We made it to the end of the 2025 Georgia legislative session! As legislators, staff, and lobbyists head to the beach for a break, we’re here to tell you what had happened by midnight on Sine Die – the 40th day of the session. Religious freedom? Regulation of the transgender industry? Standards for imposing the death penalty? Obscenity in libraries? Tune in to find out about these issues and more, and to learn about the Governor’s role from this point. We also give a glimpse of some bills that are already being teed up for next year’s session.

https://georgia.gov/life-law

The 2025 legislative session ends at midnight on Friday, April 4. Activity in committees and on the floor of the House and Senate has been intense, and it will ramp up further during the last week of the session. This week’s show updates the bills we’ve been following that implicate the teachings of the Church: bills about religious freedom, obscenity in school libraries, “school safety” vs. student and family privacy, marijuana, and more. 

Check the chart on our website, https://thequestatlanta.com/legislation-made-simple/, to follow the bills’ status. The chart will tell you which committee has which bill. Then go to the legislative website, https://www.legis.ga.gov/, click on “Committees,” then “House Committees” or “Senate Committees,” as the case may be. Click on that committee name to see members’ names and contact information. Phone calls and emails can be very effective! [If you’re interested in a bill that doesn’t appear on our chart, click “All Legislation” at the top left of the legislative homepage, and then plug in HB or SB and the bill number. A search will tell you which committee has the bill.] 

If the chart tells you the bill has passed committee and is now in Rules, that means it’s in either the House Rules Committee or the Senate Rules Committee, depending on which chamber the bill is now in. The Rules Committee is the last stop before the bill is voted on by the full chamber. Rules is very powerful – it can send a bill to the floor quickly, or kill it by never taking it up. So calls to chairmen and members of the Rules Committees are also important.

Among the bills for which calls and emails are important this week is SB 36, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This bill passed the House Judiciary Committee and now sits in House Rules. Please call the Speaker of the House, Jon Burns, https://www.legis.ga.gov/house/speaker, and Rules Committee chairman Butch Parrish, https://www.legis.ga.gov/committees/house/109, and ask them to support this bill without amendments!

Buckle up as the legislature hits the homestretch of the 2025 legislative session, which ends at midnight on April 4, 2025. This week’s show updates the bills we’ve been following that implicate the teachings of the Church: bills about religious freedom, obscenity in school libraries, the massive “school safety” bill, and more. We also discuss some federal developments that will affect us in Georgia.

Check the chart on our website, https://thequestatlanta.com/legislation-made-simple/, to follow the bills’ status. Armed with the bill number, go to the legislative website, https://www.legis.ga.gov/, click on “All Legislation” at the top left, and then plug in HB or SB and the bill number. A search will tell you which committee has the bill. Click on that committee name to see members’ names and contact information. Phone calls and emails can be very effective! This week, contacts are critical for these bills that will probably have second hearings in their respective committees:

• SB 36, which needs to be passed in the House Judiciary Committee without any amendments, to protect our religious freedom
• SB 74, which needs to be passed in the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee to protect children from obscene materials in school libraries and other public libraries.
  
  

As we find ourselves with less than 10 legislative days to go in the 2025 Georgia Legislative session, we take this show to update all the bills we’ve been watching that made it to the opposite chamber on Crossover Day. We report what’s happening – and what isn’t - with religious freedom, obscenity in school libraries, the massive “school safety” bill, marijuana regulation, and more. We also discuss some federal developments that will affect us in Georgia. 

Since none of these Georgia bills has passed out of committee in the new chamber, our listeners may want to weigh in by contacting the relevant committee chairmen, and members of the committees, especially if their House representative or senator serves on one of those committees. It’s easy – if you know the bill number you’re interested in (you can find that on the chart on our Legislation Made Simple website, https://thequestatlanta.com/legislation-made-simple/), go to the legislative website, https://www.legis.ga.gov/, click on “All Legislation” at the top left, and then plug in HB or SB and the bill number. A search will tell you which committee has the bill. Click on that committee name to see members’ names and contact information. Phone calls and emails can be very effective!

Kelly Himes Brolly, constitutional lawyer


We discuss a very serious issue: the attempt to improve school safety with HB 268. Our guest is constitutional lawyer Kelly Himes Brolly, who analyzed the bill and found numerous problems related to parental rights, student data privacy, and conflicts with federal law and the Constitution itself. All parents should listen to her analysis and make their views known to members of the Senate Education & Youth Committee, where the bill will be heard after passing the House.

On this first show after Crossover Day, we also give an update on which bills are still alive and which have gone into hibernation until next year. You’ll be surprised at some of the developments!

Resources:

• Freedom in Education website
• Book: Laws, Rules, and Rights: A Guide to Protecting Children in Public Schools
• Discover Your Parental Rights in Education from Double Umbrella Publications
• Laws, Rules, Rights in Education from Thinq
• Senate Education & Youth Committee

Georgia GOAL CEO, Ben Saylor


Learn about an issue that’s critical for many parents who want a Catholic education for their children: the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program. Georgia GOAL CEO, Ben Saylor, explains how we can contribute to Catholic-school scholarships for lower-income families and get a dollar-for-dollar credit on state income taxes. He also tells us about HB 328, which the House is considering to raise the cap on these tax credits.

We also give an update on the fast and furious pace of legislation as we approach Crossover Day (March 6): religious freedom, marijuana, obscenity in schools, and more. Gambling update: SR 131, to authorize a vote on a constitutional amendment to allow online sports betting and casinos, failed in committee. A brand-new House bill has been introduced to do the same thing except for sports betting only. Stay tuned for updates.

Resources:

• Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program
• Georgia Bulletin article: "Archdiocese to partner with Georgia GOAL for student scholarships"
• Information on HB 328 legislation to increase cap for tax credits available for certain contributions to student scholarship organizations
• Committees to contact (call the chairman, plus your senator or representative if he or she is on the committee):
  • Senate Rules Committee, which decides which bills that have passed committee will be sent to the full Senate - ask the committee to advance these bills: SB 36 to protect religious freedom in Georgia; SB 33 to restrict potency of hemp consumables; SB 254 (similar); SB 74 to require libraries to comply with Georgia obscenity law
  • Senate Health & Human Services Committee - ask for rejection of this unrestricted in vitro fertilization bill: HB 428 to provide a “right” to IVF, with no restrictions on procedures, destruction of embryos, etc.
  • House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee – ask for hearing on this bill: HB 123 to reform Georgia law on the death penalty
  • House Ways & Means Committee – ask for hearing on this bill: HB 328 to increase the tax-credit cap for Georgia GOAL scholarship students

The Georgia legislature officially crossed the halfway mark this week, so we take this opportunity to update the bills and resolutions that are advancing – or stalling – so far. The issues we discuss include gender ideology, in vitro fertilization, gambling, marijuana, the death penalty, and more. We also take a look at a few new executive orders coming from the Trump administration and break down the changes we can expect in national and state policy.

Resources:

• Article: "Dad Allegedly ‘Stole Money' from His Spouse and Kids to Gamble on DraftKings, Lost Nearly $1M in 4 Years: Suit"
• Article/Abstract: "Growing Health Concern Regarding Gambling Addiction in the Age of Sportsbooks"

Michael Mumper, Executive Director of Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy


Michael Mumper explains the status of “medical marijuana” under state law, while warning of severe health effects and social costs associated with the marijuana that is vastly more potent than what was available in the 70s and 80s. Mr. Mumper also explains – in the language of the layman – the problem with the “Delta 8 loophole” that allows harmful levels of the drug to be present in candies and other “edibles” that are widely available and, in fact, marketed to children. He urges Georgians to contact the legislative committees that are currently considering two bills, SB 33 and HB 265, that would close the loophole and help protect our children. He asks that we urge the members of those committees to hear and pass those bills!

Resources: 

• Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy website
• Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities, Georgia General Assembly
• House Committee on Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Georgia General Assembly
• Article: "Cannabis and Catholics: Lighting up the moral perspective" by Gerald Korson
• Book: Tell Your Children: The Truth about Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence by Alex Berenson

Bills and resolutions are beginning to roll in under the Gold Dome. We provide an overview of what’s happening. The issues we discuss include gender ideology, gambling, marijuana, the death penalty, and more. We also take a look at the flurry (blizzard!) of executive orders coming out of the new administration and break down the changes we can expect in national and state policy. 

Resources:

• Article: "Trump Ends Government Promotion of Gender Ideology and Child Mutilation"
• Article: "A Summary of President Trump’s Immigration-Related Executive Orders"

Dr. John Bruchalski, author, speaker

We talk with Dr. John Bruchalski as he visits Atlanta for the kickoff of 40 Days for Life. Dr. Bruchalski is an OB/GYN in Virginia who, as a young doctor in training, performed abortions – until he had a spiritual awakening and was shown the true path of helping women in crisis pregnancies. He tells us about the Holy Spirit’s intervention in his life, the book he wrote about his experience (Two Patients – My Conversion from Abortion to Life-Affirming Medicine), and the family ministry he now provides through his Tepeyac OB/GYN clinic in Fairfax, Virginia.
Resources:

• Dr. John Bruchalski's Tepeyac OB/GYN clinic
• Divine Mercy Care, committed to helping all women access pro-life medical care
• Dr. John Bruchalski's book, Two Patients – My Conversion from Abortion to Life-Affirming Medicine