Georgia voters would be asked to protect state funding for faith-based groups, under a measure passed Monday by the state Senate.
Senate Resolution 388, while not directly related to the 'religious liberty' effort that has roiled the Legislature for more than two years, would ask voters to cement a protection for faith-based organizations that receive state grants and contracts into the state Constitution.
Education groups including the Professional Association of Georgia Educators had called the resolution a Trojan Horse that would open the door for religious school vouchers funded with public money. They said it would allow public dollars to go directly to religious organizations and houses of worship for public health and social service programs — including private schools.
A floor amendment by Senate Education and Youth Committee Chairman Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, however, said the measure was not meant to create any public school voucher program in Georgia.
Passed on a party line 39-17 vote, the resolution — which proposes to write the protection into the state Constitution — must now win a two-thirds majority in the state House before it could be placed on the ballot in November.
Senate Democrats called the measure unnecessary.
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