On February 20, 2025, the following Georgia State Senate committees met to discuss bills to potentially advance:
- Education and Youth voted on SB 4
- Judiciary voted on SB 79, SB 57, SB 87, and SB 42
- Regulated Industries and Utilities voted on SB 33 and SB 146
Select the associated links to read each bill in full.
Education and Youth
SB 4
Under current Georgia law, anyone elected to a county Board of Education must attend 15 hours of training in the first year after their election and must attend 9 hours of training every subsequent year in office until reelection. No other elected body in the state, including county commissioners and mayors, has that requirement; neither the state Board of Education nor the state superintendent must do this sort of training.
This bill makes the following changes:
- The Board of Education will no longer hold local superintendents accountable for their performance
- Individuals 18 years or older who reside in the local school system can file a complaint with the professional standards committee alleging an ethics violation against someone on the Board; currently, only Board members can do that
- Board of Education members will now only be required to do their initial 15 hours of training after election and will not need to do training each subsequent year; they will still need to take the 15 hours of training each year they are elected
- Board of Education training cannot express opinions on any past of future legislation from the Georgia General Assembly
The bill passed committee.
Judiciary
SB 79
This bill is designed to address fentanyl deaths in Georgia. It creates a separate schedule of offenses specific to fentanyl. Current Georgia law states that anything from a gram or less of fentanyl is on two three years in prison; this bill lowers that to 250 milligrams. One to four grams results in one to eight years; this bill changes that amount to 250 milligrams to four grams and increases the incarceration range to a total of one to ten years.
Currently, anyone possessing at least four grams of fentanyl has committed a trafficking offense; this bill maintains that threshold but increases the mandatory minimum sentence, specifically if the quantity they posses is greater than 4 grams. If they have at least 4 grams but less than 8, they will receive a minimum sentence of 10 years and a fine of $75,000. If they have at least 8 grams but less than 14, they will receive a minimum sentence of 15 years and a fine of $150,000. If they have at least 14 grams but less than 28, they will receive a minimum sentence of 25 years and a fine of $250,000. If they have more than 28 grams, they will receive a minimum sentence of 35 years and a fine of $750,000.
The bill passed committee.
SB 57
This bill aims to address “cancel culture” regarding essential services. The bill prevents providers of essential services from cannot discriminate against someone for saying something egregious to another person; essential services here include banking and utilities such as broadband, electricity, water, and sewer. This bill introduces a penalty for providers of essential services who may discriminate against someone due to their character; specifically, these providers cannot drop a client with whom they already have a working relationship.
This could potentially open banks and utility providers to lawsuits for dropping clients convicted of crimes.
The bill passed committee.
SB 87
This bill states that if someone loses a lawsuit and goes bankrupt, they can still keep their house. This applies to physicians, engineers, and construction contractors. If they lose a lawsuit, they can lose everything but their house.
The bill passed committee.
SB 42
This bill addresses human trafficking in Georgia. Due to the rule of lenity, which means that a judge who finds a statute to be ambiguous must give the lesser penalty to the defendant, two similar crimes against children can have very different penalties. The Georgia code outlines enhanced penalties for anyone who keeps a place of prostitution, pimp, or pander when committed against a minor; the human trafficking statutes against a minor are similar but not the same. This bill repeals the lesser penalty for this act to ensure perpetrators receive the harsher penalty.
The bill passed committee.
Regulated Industries and Utilities
SB 33
This bill defines intoxicating cannabinoids and includes a substance called HHC, which is synthesized from CBD. The bill also gives the Department of Agriculture the authority to include any other compound that they deem necessary to protect health and safety. It sets limits on the total THC concentration in these products.
The bill passed committee.
SB 146
This bill, previously discussed (see HERE), clarifies the procedure for protecting cemeteries and getting a permit to move a grave. It also requires individuals to obtain a permit from the county or city before establishing a family cemetery on private property and creates a process whereby descendants can bring action against a landowner to maintain access to the cemetery.
The bill passed committee.
