The Parent Press: Week 7 of the 2021 Legislative Session
Greetings!
The 2021 Legislative Session is approaching Crossover Day, the day by which legislation has to clear at least one chamber in order to become law this year. Crossover Day will be on Monday, March 8th.
Typically, Republicans try to pass most legislation – and in particular, the controversial legislation – before Crossover Day, so that the Senate can move through the large number of bills on the calendar quickly.
However, this year, Republicans have delayed bringing their most controversial and unpopular legislation to the floor. 10+ voter suppression bills, including the SB 241 omnibus bill, will be on the floor on Monday!
The delays and lack of transparency around the process have hindered our ability to prepare for the legislative fights that will inevitably take place on Monday – and, prevented many members of the public from staying informed and engaged.
The Ongoing Assault on Democracy
Legislation Status: SB 67, SB 89, SB 184 and SB 188 were passed by the Senate last week, with Republicans voting in favor and Democrats voting in opposition. No additional election-related bills were passed by the Senate this week. We expect Republicans to bring numerous voting bills to the floor on Monday, Crossover Day -- perhaps expecting, or hoping, that they will get lost among the flood of legislation that will come to the floor today, and the public will allow this legislation to proceed unscrutinized. But, they're wrong – we will not let Republicans push through their anti-voter, anti-democracy bills without a fight.
On Monday, the following bills will be on the floor: SB 241, SR 100, SB 69, SB 71, SB 72, SB 74, SB 93, SB 141, SB 178, SB 202, SB 232
Actions to Take: if you want to take action to stop these bills, you can make your voice heard by contacting the Lieutenant Governor, the Senate President Pro Tempore, the Majority Leader or the Chair of the Ethics Committee by phone or email and expressing your opposition to the package of restrictive voting bills.
Geoff Duncan — Lieutenant Governor
Butch Miller — President Pro Tempore
Mike Dugan — Mike Dugan
Max Burns — Ethics Committee Chair
I’ll continue to provide you with an updated list of the voting-related bills each week, summarizing the bills that have been introduced so far. The bills that have been passed by the Senate are colored in red. The bills that will be up for a vote on Monday are in orange.
SB 241: the Omnibus Voter Suppression Bill
This week, additional committee hearings took place on SB 241, an omnibus bill that includes many of the anti-democratic proposals that have been introduced in separate voting legislation. If this bill were to be signed into law, the consequences on voters across Georgia would be devastating. Here are a few of the changes it mandates:
Limits the ability of the State Election Board and the Secretary of State to enter into certain consent agreements
Ends no-excuse absentee voting and limit mail voting to election workers, disabled individuals and their caretakers, voters over 65, etc. (see SB 177 description)
Bans the use of mobile voting buses, such as those that were used in Fulton County to mitigate lines
Requires voter ID for absentee voting
Prohibits early in-person voting at non-government owned buildings
Requires a court order to extend voting hours, such as when a precinct opens late
Allows the Secretary of State to audit mail ballots either statewide or to target individual counties
Allows the House or Senate Judiciary Committees to overrule emergency election rules issued during a public health emergency
Allows the State Elections Board to recommend a board of elections be removed and replaced with members of their choosing
I am opposed to this bill, along with my fellow Democrats in the Senate. A similar omnibus voting bill was passed by the House last week, despite the opposition of House Democrats. SB 241 passed out of committee this week, and will be on the floor for a vote on Crossover Day.
HB 531: The House's Omnibus Voting Bill
Last week, the House passed HB 531, which means that it can now be heard in the Senate, and voted upon, at any time. If this bill were to pass the Senate and be signed into law by the Governor, the consequences on voters across Georgia would be devastating. HB 531 includes many of the provisions in SB 241, as well as its own changes. Here are a few of the changes it proposes:
It would ban county election offices from receiving outside funding to run elections, potentially limiting the efficiency and functionality of elections in large, underfunded counties
It would require voters to provide a photocopy of their GA driver's license or state ID
It would prevent government/elections offices from sending absentee ballot applications to voters
Drop boxes would only be allowed at early voting locations, and they would only be open to voters during early voting hours, i.e. they would close when the polls closed each day.
It would prevent counties from adding weekend early voting hours, and mandate a 9 AM to 5 PM schedule for early voting, which would hurt voters who don't have job flexibility, as well as large metro counties generally.
Additional News from the Gold Dome!
The Effort to Exclude Transgender Kids From Sports
On Thursday, SB 266 – a bill that would exclude transgender women from participating in women’s sports. This bill appears to be the product of a sensationalized out-of-state case, rather than the needs of transgender and cisgender female athletes in the state of Georgia. There is nothing to suggest that this policy would reduce or prevent harm to female athletes. There is evidence that passing a discriminatory and unjust law that would prevent transgender women from playing school sports would further stigmatize and exclude these students – who are already victimized by the harassment and abuse of other students, and society at large. My Democratic colleagues and I in the Education & Youth committee voted NO, and voiced our strongest objections! This bill is not slated to be heard on Crossover Day, so hopefully it and similar bills in the House will not advance.
SB 214: More Guns, Less Public Health Protections
I am watching SB 214 closely. Last week, the House passed a similar bill -- HB 218, which would grant universal recognition to conceal carry permits held by non-Georgia residents, and require the Georgia Attorney General to enter into formal reciprocity agreements with any state that requires a formal agreement to recognize a Georgia Weapons Carry License.
SB 214, like HB 218, would prohibit government officials from suspending or restricting Second Amendment rights during declared states of emergencies — whether these emergencies are related to disaster, war, terrorism or public health emergencies – which would prevent COVID-19 lockdowns at the state or local level from shutting down gun stores or gun ranges. This baselessly limits state leaders and public health officials from protecting their citizens and preventing the spread of a deadly virus during an emergency that has taken the lives of 500,000 Americans. It could also contribute to the epidemic of gun violence in our streets, and certainly sends the message, with which I vehemently disagree, that more guns everywhere is good.
SB 214 is on the Senate floor on Monday.
SB 171: The Effort to Prevent Reforming the Police
Last week, the GOP introduced SB 171, a bill that is a threat to the 1st Amendment, peaceful protest and the future of the effort to reform policing in America. This week, SB 171 received a committee hearing, in which we heard testimony about the extent to which this bill would chill speech, discourage lawful protest and limit our constitutional rights.
What SB 171 Would Do:
Dramatically expand the scope of laws criminalizing unlawful assembly and increase the attached penalties
Potentially expose activists/social justice organizations to criminal liability under Georgia’s RICO statute
Establish an affirmative defense for people who kill or injure protesters obstructing roadways
Incentivize counties and municipalities to crack down on protests by making them liable for resulting injuries or property damage.
Require counties and municipalities to implement a permit system for any assembly on public property.
Deny state employment and benefits to anyone convicted of unlawful assembly.
I strongly oppose this legislation. The bill would remove budgetary independence with respect to the police from local governments. Moreover, this bill clearly dehumanizes protestors and incentivizes governments and police forces (and even bystanders) to harshly crack down on protests, both before, during and after they happen. This would be an unacceptable and possibly unconstitutional law. Thankfully, it seems that Democrats are joined by a number of Republicans in opposition to this bill.
SB 47: School Vouchers
SB 47 was passed by the Senate on Wednesday, 23-30. The Senate Democrats voted unanimously against this bill, and we were joined by 3 Republicans. This was not, however, enough to block its passage.
The facts have not changed: private school vouchers undermine our public schools by diverting desperately needed resources away from the public school system, to fund the education of the select few students whose families can afford to pay the extra costs of private schooling. Taxpayer money should not be used to afford those with resources extra privileges. The program created by SB 47 is easily abused, and bad for Georgians.
March 1 Town Hall
On Monday, I held a virtual town hall with Representatives Mary Margaret Oliver and Becky Evans. We were joined by 100 constituents, who asked us important questions about voting rights, how to oppose the latest GOP efforts to restrict the vote, and other issues.
If you missed the meeting and would like to watch it, CLICK HERE and enter this password: 1wwc%Jxb
The Battle Over Medicaid Expansion
On February 12, 2021, the federal Medicaid agency began the process of revoking the work requirement attached to Georgia’s current Medicaid waiver program. The agency sent a letter to the Dept. of Community Health to inform the state they have preliminarily decided that the work requirement doesn't promote the objectives of the Medicaid program, and changed the status of Georgia's Medicaid waiver from "approved" to "pending."
Work requirements limit Medicaid enrollment, even among people who are working, because they set up additional barriers and bureaucratic hurdles. Without the work requirement, at least 237,000 more Georgians could get covered through the waiver — which means that the state would spend about $650 million in the first year, rather than the $76 million proposed in the fiscal year 2022 budget.
The fact of the matter is, if the work requirement is struck, the cost of Georgia's Medicaid waiver program will drastically exceed the cost of the full Medicaid expansion. Full expansion would cost about $239 million in the first year and cover over 200,000 more people than the partial Medicaid expansion waiver minus the work requirement! The cost per person for fully expanding Medicaid is 5x lower than Georgia’s Medicaid waiver, because the federal government pays 90% of the costs for full expansion and only 67% of costs for partial expansion.
These numbers make it clear: it's both a moral and financial imperative that we fully expand Medicaid, NOW!
COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Updates
Last week, Gov. Kemp announced that hundreds of thousands of Georgia teachers and school employees, along with a group of other vulnerable residents, will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccinations in early March. After pressure from teachers and parents, Kemp announced that the state's 450,000 educators and school staffers will join the vaccine-eligible pool on March 8th, along with adults with intellectual disabilities and parents of children with "complex medical conditions."
This change will, hopefully, allow for schools to reopen for in-person learning in a way that is safer for students, teachers and parents alike.
Here is a full list of the groups that will be eligible on March 8:
Educators and staff (Pre-K, K-12, DECAL licensed or exempt childcare programs)
Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers
Intellectual Disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 22.
A developmental disability is a physical or mental impairment that happens before the age of 22, is expected to last a lifetime, and impacts at least three activities of daily living. Activities of daily living include self-care; receptive and expressive language; learning; mobility; self-direction; capacity for independent living; and economic self-sufficiency.
Parents of children with complex medical conditions who are at high risk for COVID complications
Malignancies requiring active treatment
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) including organ transplant (bone marrow or solid organ) within 2 years
Critical congenital heart disease
Asthma (moderate to severe)
Sickle cell disease
Diabetes
Obesity (BMI >95%)
Cystic fibrosis
Significant neurologic injury or condition (e.g. hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, traumatic brain injury, congenital anomaly, acute flaccid myelitis) with functional/developmental impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy, developmental disability, prematurity, mitochondrial disease)
Technology dependence (e.g. BiPAP, trach)
Vaccination Distribution
This dashboard is updated with real-time vaccination information each day. Save this link, and you'll be able to follow Georgia's daily progress: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3d8eea39f5c1443db1743a4cb8948a9c/
Below is information on where to get vaccinated, if you qualify, and how to sign up!
Georgia Department of Health Vaccine Hotline: (888) 357-0169 – this number is for questions about the vaccine only! They will not be able to help you schedule appointments.
COVID-19 Vaccine Locator Tool: https://dph.georgia.gov/locations/covid-vaccination-site