We are quickly approaching the halfway point of the 2022 Legislative Session. 

Last week, a total of 15 bills and resolutions passed on the Senate floor, many of which carried bipartisan support. 

Now that the budget is in the Senate’s hands, that, too, has become one of the key fixtures of our work this week.

Early in the week, much of the Senate’s time was dedicated to subcommittee hearings of the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

These subcommittees hearings allow us to hear, from Georgia’s agencies themselves, what their budgetary needs to look like for the remainder of the fiscal year and how those may differ from what was originally appropriated by the House. This way, we can true up any discrepancies between what we originally budgeted for, versus what funding was actually necessary. 

After our hearings, additional meetings were held to iron out the final details of the Senate’s proposed budget, which should be passed out of the full committee and on to the Senate floor in the next week or two.

A major theme of our legislative calendars last week was public safety, as we passed several measures aimed at providing additional financial security for our officers and also imposing harsher penalties on those who carry out the most detestable of crimes. 

For instance, we passed Senate Bill 84, which would add communications officers to those eligible to enter into the Peace Officer’s Annuity and Benefit Fund. 

Senate Bill 461 would make it that much more difficult for someone convicted of human trafficking to be bailed out by elevating that authority to a superior court. 

Additionally, the Senate saw a need to address a growing issue in our schools: cyberbullying. Senate Bill 316 would require parents and students be notified that certain acts of cyberbullying may be considered stalking. This is such an important step to take to thwart the unsettling rise in mental health struggles among our student population. 

As a final bill dealing with public safety we took up this week, SB 360, known as “Colton’s Law,” would increase penalties against those who are convicted of cruelty against a disabled minor. 

Each of these bills have the ability to make our state a safer place and one that is more supportive of our law enforcement.

Progress was also made on a number of priority bills for the Majority Caucus. 

Senate Bill 393, the Common Carrier Non-Discrimination Act, received a lengthy hearing and was successfully voted out of the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. 

SB 393 would essentially prohibit big tech companies from censoring political language they find to be unfavorable on their platforms. After passing its assigned committee, the bill now rests in the Rules Committee where it may be selected for a vote on the Senate Floor as early as next week. 

Senate Bill 377, which would prohibit the teaching of certain divisive concepts in our schools, had an additional several hearing in committee this week and we are continuing to gather input from students, parents and educators to have a bill that addresses concerns raised from all sides of the issue before a final vote is taken.

If you have any questions about any of the bills we have discussed to this point, or about the budget, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.

Brian Strickland of McDonough is a Republican from District 17, serving in the Georgia Senate.