By Louis Mayeux & Phil Kent
A House Judiciary Committee meeting scheduled for Monday morning has been canceled, making it questionable that the so-called religious liberty bill will receive full House consideration before the General Assembly’s Thursday night adjournment.
Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Smyrna, confirmed to InsiderAdvantage late Sunday afternoon that the meeting has been called off and Committee Chairman Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, later confirmed the cancellation. However, Willard told Sen. Joshua McKoon, R-Columbus, the bill’s author, that he was emailing him compromise language on Monday so something could still be presented to lawmakers.
An anti-discrimination amendment offered by Rep. Mike Jacobs, R-Brookhaven, was added to the bill last week when three Republicans joined six Democrats in supporting it. That resulted in the bill being tabled, which Capitol observers believed meant the bill was dead for this year. However, McKoon told InsiderAdvantage late Sunday night that Willard and Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer want to work with him on writing acceptable language before the session adjourns..
The religious liberty bill passed the Senate, but has faced tougher hurdles in the House as evidenced by what McKoon described as the Jacobs “killer amendment.”
McKoon says the legislation would prevent government from over-regulating religious practice, but opponents say it could lead to businesses discriminating against gays and lesbians. The Georgia Convention and Visitors Bureau last week sent a letter that claimed the state would lose $15 million in convention business if the bill passes. McKoon called that “economic extortion.”
The committee meeting’s cancellation comes after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a similar bill, leading opponents to call for economic boycotts.
New day for solar power: Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, foresees residential solar power blossoming in Georgia with passage of his bill allowing financing of systems for homes and small businesses.
“It’s going to be big,” Dudgeon told InsiderAdvantage Georgia. “When these companies come to Georgia and start marketing this product, you see a lot more rooftops with solar power. You’ll see somebody’s small business with solar power. You’re going to see quite a bit of more adoption than we’ve had in Georgia on the small scale.”
Dudgeon said that while commercial development of solar power has been fairly strong in Georgia, the residential industry has lagged because homeowners couldn’t finance solar systems. He predicted that national companies like SolarCity will now come into Georgia.
For companies to do business, “the legal environment has to be crystal clear to have the free market involved, and we have that in Georgia now,” Dudgeon said after the Senate passed the bill Friday 51-0. Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, the Senate majority whip, introduced the legislation in the Senate. The House approved the legislation early in the session.
Without Senate changes, the legislation will go to Gov. Nathan Deal for his expected signature, Dudgeon said. The bill was the result of negotiations between Georgia Power, municipal power companies and electrical membership co-ops and solar power representatives after a similar bill failed last year because the utilities were worried about companies intruding upon the territories. Dudgeon said the year of talks involved 90 different parties.
Medical marijuana process begins: The certification process for those who will receive medical marijuana will begin this week under an executive order signed by Gov. Nathan Deal Friday.
The executive order will allow the state’s composite medical board, which meets Thursday, to begin identifying those who will receive special cards allowing them to possess a small amount of cannabis oil with 5 percent THC. Families of children with seizure disorders stood with Deal and bill sponsor Allen Peake, R-Macon, at the signing ceremony.
Deal said he was signing the executive order to get the process started, but won’t sign House Bill 1 until after the Legislature ends to make sure it doesn’t conflict with other legislation. The bill decriminalizes possession of the oil in Georgia, which will allow companies to ship the substance here for those suffering from eight ailments. Because of federal law forbidding transporting marijuana products across state lines, 17 Georgia families have had to move to Colorado to acquire the oil.
Under the order, the medical board will draft a patient waiver and a physician certification form. The forms will be available to patients meeting criteria developed by the Department of Public Health. The patients will have to receive certification from physicians, then receive the cards allowing possession of the cannabis oil.
