UPDATE: The attempt to shield the bill from changes failed on a 18-34 vote on the floor.
ORIGINAL POST:Georgia's latest 'religious liberty' bill may have only been introduced Wednesday in the state Senate, but the chamber has quickly signaled it will be met with a fight.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who presides over the chamber, assigned Senate Bill 233 to the powerful Rules Committee, a move that gives leadership broad rein over the bill and whether it advances in the chamber. Under normal circumstances, the bill would have likely been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but that's not what happened.
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Marty Harbin, R-Tyrone, immediately countered Cagle by calling for the bill to be "engrossed" and protected from any changes — he essentially wants to bar the Rules Committee from touching the bill.
It’s an extremely unusual move. No one including Cagle (who’s a former state senator) said they could remember a bill being engrossed upon introduction. The chamber is now expected to debate the merits of the request — and, to a degree, the bill — today on the floor.
Harbin was adamant that the bill shouldn't be changed, telling a reporter that while he knew "this has never been done before, I want Georgians to have the same protection that's in federal law" with no tinkering with the proposed wording.
SB 233 stops far short of the wide-ranging “religious liberty” bill that Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed last year, saying it would damage the state’s reputation of tolerance and inclusion.
In contrast, Harbin's bill says simply that the language in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act would also apply in Georgia. The federal law requires the government to prove a "compelling governmental interest" before it interferes with a person's exercise of religion.
To read more about the fight over 'religious liberty' in Georgia and the history of the debate in the state Legislature, click here to read our premium story.
About the Author
