The Gold Dome Download Monday, February 20, 2023 Happy Presidents' Day! This week marks the halfway point of the 2023 Georgia Legislative Session. Although the legislature is out today, they'll be back tomorrow for Legislative Day 21. Crossover Day - the day a bill must be passed out of at least one chamber - is two weeks from today, on March 6th. As the clock continues ticking down, we're tracking legislation and giving you the rundown on all the news under the Gold Dome. LATEST LEGISLATION Below you will find summaries of the top bills introduced in the legislature last week. Read the full bills by clicking the links below. SENATE BILL 88 About: Education, relating to regulating conversations about sex and gender in schools Sponsors: Senators Summers, Moore, Beach, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. SENATE BILL 180 About: Religious liberty, relating to enhancing protections Sponsors: Senators Setzler, Brass, Anavitarte, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. SENATE BILL 189 About: Election integrity, relating to eliminating ballot barcodes Sponsors: Senators Burns, Dolezal, Brass, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. HOUSE BILL 380 About: Sports betting, relating to legalization Sponsors: Representatives Wiedower, Martin, Evans, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. OTHER BILLS TO WATCH Below you will find summaries of other bills to watch as they progress through the legislative process. Read the full bills by clicking the links below. SENATE BILL 44 About: Public safety, relating to prosecution of gang-related activities Sponsors: Senators Hatchett, Kennedy, Gooch, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. SENATE BILL 69 About: State property, relating to building a statue of Justice Clarence Thomas Sponsors: Senators Watson, Anavitarte, Kennedy, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. SENATE BILL 92 About: Technology, relating to banning foreign-owned technology on state devices Sponsors: Senators Anavitarte, Kennedy, Gooch, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. SENATE BILL 141 About: Health care, relating to regulating minors receiving gender-altering procedures Sponsors: Senators Dixon, Gooch, Harbin, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. HOUSE BILL 17 About: Elections, relating to ballot custody Sponsors: Representatives Powell, Leverett, DeLoach, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. HOUSE BILL 54 About: Education, relating to increasing the income tax credit for school choice Sponsors: Representatives Carson, Hilton, Reeves, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. HOUSE BILL 162 About: Economy, relating to distributing refunds to Georgia taxpayers Sponsors: Representatives McDonald, Blackmon, Gilliard, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. HOUSE BILL 200 About: Elections, related to instant runoffs Sponsors: Representatives Gullett, Evans, Pirkle, and others. To read the bill, CLICK HERE. HOUSE BILLS 229 AND 231 About: Public safety, relating to holding DAs accountable Sponsors: Representatives Gaines and Gullett. To read the bills, CLICK HERE and HERE. KNOW YOUR STATE SENATE & HOUSE LEADERS President Pro Tempore Sen. John F. Kennedy Senator John F. Kennedy is the President Pro Tempore. His role as Pro Tempore is to preside over the Senate when the Lieutenant Governor is not present. Senator Kennedy has served the people of Crawford, Monroe, Peach, Upson, Bibb, and Houston counties since he was elected to the Senate in 2014. Click HERE to visit the Senate website. Speaker Pro- Tempore Rep. Jan Jones Representative Jan Jones serves as Speaker Pro-Tempore, the second highest-ranking member in the Georgia House of Representatives. In the absence of the Speaker, Representative Jones presides over the House. Rep. Jones has been a member since 2002 and Speaker Pro-Tempore since 2010. Following the death of Speaker Ralston, Rep. Jones briefly filled the position of Speaker of the House, making her the first woman to hold that position in the State of Georgia. In the 2023 legislative session, her colleagues re-elected her to the role of Speaker Pro-Tempore. Rep. Jones represents areas in parts of Fulton and Cherokee counties. Click HERE to visit the House website. LATEST FROM GREATER GEORGIA SENATE RESOLUTION 65: A few weeks ago, the Georgia State Senate recognized the work of Greater Georgia and our Chairwoman Kelly Loeffler through Senate Resolution 65. Click here or the video below to hear Chairwoman Loeffler's speech! FIGHTING ZUCKERBUCKS: Greater Georgia has been hard at work continuing our efforts to defend election integrity. This month, we called for an investigation into the DeKalb County Board of Elections for accepting $2 million from the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, a group backed by the Center for Civic and Tech Life (CTCL). In 2020, Mark Zuckerberg funneled $45 million into Georgia though CTCL - funding local election boards in predominantly blue counties. These so-called "Zuckerbucks" became illegal in Georgia with the passage of SB 202 in 2021. The bottom line is that local boards of election should not be funded by outside money or special interests. It's why we're working to hold DeKalb County accountable - and to ensure that no county in Georgia is influenced by partisan slush funds. CLICK HERE to learn more and read our full press release. WASHINGTON WOES  Earlier this month, a train carrying vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate - two extremely toxic chemicals - derailed and crashed in East Palestine, Ohio. Residents who were exposed could experience long-term effects. As of today, United States Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has yet to visit Ohio. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ohio, now and in the future, as they navigate this tragedy that will forever change this community. To read more about the train derailment, click HERE. To read about the people of Ohio's pleas to DC and Sec. Buttigieg, click HERE. FOLLOW THE PROCESS  Stay up to date on all things under the Gold Dome including committee hearings, track legislation, and more by visiting, www.legis.ga.gov. You can also follow @GASenatePress and @GaHouseHub on Twitter to get legislative updates in real time. Finally, you can search for and contact your state legislators by clicking HERE. WHAT WE'RE READING Fox News – Lt. governor blasts media coverage of Georgia's election law after poll says 99% midterm voters had no issues Bloomberg – Biden Eleventh Circuit Pick Advances Out of Senate Judiciary (1) The Hill – College Board admits to ‘mistakes’ in rollout of AP African American Studies Daily Wire – United States Urges Citizens To Leave Russia Immediately Wall Street Journal – Skills Beat Degrees for Government Jobs Politico – Harris on China balloon episode: I don’t think it impacts our relations Decaturish – DeKalb County attorney defends elections grant after Kelly Loeffler calls for investigation AJC – Georgia sets international trade record for second straight year GET INVOLVED Greater Georgia's work is critical to defending conservative values, and it is only possible through the hard work and support of strong, grassroots volunteers. We need your help! — Click the buttons below to find out how you can join the fight for conservative values. 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