Gov. Brian Kemp has signed six items passed by the Georgia General Assembly into law so far including a religious freedom bill, legislation regarding drones, and a local law for the City of Cedartown that authorized a March referendum. He has until mid-May to sign or veto passed legislation.
Kemp already signed the legislature’s biggest bill, HB 67, the amended budget for fiscal year 2025, and the Cedartown bill in March. However, he began signing other bills last week.
SB 36, called the Georgia Freedom Restoration Act, amended Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia by adding a new chapter on religious freedom protection. The changes state that the government can’t substantially burden the free exercise of religion even if it is generally applied and that any such burden must be of a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive of options. It also states a person can take a claim of overextended government reach on the freedom of religion to court.
The bill stemmed from a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 in the City of Boerne v. Flores. In that case, SCOTUS ruled that the law exceeded congressional powers to enforce under Section 5 of the 14th Amendment. The ruling said such laws should be managed by the states and local authorities to apply to local jurisdictions.
HB 58 is an aviation bill that allows local municipalities to create their own laws regarding drones flying over public events. Local governments are allowed to restrict unmanned craft from flying over mass gatherings.
HB 359 is the bill authorizing the City of Cedartown to bring a referendum on a tax allocation district (TAD) on the ballot last March, which Kemp signed earlier. Voters overwhelmingly said no to the idea.
A TAD is where tax money for specific real estate property being developed is stipulated for a period, such as 25 years, to allow developers to use it for improvement. Funds are put into a tax-free bond where it can grow. Tax authorities then collect taxes on the redeveloped property after the time elapses.
SB 16 forbids certain public officials to own a bail bond business. It is an amendment to a current law. The amended version includes school board members and members of a governing authority such as a county, municipal corporation, or consolidated government.
The law states these officials can’t be involved directly or indirectly in a bail bond business located in the jurisdiction they serve.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer with work published in nationally in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio.