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The ADVANCE, Morch 29, 2023/Page 5A
2023 Session: Week 11 Update
By Leesa Hagan
R-Vidalia
(District 156, Georgia House
of
Representatives)
Last Monday, March
20, the Georgia House of
Representatives recon
vened under the Gold
Dome for our last full
week of the 2023 legisla
tive session. Soon we will
reach Legislative Day 40,
also known as “Sine Die.”
It may seem like our offi
cial business would wind
down in these final days.
However, we have ramped
up our House efforts to
perfect and pass legislation
before the session comes
to an end.
The Soap Box Derby Bill
Back on Track
As I wrote last week,
House Bill 237, which
would have designated the
Southeast Georgia Soap
Box Derby as Georgia’s of
ficial derby, was hijacked
by a Senate committee to
make another attempt at
passing a sports gambling
bill. With the support of
House leadership and
members, I was able to at
tach my bill language to
Senate Bill 158, and pass
it unanimously out of the
House again. I’m confident
it will receive a favorable
vote in the Senate.
Protecting Children
from Gangs
Senate Bill 44 amends
Georgia’s anti-gang statute
in several ways. It clarifies
CLUESACROSS
1. Millisecond
5. Narcotic drug
11. Accident
14. Formal submissions
15. Popular 70s rock band
18. Discourage from doing
19. More socially elite
21. Arid
23. A way to look
24. Fleroes
28. A surfer rides it
29. Potato state
30. Insect repellent
32. Cool!
33. Flave already done
CLUES DOWN
1. Woman (French)
2. Province of Pakistan
3. This (Spanish)
4. Transportation device
5. Greater in importance
or priority
6. The human foot
7. Within
8. Consumed
9. Respectful Malaysian term
10. Therefore
12. Ceased to exist
13. Type of macaroni
16. English composer
17. Wooded tract
20. Tall, slender-leaved plant
22. 36 inches
25. Take too much (abbr.)
26. Allow
27. Individually
that it is unlawful for a per
son to indirectly recruit
individuals to become
a member of a criminal
street gang or participate in
gang activity and increases
the minimum sentences if
convicted. There will be
a further increase in the
penalty if a gang member
recruits a minor under 17
years old or an individual
with a disability to join a
street gang.
Prisoner Re-entry
We passed a bipartisan
measure to support Geor
gians as they rebuild their
lives after prison. Senate
Bill 218 allows state identi
fication cards to be issued
to inmates after they com
plete their incarceration.
Additionally, when an
inmate is released from a
DOC facility, the individ
ual can request documen
tation regarding programs
he or she completed while
incarcerated. These indi
viduals could also request
documentation if they
obtained a state-approved
high school equivalency
diploma, other educa
tional degrees, and their
institutional work record.
Providing this documen
tation and identification
will help these Georgians
gain employment and start
rebuilding their lives after
incarceration. This bill will
go to the Governor for his
signature.
Banning Tik-Tok
The House unani
mously passed Senate Bill
93 to prohibit the use of
certain foreign-owned so
cial media platforms on
state devices. This ban
would only apply to social
media platforms owned
or operated by a foreign
adversary or by a com-
35. Collegiate women’s fraternity
36. To the degree
39. Gasteyer and de Armas are two
41. Blood type
42. Looked over
44. Language of Cameroon and Chad
46. Species of armadillo
47. Touch softly
49. Part of your upper body
52. Large, stocky lizards
56. Lack of social or ethical standards
58. Congressman
60. Unofficial force
62. As a result of this utterance
63. A main branch of Islam
29. Journalist Tarbell
31. Bar bill
34. Hong Kong food stall:
pai dong
36. Not messy
37. Species that includes reedmace
38. Former MLB catcher Ed
40. Northern U.S. state
43. Wilt
45. Commercial
48. Bolivian river
50. Nursemaid
51. A car needs four
53. Guns (slang)
54. American state
55. Clusters of fem fronds
57. Body part
58. A person’s brother or sister
59. Breed of sheep native to Sweden
61. Ofl
pany which is domiciled
in, headquartered in, or is
organized under the laws
of a foreign adversary.
Governor Kemp issued
a memo to state agencies
in December to prohibit
employees from using Tik-
Tok on their state-owned
devices, like cellphones or
laptops. This new law codi
fies his order with the goal
of preventing TikTok from
accessing critical, private
information or collecting
data about our state gov
ernment’s operations. This
bill does not apply to indi
viduals’ personal devices.
Expanding Dual Enroll
ment
Last Thursday, the
House passed Senate Bill
86 to allow eligible dual
enrollment students to
take certain career, techni
cal, and agricultural edu
cation (CTAE) courses,
regardless of whether he
or she has reached the
maximum credit hour cap.
Our goal is to support stu
dents who are preparing
to join our state’s work
force by allowing them to
earn college credit before
graduation. Local CTAE
courses are crucial to sup
porting high-demand ca
reer fields throughout our
state. These funds will help
students pay for the neces
sary training they need to
launch their careers.
Other Bills We Passed
Other bills passed in
the House this week in
clude:
Senate Bill 1, which
would permanently pro
hibit state and local gov
ernments from requiring
proof of COVID-19 vac
cination as a condition of
providing services, access
ing a facility, issuing licens
es or permits, performing
duties and other matters.
Senate Bill 42 revises
the penalty for certain
businesses that fail to post
required signage about the
human trafficking hotline.
The hotline handles tips
about potential sex and
labor trafficking and re
ports the incidents to law
enforcement. Recognizing
and reporting potentially
dangerous situations are
the first steps to ending
human trafficking in our
state. To report suspected
human trafficking in Geor
gia, you can call the state
wide 24-hour hotline at
(866) 363-4842.
Senate Bill 47, which
would add the use of elec
tronic smoking or vaping
devices to the Georgia
Smokefree Air Act of 2005.
Senate Bill 73, which
would allow citizens on
the “Do Not Call List”
who receive more than one
unauthorized telephone
solicitation within a year
to bring action against the
entity that made the solici
tations and/or the entity
the telephone solicitations
were made on behalf of for
injunctive relief and dam
ages.
Senate Bill 164, which
would create licensure re
quirements for advanced
practice registered nurses;
this bill makes it a misde
meanor to practice as an
APRN without a license
and adds anesthesiolo
gist assistant to the Geor
gia Composite Medical
Board and the Physician
Assistants Advisory Com
mittee; SB 164 is also the
Anesthesiologist Assis
tant Act and would create
the licensure process and
regulation of anesthesiolo
gist assistants through the
Georgia Composite Medi
cal Board.
Senate Bill 197, or the
“Health Care Practitioners
Truth and Transparency
Act,” amends the Con
sumer Information and
Awareness Act to prohibit
an advertisement or iden
tification by a health care
practitioner that includes
deceptive or misleading
terms or false representa
tion of medical titles that
they do not hold; the bill
requires advanced practice
registered nurses and phy
sician assistants to verbally
identify themselves during
each patient interaction
and clearly state they are
not a medical doctor.
Senate Bill 220, or the
“Georgia Farmland Con
servation Act,” which cre
ates the Georgia Farmland
Conservation Trust Fund
to provide matching grant
awards to qualified ease
ment holders to support
farmland conservation,
active farming and food
production, or to purchase
agricultural conservation
easement.
Visitors to the Capitol
Two new Toombs
County Republican Party
officers visited the Capitol
last Monday. Trish Poole
is the new Chair, and Shari
Poole is the new 2nd Vice-
Chair.
Bryson and Dalton
Henriott, Vidalia Heri
tage Academy graduates
and students at the Uni
versity of Georgia, visited
the Capitol with the UGA
Student Government As
sociation.
I failed to mention in
my last article that Craig
George, Jimbo Partin, and
others from Gardens of
Hope RCO came to Atlan
ta to visit with legislators.
They specialize in policy
advocacy, outreach pro
grams, and peer-based re
covery support to help
individuals find long-term
recovery.
Next week, the Geor
gia General Assembly will
convene for two legislative
days before the 2023 leg
islative session adjourns
“Sine Die” on Wednesday,
March 29. My House col
leagues and I will be hard
at work to pass meaning
ful legislation for our state
and its citizens. Before we
complete our business for
the session, I urge you to
contact me if you have any
questions, concerns, or in
put on any measures being
considered in the House
or Senate. I can be reached
by email at Leesa.Hagan(a)
house.ga.gov. Thank you
for allowing me to serve as
your state representative.
From the Record
THE BLOTTER
These are the reported
arrests from the Toombs
County Sheriff's Office,
the Vidalia and Lyons
police departments,
and the Montgomery
County Sheriff's Office
for the past week,
Incidents are taken
directly from police
files, All suspects are
innocent until proven
guilty.
In Lyons...
• Erroll Cameron
Mathews, of Lyons,
was arrested on
March 21 and
charged with Driving
While Unlicensed.
• Diamond
Simeon Williams, of
Vidalia, was arrested
on March 27 and
charged with Head
light Requirements,
Fleeing Attempting
to Elude-Felony.
• Salvatore Anto
nio Andrews, of Met-
ter, was arrested on
March 23 and
charged with Family
Violence Provision-
Simple Battery, Inter
ference With 911
Call, Burglary, Kid
napping, Theft by
Taking.
In Toombs
County...
• James Beecher,
of Chauncey, was
arrested on March
22 and charged with
Failure to Appear.
• Extavious Hill, of
Vidalia, was arrested
on March 23 and
charged with Enter
ing Automobile, 2
counts; Financial
Transaction Card
Fraud, 2 counts.
• Kaitlynn Joyner,
of Lyons, was ar
rested on March 20
and charged with
Making False Report/
Giving False Informa
tion, False State
ments and Writings:
Concealment of
Facts.
• Lacoriea Smith,
of Swainsboro, was
arrested on March
23 and charged with
Reckless Driving;
Speeding in Excess
of Maximum Limits;
Fleeing or Attempt
ing to Elude a Police
Officer; Driving While
License Suspended
or Revoked-Misd;
Giving False Name,
Address or DOB to
Officers; TCDC-Out
of County Hold.
• Danielle
Thompson, of Vida
lia, was arrested on
March 22 and
charged with theft
by Taking.
In Montgomery
County...
• Lorenzo Patter
son, of Uvalda, was
arrested and
charged with Crimi
nal Trespass.
• James Anthony
Walker, of Eastman,
was arrested and
charged with Felony
Probation Violation.
• Gwen Delores
Kelley, of Mount Ver
non, was arrested
and charged with
Deposit Account
Fraud.
• Katelyn Davis
Wilkes, of Lyons, was
arrested and
charged with Felony
Probation Violation.
• Tabitha Nicole
Rose Quattlebaum,
of Dallas, was ar
rested and charged
with Possession of
methamphetamine,
Possession of Mari
juana, Possession of
Drug Related Ob
jects.
• Marvin Leon
Thompson III, of Dal
las, was arrested and
charged with Posses
sion of methamphet
amine, Possession of
Marijuana, Posses
sion of Drug Related
Objects, Driving with
Suspended License.
• Brenton Hunter
McDaniel, of Ailey,
was arrested and
charged with Aggra
vated Assault (2
Counts), Criminal
Damage to Property
- 2nd.
• Lorenzo Todd
Breedlove, of
Uvalda, was arrested
and charged with
Possession of Meth
amphetamine.
• Felicia Ann Ev
ans, of Uvalda, was
arrested and
charged with Failure
to Appear, Posses
sion of Methamphet
amine.
In Vidalia...
• Celetia Fletcher,
of Vidalia, was ar
rested on March 20
and charged with
Warrant Served.
• Martin David
Drew, of Lyons, was
arrested on March
21 and charged with
Criminal Trespass /
Simple Obstruction.
• Terrell Darquise
Hurston, of Reidsville,
was arrested on
March 22 and
charged with Reck
less Driving / Cruelty
to Children (2
Counts).
• Delvinnear Jor
dan, of Vidalia, was
arrested on March
22 and charged with
No Driver's License.
• Emory Edward
Rix, of Glenwood,
was arrested on
March 24 and
charged with Shop-
liting / Criminal Tres
pass / Poss of Meth-
amphetaines.
• Destiny Denise
Brooks, of Glen
wood, was arrested
on March 24 and
charged with Theft
by Shoplifting.
• Charles Tyler
Brooks, of Glen
wood, was arrested
on March 24 and
charged with Theft
by Shoplifting.
• Chelsea Lynn
Walker, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 24 and
charged with Theft
by Shoplifting.
• Cody Lee Fair-
cloth, of Vidalia, was
arrested on March
24 and charged with
Cruelty to Children.
• Travis Jermaine
Mobley, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 24 and
charged with Sus
pended License /
Stop Sign Viol / Giv
ing False Information
/ Possession of Mari
juana with intent to
Sell.
• Hector Rodri
guez, of Lyons, was
arrested on March
25 and charged with
Simple Obstruction /
Criminal Trespass.
• Brendan Lem
uel Baily, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 25 and
charged with Bur
glary.
• Demetrious
Mills, of Vidalia, was
arrested on March
26 and charged with
Warrant Served
(Toombs County).
• Keith Mckinney,
of Vidalia, was ar
rested on March 26
and charged with
Forceful Obstruction
/ Criminal Trespass.
• Anthony Hud
son, of Jacksonville,
FL, was arrested on
March 26 and
charged with Sus
pended License.
Crossword Puzzle
Solution, page 13A