Georgia lawmakers put in long days as end of session nears
ATLANTA, Ga. - There’s a mad dash underway at the Georgia Capitol. Lawmakers only have a handful of working days left to legislation and get it on the governor’s desk for his signature.
Agendas are full and lobbyists are pushing for and against bills.
Two pieces of legislation that lawmakers are still hoping to get across the finish line faced some opposition during an education committee meeting Monday.
The House Education Committee had hours of debate about SB 390. No vote was called for on Monday.
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SB 390 would cut state ties with the American Library Association. State Sen. Larry Walker, R-Perry, said the group is driving a culture war in school libraries and the children’s section of local libraries.
“It has been co-opted by a radical group of people,” Walker said. “I don’t want grandparents and parents to be reticent to take their kids to the library and fear what they might be exposed to at a young age.”
The ALA maintains that it is a nonpartisan group.
Librarian after librarian spoke in opposition to the bill. Harrison Tran, a Savannah high school senior who opposes the bill, shared that his school librarian was a mentor to him.
“Never once trying to influence us or an agenda, always allowing us to research and to pursue our interests, which is why I don’t think the state government should be able to limit that interest,” said Tran.
The committee also discussed Senate Resolution 579, sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens.
If the majority of Georgians vote to the legalization of sports betting in November, the resolution would divvy up how the revenue would be allocated. Eighty percent of the revenue would fund Pre-K programs or college scholarships, 15% would address gambling addiction, and the remaining 5% would create a fund for Georgia to recruit and fund major sports events.
The historically Black colleges and universities improvement district bill also divided some lawmakers, who voiced their thoughts for and against the bill.
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