Georgia

Crossover Day: Georgia lawmakers tackle immigration, religious freedom protections, more

Published

2 years ago

March 1, 2024

Crossover Day: Georgia lawmakers tackle immigration, religious freedom protections, more

Georgia lawmakers worked well into the night on Thursday to meet a key deadline and advance legislation that could reshape the state.

Thursday was Crossover Day, the last day of each legislative session that a bill can pass from one chamber of the Georgia Legislature into the other to be considered this year. In the span of 14 hours, lawmakers in the state House and Senate voted on more than 100 bills.

In the week leading up to Crossover Day, state senators and representatives have been working overtime to pass their bills through committee in time to be heard on the floor. Follow along with our 2024 bill tracker, and check out our Crossover preview to read about some of the most anticipated legislation.

More: 40 days. 309 bills. Here’s everything Savannah-area lawmakers are trying to pass in 2024

Here are some of the highlights from Thursday:

House of Representatives

HB 1053: Ban Georgia agencies from using CBCD as currency (Passed)

Author: Rep. Carter Barrett (R-Cumming)

Vote: 136-32

Overview: This bill would prevent state agencies from using Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is a state-backed alternative to cryptocurrency. Citing privacy and security concerns, the bill would prevent Georgia’s state government from using, accepting or testing CBDC. Read the original text of the bill here.

HB 1105: The Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024 (Passed)

Author: Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah)

Vote: 97-74

Overview: This bill would impose harsher penalties on sheriffs who refuse to report undocumented immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and require correctional facilities to publicly post the number of undocumented immigrants housed in their prisons. The bill would also require that all eligible law enforcement agencies participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, or risk losing state funding. Read the original text of the bill here.

HB 1105: House passes bill to restrict funding to Georgia law enforcement that fail to work with ICE

HB 1116: Rehabilitation of historic structures (Passed)

Author: Rep. Debbie Buckner (D-Junction City)

Vote: 162-5

Overview: The bill would extend a tax credit for the rehabilitation and preservation of properties listed in the National or Georgia Register of Historic Places, provided that the buildings meet a few additional criteria. It also doubles the total credits available, raising the ceiling to $60 million. Read the original text of the bill here.

HB 1125: Raise minimum wage for Georgians with disabilities (Passed)

Author: Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta)

Vote: 160-0

Overview: This bill overhauls a federal labor law from 1938 that allows companies to pay workers with disabilities less than minimum wage. The measure would update the law to require companies to pay disabled workers federal minimum wage by July 1, 2026. Read the original text of the bill here.

HB 1146: Water access for workforce housing (Passed)

Author: Ron Stephens (R-Savannah)

Vote: 105-58

Overview: With the expansion of the Hyundai facility in Bryan County near Savannah, this bill would allow faster construction of workforce housing by privatizing water permits in instances where public facilities are unable to meet the demand. However, opponents voiced concerns that the construction of workforce housing has been too hasty and could lead to substandard water quality for the workers moving to the area. Read the original text of the bill here.

HB 1180: Film tax credit (Passed)

Author: Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton)

Vote: 131-34

Overview: This bill would restrict eligibility for film, TV and video game productions seeking a tax credit in the state of Georgia. Under current law, productions have to spend at least $500,000 to qualify for a 20% tax credit. The new law would raise the minimum to $1 million and include other incentives to encourage production companies to hire Georgia-based crew and vendors. Read the original text of the bill here.

HR 780: Ban noncitizen voting (Failed)

Author: Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah)

Vote: 98-61

Overview: In response to states like California, Maryland and Vermont opening up participation in local elections to immigrants, this resolution would have placed a roadblock to similar legislation in Georgia. The bill would have created a ballot question for voters to determine whether only U.S. citizens would be eligible to vote within the state, but failed to get the requisite two-thirds majority in the House. Read the original text of the resolution here.

Senate

SB 180: Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Passed)

Author: Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth)

Vote: 33-19

Overview: A bill that closely mirrors federal legislation of the same name would offer greater protections for religious communities by limiting state and local governments’ powers to pass or enforce laws that conflict with an individual’s religious beliefs. Opponents of the bill say it could make it easier to discriminate against a variety of groups, such as women and the LGBTQ community. Read the original text of the bill here.

SB 390: Disaffiliating from the American Library Association (Passed)

Author: Sen. Larry Walker, III (R-Perry)

Vote: 33-20

Overview: This bill would defund all libraries within the state with ties to the American Library Association, as well as dissolve the State Board for the Certification of Librarians. Though advocates of the bill say the disaffiliation is necessary to preserve Georgia values within library settings, opponents point out the numerous unintended consequences of withdrawing from the organization, particularly for students pursuing a master’s degree in library science within the state. Read the original text of the bill here.

SB 543: Regulating Bingo machines (Passed)

Author: Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan)

Vote: 47-4

Overview: This bill would allow the Secretary of State’s office to regulate electronic bingo machines, which are currently one of only three legal forms of gambling in the state of Georgia. It also increases the allowed payout from bingo games. Read the original text of the bill here.

SB 407: Domestic Violence reporting (Passed)

Author: Sen. Donzella James (D-Atlanta)

Vote: 52-1

Overview: This bill would update domestic violence reporting laws to require law enforcement agencies to take reports of family violence more seriously. It would mandate that police prepare an incident report in response to allegations of domestic violence, and that the report notes whether the incident involves someone who currently or at one point had a protective order against them. Read the original text of the bill here.

Source link

Click to comment

Georgia

Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule announced

Published

1 week ago

September 23, 2025

Press Room

Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule announced

The SEC has announced the future Georgia football conference opponents for the 2026 through 2029 seasons.

Georgia will face Florida, South Carolina and Auburn every season. The SEC announced on Friday that the annual opponents will be revisited every four seasons.

Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule

2026: Florida (Atlanta), at South Carolina, Auburn, at Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Vanderbilt
2027: Florida (Tampa), South Carolina, at Auburn, at Kentucky, at Texas, at Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee
2028: Florida (Jacksonville), at South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Oklahoma, at Missouri, at Vanderbilt
2029: Florida (Jacksonville), South Carolina, at Auburn, Kentucky, Texas, Texas A&M, at LSU, at Mississippi State, at Tennessee

“it’s hard. I mean, it’s brutal. And everybody’s the same,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday night. “I mean, we all gotta play each other. It’s really tough, highly ranked teams, physical teams. It’s just going to continue to be a grind. I mean, looking forward with the nines coming, it’s going to be scary because you just don’t have enough. Nobody has enough depth.”

Dates for the 2026 schedule will be announced in December, according to the conference. The schedules will be flipped in 2028 and 2029 from the home-road splits in 2026 and 2027.

In its scheduling outline, the SEC made it clear it wants competitively balanced schedules, which will be determined using the entire schedule and not just the annual opponents. Tennessee reportedly will face Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in each of the next four years. The latter two are not exactly football powerhouses.

According to the SEC, the highest opponent average winning percentage for any school in the 2026-29 schedules is 55.67% while the lowest is 46.65%, a difference of only 9.02%. From 2020 through 2023 — when the league still used the divisional format — the highest winning percentage was 61.32% and the lowest was 39.76%.

In addition to nine conference games, the SEC stipulates that schools face one Power Four in its nonconference scheduling.

Georgia’s game against Georgia Tech satisfies that requirement. Georgia has future nonconference games against Louisville, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State on its schedule for the time being.

As it stands, Georgia has 13 games scheduled for the 2025 season. The Bulldogs have nonconfernce games against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech.

“We’re working through that right now, and a lot of that’s going to be determined as we learn when and where our schedule is going to be in the next few weeks,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. “But that’s something we’re attacking right now to see what our options are going to be in 2026. So we’re going to take it one year at a time right now. The first focus is going to be on 2026 and then 2027 and moving on. So still a lot of work to be done, and I work closely with Coach Smart and Mark Robinson and the league to kind of figure out what is that going to mean for our schedule moving forward.”

Georgia takes on Alabama this week, with the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Source link

Georgia

‘Tinder Swindler’ Leviev arrested upon Georgia arrival | The Jerusalem Post

Published

2 weeks ago

September 14, 2025

Press Room

‘Tinder Swindler’ Leviev arrested upon Georgia arrival | The Jerusalem Post

The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys.

Screenshot of Simon Leviev, the Tinder Swindler, in his documentary series on Free TV.

(photo credit: COURTESY OF FREE TV VIA MAARIV)

ByYOAV ETIEL, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 01:43

Updated: SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 02:03

Source link

Georgia

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: College football live scores, games, highlights and more

Published

3 weeks ago

September 13, 2025

Press Room

Clemson vs. Georgia Tech: College football live scores, games, highlights and more

We’re back for another week of college football action and the slate is loaded, including three games between ranked opponents.

Here’s how to watch in Week 3. Scroll down for live scores, highlights and more.

Here are the best games this Saturday:

Clemson at Georgia Tech (+3), Noon ET, ESPN: The Tigers are just 3-point favorites ahead of their first road game. It’s a sign that expectations for Clemson have been way off. With Haynes King back, the Yellow Jackets will want to keep it on the ground.

Georgia at Tennessee (+4), 3:30 p.m., ABC: Has Georgia’s offense been good enough ahead of this pivotal SEC game? Saturday is the day to air it out as Tennessee will be without its top two corners again.

South Florida at Miami (-17.5), 4:30 p.m., The CW: The Bulls are the surprise team so far this season. Can they pull off a third straight upset, or will the ‘Canes handle business?

Florida at LSU (-7), 7:30 p.m., ABC: This game was going to be the day’s marquee matchup before Florida’s loss to USF. A Florida victory would certainly quiet the idea that Billy Napier is on the hot seat.

Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5), 7:30 p.m., NBC: Aggies QB Marcel Reed has thrown for seven TDs so far and A&M’s offense has racked up 953 total yards. The Irish will surely try to get the ball to their star running backs after a subpar opener.

Source link