciary and…
Latest bill targeting strip mining near Okefenokee receives mixed reaction from environmentalists
An Alabama-based company first announced in 2019 that it intended to mine for titanium, staurolite, and zircon near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Getty Images A south Georgia lawmaker whose district borders the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has filed a new bill calling for a three-year moratorium on new surfacing mining permits in areas of…