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Legislative Update — Jan. 29, 2016

There are a number of religious freedom bills now in the Georgia General Assembly. The Religious Freedom Restoration (RFRA) has been introduced in three separate bills, all of which are fine, but can lead to some confusion. To help clarify, here is the status of four:

SB 129 Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act introduced by Sen. Josh McKoon has passed the Senate. It was tabled in the House Judiciary with an anti-discrimination amendment.

HB 837 Religious Freedom Restoration Act introduced by Rep. Ed Setzler is in the House Judiciary Committee waiting to come up in a hearing. It adopts the federal RFRA language, to remove any concerns that SB 129 does not mirror the federal language.

SB 284 First Amendment Defense Action (FADA) introduced by Sen. Greg Kirk is in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It protects non-profits who hold to traditional marriage.

HB 757 Pastor Protection Act introduced by Rep. Kevin Tanner is in the House Judiciary Committee. It purports to protect ministers and churches from being forced to perform marriages contrary to their religious beliefs.

Some other legislation:
SR 135 enables a change to the Georgia Constitution to allow for pari-mutual gambling on horse-racing. It has passed out of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.

HB 716 would prohibit a person who is licensed to provide professional counseling to counsel a person under 18 years of age with same-sex attraction to resist that inclination.

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