Child Advocacy News Center
Georgia Capitol Update

Last week , the Georgia General Assembly was in session for Legislative Days 26 through 29. Highlights include:

  • Wednesday afternoon, the House Juvenile Justice Committee held a hearing on House Bills 438 and 440, which would limit the use of physical restraints on minors in juvenile court proceedings and raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18, respectively. Though the committee did not vote on the bills, they did hear supporting testimony from child advocates, including the Barton Center and Voices for Georgia's Children. You can watch the hearing here.

  • Thursday was Crossover Day; bills that were not passed out of committee or passed by the full chamber in which they were introduced before the end of Crossover are no longer viable for this session. Because this is the first year of a two-year legislative session, those bills can be taken up again next January. The content of those bills may also be attached to a bill that did cross over before the end of this year's session. Our Bills of Interest section below has been updated to include only those bills that crossed over.

This week , the General Assembly will convene Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, for Legislative Days 30 through 32. The Senate Appropriations subcommittees will be working on the big budget for Fiscal Year 2020. Of interest to child advocates:

  • The Human Development and Public Health Subcommittee will meet at 4pm today, March 11, in Room 341 in the State Capitol, to discuss the Dept. of Human Services and Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities budgets.

  • The Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee will meet tomorrow, March 12 at 11am in Room 341, to discuss the Dept. of Juvenile Justice budget.

Please no te that information on meetings and the legislative schedule is current as of Monday, March 11, 2019. Hearing times change frequently during the session, so please check the Georgia General Assembly website for any changes.

Bills of Interest to Child Advocates
HB 12 was introduced by Rep. Rick Williams (R-Milledgeville) on January 30, 2019. The bill amends Part 15 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of the Education Code, to require public schools to post the child abuse hotline in a visible location accessible to students. HB 12 passed the House of Representatives on March 5. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Education and Youth Committee . 

HB 64 was introduced by Rep. Brian Prince (D-Augusta) on January 28, 2019. The bill, referred to as the “Protecting Military Children Act,” amends O.C.G.A. § 19-7-5, relating to the reporting of child abuse, to require DFCS to notify military authorities when a parent or guardian of a child named in a child abuse report is on active duty in the U.S. armed forces. A substitute version of HB 64 passed the House of Representatives on February 28. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

HB 79 was introduced by Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-Garden City) on January 29, 2019. The bill amends O.C.G.A. § 30-4-5, relating to rights of persons with disabilities, to prohibit courts, child-placing agencies, and DHS from denying child custody or visitation to a person solely because the person is blind. HB 79 passed the House of Representatives on March 5. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

HB 197 was introduced by Rep. Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) on February 7, 2019. The bill amends Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45, relating to the Office of Planning and Budget, to establish the Georgia Data Analytic Center to receive publicly supported program, fiscal, and health data from state agencies and departments, maintain and transmit the data in a way that prevents disclosure of individually identifiable information, and analyze the data to provide effective and efficient policy management for the state. A substitute version of HB 197 passed the House of Representatives on February 28. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Science & Technology Committee .

HB 228 was introduced by Rep. Andy Welch (R-McDonough) on February 11, 2019. The bill amends Chapter 3 of the Domestic Relations Code, to raise the minimum age of marriage from 16 to 17, to impose a four-year limitation on the age difference between a minor and his or her spouse, and to require a minor to be emancipated and to complete premarital education before marrying. The bill also amends Article 10 of Chapter 11 of Title 15, relating to emancipation, to require juvenile courts to appoint counsel for minors petitioning for emancipation. A substitute version of HB 228 passed the House of Representatives on February 26. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

HB 234 was introduced by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) on February 8, 2019. The bill, referred to as the “Anti-Human Trafficking Protective Response Act,” amends Titles 9, 15, 16, 17, and 42 of the Georgia Code, relating to civil practice courts, crimes and offenses, criminal procedure, and nuisances. It authorizes DFCS to provide emergency care for children who are trafficking victims and requires referral of such children to certified victim services. It amends the offense of trafficking for sexual servitude, redefines prostitution to include only acts committed by persons 18 years of age or older, and eliminates the offense of pandering by compulsion. Finally, the bill adds using a place for the purpose of labor or sex trafficking to the list of activities that constitute maintaining a nuisance, and provides a defense to nuisance if the owner cooperates with law enforcement in investigating sexually related charges. A substitute version of HB 234 passed the House of Representatives on March 4. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee . 

HB 281 was introduced by Rep. Teri Anulewicz (D-Smyrna) on February 12, 2019. The bill amends O.C.G.A. § 16-6-13, to provide for increased penalties for second and subsequent offenses of pimping and pandering. A substitute version of the HB 281 passed the House of Representatives on March 1. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

HB 424 was introduced by Rep. Deborah Silcox (R-Sandy Springs) on February 21, 2019. The bill amends O.C.G.A. § 16-15-3, relating to street gang terrorism and prevention, to add sex and labor trafficking, keeping a place of prostitution, pimping, and pandering in the definition of "criminal gang activity." The bill also amends the Evidence Code to revise the circumstances in which the past sexual behavior of a witness complaining of alleged sexual misconduct can be admitted as evidence and revises the child hearsay statute. A substitute version of HB 424 passed the House of Representatives on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .  

HB 472 was introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves (R-Marietta) on February 25, 2019. The bill amends the Juvenile Code to require juvenile courts to consider temporary alternatives to foster care when determining where to place a child who has been alleged dependent but has not yet been adjudicated. The bill also mandates training for juvenile court intake officers with the authority to remove a child from his or her home. A substitute version of HB 472 passed the House of Representatives on March 5. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

HB 478 was introduced by Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton) on February 25, 2019. The bill amends Article 8 of Chapter 5 of the Social Services Code, relating to the central child abuse registry, to revise the requirements for notice to an alleged child abuser, to require that a person be named on the registry only after he or she has had an opportunity to be heard, and to provide for an expungement opportunity. The bill also prohibits the inclusion of alleged child abusers under 18. HB 478 passed the House of Representatives on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

HB 514 was introduced by Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville) on February 27, 2019. The bill creates a new article in Chapter 1 of the Mental Health Code to establish the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission responsible for conducting a comprehensive review of the mental health system in Georgia. A substitute version of HB 514 passed the House of Representatives on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee .

HB 530 was introduced by Rep. Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon) on February 27, 2019. The bill amends Article 16 of Chapter 2 of the Education Code to require public schools to report to DFCS when a child is withdrawn from without a declaration of intent to homeschool to allow DFCS to conduct an assessment. A substitute version of HB 530 passed the House of Representatives on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Education and Youth Committee .

HB 543 was introduced by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula) on February 28, 2019 The bill amends Article 1 of Chapter 7 of the Domestic Relations Code to allow a person to establish standing as an equitable caregiver if he or she can prove by clear and convincing evidence that he or she has undertaken a parental role in a child's life and that the child will suffer harm if their relationship does not continue. It allows courts to establish parental rights and responsibilities for a person adjudicated to be an equitable caregiver. A substitute version of HB 543 passed the House of Representatives on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee .

SB 15 was introduced by Sen. John Albers (R-Alpharetta) on January 15, 2019. The bill, referred to as the “Keeping Georgia’s Schools Safe Act,” amends Article 27 of Chapter 2 of the Education Code, relating to loitering at or disrupting schools, to require every public school to have a threat assessment of its campus completed every four years and to require public schools to have school safety plans approved by local law enforcement and submitted to the GA Dept. of Education. The bill requires safety drills be conducted at least once per school year and requires principals to act as or designate school safety coordinators. The bill outlines coordination protocols among the GA Dept. of Education, the GA Bureau of Investigation, and the GA Emergency Management Agency. The bill also allows schools to use certified “school safety coaches” as a resource in executing the school safety plan and requires the GA Information Sharing and Analysis Center to maintain a smartphone app for reporting suspicious activity. A substitute version of SB 15 passed the Senate on February 27. The bill has now been assigned to the House Education Committee .

SB 158 was introduced by Sen. Brian Strickland (R-McDonough) on February 21, 2019. The bill, referred to as the “Anti-Human Trafficking Protective Response Act,” amends Titles 9, 15, 16, 17, and 42 of the Georgia Code, relating to civil practice courts, crimes and offenses, criminal procedure, and nuisances. It authorizes DFCS to provide emergency care for children who are trafficking victims and requires referral of such children to certified victim services. It amends the offense of trafficking for sexual servitude, redefines prostitution to include only acts committed by persons 17 years of age or older, and eliminates the offense of pandering by compulsion. Finally, the bill adds using a place for the purpose of labor or sex trafficking to the list of activities that constitute maintaining a nuisance. SB 158 passed the Senate on March 1. The bill has now been assigned to the H ouse Juvenile Justice Committee .

SB 167 was introduced by Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan) on February 22, 2019. The bill amends O.C.G.A. § 15-11-211, relating to relative search by DFCS, to allow a juvenile court to determine that continued placement with a foster parent is a preferred placement over any relative or fictive kin if DFCS has not identified any relative or fictive kin of a child within 6 months of that child’s removal from his or her home. It also creates a presumption that it is in the best interests of a child to remain in a foster placement when the child has been in that placement for at least 12 months.  SB 167 passed the Senate on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the House Juvenile Justice Committee .

SB 225 was introduced by Sen. Larry Walker III (R-Perry) on February 28, 2019. The bill amends the Juvenile Code, the Social Services Code, and the State Government Code to bring relevant statutes into compliance with federal law, including the Family First Prevention Services Act and the Indian Child Welfare Act. SB 225 passed the Senate on March 7. The bill has now been assigned to the House Juvenile Justice Committee .
Upcoming Events at the Capitol
You can find information about other advocacy days scheduled throughout the session here .
Talk Justice Tuesday
Every Tuesday morning during the legislative session, criminal justice reform advocates will host Talk Justice Tuesdays . The events provide an opportunity for citizens and advocates to learn about a different criminal justice reform issue and speak to elected officials about those issues.
 
On March 12, the topic is “Marijuana and Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice,” and the event will be hosted by the ACLU, from 8am to 12pm in Room 406 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building.
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