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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2023)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2023 THE JACKSON HERALD PAGE 5A State news Religious freedom debate resurfaces in General Assembly By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service A fight over religious free dom legislation that roiled the General Assembly sev en years ago is back before Georgia lawmakers. State Sen. Ed Setzler intro duced a bill Wednesday pro tecting the right of Georgians to "free exercise of religion” from intrusion by the state or local governments. “Every Georgian should be free to exercise their religious faith,” Setzler, R-Acworth, said during a news confer ence at the state Capitol. “Without a state RFRA (Re ligious Freedom Restoration Act), Georgians do not have protection for religious ex pression.” Congress passed a biparti san federal RFRA law back in 1993. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled four years later that the protections the law provided extended only to intrusions by the federal gov ernment, not by states or local governments. The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a Georgia RFRA bill in 2016. But then-GOP Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the measure after a storm of protest from civil rights groups that it threat ened the rights of LGBTQ+ Georgians. Business organizations including the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce also opposed the bill as poten tially harmful to Georgia’s economy after organizers of conventions and sporting events threatened to boycott the Peach State if the RFRA legislation became law. Setzler said the 2016 bill was “broadly expanded” from the language contained in the federal RFFA. He said his new bill sticks to the lan guage of the federal law. Under Senate Bill 180, the state and local governments would not be permitted to "substantially burden” an in dividual’s free exercise of re ligion unless the government could demonstrate it had a "compelling governmental interest” in doing so and that it was using the “least restrictive means” of intru sion. Frontline Policy Action, a Georgia-based Christian organization, endorsed Set- zler's bill. "This legislation doesn’t determine outcomes in the courtroom but simply pro vides a balancing test to weigh important, compet ing interests and give reli gious freedom a fair hear ing,” said Cole Muzio, the group’s president. “Frontline will continue to work with like-minded lawmakers to champion SB 180 and turn this long overdue and timely legislation into law.” The Metro Atlanta Cham ber did not immediately re spond to an e-mail request ing comment. Setzler’s bill has picked up support from some influ ential Senate Republicans. Cosponsors include Sen ate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, and Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Sports betting backers pushing end run around Georgia Constitution By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service Legislative supporters of legalizing sports betting in Georgia are trying something different this year. To avoid amending the pes ky state Constitution, which requires a two-thirds vote of the Georgia House and Sen ate, lawmakers in both cham bers are pushing bills that would allow online sports betting by statute. Adding sports betting to Georgia law without a constitutional change would need only a simple majority vote in the House and Senate, But skeptics are warning that doing an end run around the Georgia Constitution runs the risk of lawsuits tying up the state in court and need lessly delaying sports betting from taking effect. Lawmakers backing the statute route are armed with a new legal opinion from former Georgia Chief Justice Harold Melton asserting that a constitutional amendment is unnecessary. In a 10-page memorandum requested by the Metro Atlanta Chamber - a key supporter of bringing sports betting to Georgia - Melton contends that sports betting can be classified as a form of lottery, already legal in Georgia under the 1992 constitutional amendment that created the Georgia Lot tery. Melton cites a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling that declared three ingredients - prize, chance, and consider ation - are legally required to constitute a lottery. “Bettors pay a fee (the con sideration) to enter the bet ting scheme with the hope of winning money (the prize),” he wrote. Melton continued that es tablishing the element of “chance” may be a “closer question” than the prize or consideration. Nonetheless, he concludes that chance is present in sports betting. “Although a bettor may exercise some skill in pick ing a particular team or ath lete as the winner, the actual determination of a winner is entirely dependent on the ultimate performance of the teams or player,” he wrote. A bill before the state Sen ate goes further by calling for legalizing not only sports betting in Georgia by statute but also horse racing. It does so by allowing only “fixed- odds” betting on horses rath er than pari-mutuel betting, which is specifically prohib ited by the Georgia Constitu tion along with casino gam bling. "This bill has no pari-mu tuel betting and no casinos,” said Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, the chief spon sor of Senate Bill 57. But former U.S. Rep. John Barrow of Athens, who is a lawyer, called attempts to jus tify legalizing sports betting in Georgia without a constitu tional amendment “legalistic hocus-pocus.” In an opinion piece pub lished by the Atlanta Jour nal-Constitution, Barrow wrote that betting on sports cannot be classified as a form of “lottery" but does fit the definition of “pari-mutuel,” and thus would require a con stitutional amendment. “ ‘Pari-mutuel’ is the word that has always been applied to gambling on the outcome of some other contest - a race, a fight, a game, what ever,” he wrote. “Unlike a lottery, it depends on such things as the skill or strength of the contestants, and on the skill of the gambler in eval uating the contestants. This is the very essence of sports betting.” Beyond the legal dispute over whether sports betting can happen in Georgia with out a constitutional change is the practical consideration that going the statute route would leave out casinos. Re cent polling of likely Georgia voters found stronger support for bringing casino gambling to Georgia than sports bet ting. A demographic breakdown of polling results also showed that while sports betting is popular among younger vot ers and Black men, casinos are more appealing to older voters and Black women. "A bet's a bet, but your grandma wants to enjoy some newfound freedom different ly than your nephew,” said Dan McLagan, spokesman for All in Georgia, a casino industry group. “Let's not throw grandma from the fun train.” McLagan also argued that resort casinos would generate significantly more economic impact in Georgia than online sports betting, which lacks a brick-and-mortar presence and, thus, would create few jobs. Georgia lawmakers will have plenty of options to pick from when it comes to legalizing gambling during this year’s legislative session. Thus far, two constitutional amendments have been intro duced - one in the House and one in the Senate - while two more bills would bring gam bling to the Peach State with out a constitutional change. State Senate EV bill gets first airing By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service The first bill to emerge from a legislative study committee that met last year to explore how to prepare Georgia to accommodate an anticipated influx of electric vehicles is making its way through the General Assem bly. Senate Bill 146 would re quire Georgia utilities and retailers including conve nience stores that build elec tric vehicle charging stations to charge EV owners by the kilowatt hour for the elec tricity they sell. Currently, charges are based on the length of time a vehicle is connected to the charging station. Charging by the kilowatt hour was a key recommen dation the Joint Study Com mittee on the Electrification of Transportation made when it issued its final report last November. "It makes more sense to pay for the energy consumed rather than for how long someone is plugged into a charger,” Stephanie Goss- man, electric transportation manager for Georgia Power, told members of the state Senate Committee on Regu lated Industries and Utilities last Tuesday. Spokespersons for Georgia Power, Georgia EMC and the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores endorsed the kilowatt-hour proposal during last Tuesday's initial hearing on the Senate EV bill. Convenience stores and other retailers are expected to provide the lion’s share of EV charging stations. Goss- man said the charging sta tions Georgia Power operates make up less than 3% of the market. Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, said the legislation's intent is to set the kilowatt-hour rate equivalent to what owners of cars powered by inter nal-combustion engines pay in state sales taxes for gaso line. The bill would eliminate the flat $200 annual fee EV owners have been paying since 2015, which doesn’t ac count for how much or how little an EV is driven. Gooch said his bill is in keeping with Gov. Bri an Kemp’s pledge to make Georgia a national leader in electric mobility. “The creation of this frame work will be a great step in that direction,” he said. Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Ath- ens, the committee’s chair man, said expects the pane will vote on the legislation this week. “Tripledemic” on decline in Georgia By Rebecca Grapevine Capitol Beat News Service Georgia’s “tripledemic” — the simultaneous outbreaks of flu, COVID, and respiratory synctical virus (RSV) — is on the decline, state epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek said last Wednesday. The flu season started early and peaked in October both nationally and in Georgia, Drenzek told members of the Georgia Board of Public Health during its first meeting since November. Hospitalizations are down by about 60% since last week in metro Atlanta, the sole region where DPH tracks the data. Despite the decline in the amount of flu activity, severe outcomes including death are higher nationally than in past years. So far this flu season, 97 children have died from the flu nationwide, including six just this past week. Drenzek said older adults and young children are the most likely to experience severe outcomes such as hospitaliza tion and death. The pattern for RSV, which typically causes cold-like symptoms but can be serious in young children, has been similar to the pattern for flu. The RSV season began early and peaked in October, Drenzek said. There is also good news when it comes to COVID-19. The level of hospitalizations for elderly Georgians is about one-fifth of what it was at this time last year, Drenzek said. Deaths have also decreased. The decline in severe outcomes indicates COVID vac cines and boosters are working, Drenzek said. Though the risk has decreased, many are still vulnerable to COVID, with more than 3,000 people still dying of COVID each week in the United States. “Flu vaccine and bivalent [COVID] boosters remain critical for those at risk,” Drenzek said. In legislative news, the state Department of Public Health is supporting a bill before the General Assembly that would prohibit vaping in any designated smoke-free area, said Megan Andrews, the agency’s assistant commis sioner for policy. The goal is to bring vaping rules on par with other smoking rules. The Georgia Senate’s Health and Human Services Com mittee has approved the bill. The full Senate is expected to vote on it Wednesday. State Senate approves wide- ranging reforms to Georgia’s gang laws By Rebecca Grapevine Capitol Beat News Service The state Senate Thursday approved a wide-ranging bill aimed at stemming the tide of gang-related crime in Georgia. Sponsored by Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, the 10-page bill makes a number of changes to Georgia’s criminal law to address gang violence. Albers said he consulted a wide range of groups in crafting the law, including prosecutors, judges, victims' rights groups, district attorneys, trial lawyers, activist groups and others. “This is much needed and real criminal justice reform,” Albers said. The legislation increases the penalty for possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a forcible felony or domestic violence. Currently, the penalty can range from one to five years in prison. Under Albers’ bill, it would increase to at least five years behind bars. The measure also makes a number of procedural changes to Georgia’s gang laws. If passed, it would mandate that Su perior Court judges handle all bond hearings for gang crimes. Currently, magistrates sometimes handle these hearings. Albers gave the example of a 2010 murder of a child by a gang member who had been released on bond by a magistrate judge. Local governments and others would also be able to bring civil, not just criminal, actions against gang members. The bill would also consolidate the venues in which criminal con victions could be pursued. “Oftentimes, gang members will continue to move around from county to city,” Albers said. “Rather than trying to pros ecute that in multiple areas, it allows them to consolidate it in one single venue.” Certain past crimes could also be used to prove gang mem bership. The bill would also require that people convicted of the re peat offense of abuse of children, people with special needs, and elderly people receive the maximum sentence possible in most cases. It also allows prior evidence to be used in prose cuting people charged with those crimes. The state Senate approved the bill by a 44 to 8 vote. 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