Ga. lawmakers head home, leaving behind some controversy

ATLANTA -- With pounds from a gavel and a toss of torn-up bills just after the clock turned from Thursday to Friday, the state House and Senate celebrated the end of their annual legislative session and the completion of votes on education, the budget and other key issues.

But the results of long debates on religious expression and guns are still up in the air.

Georgia landed in national headlines this year because of a bill that supporters say protects faith-based organizations from having to provide services that would violate the faith their members practice. For example, under the bill, a church that does not endorse gay marriage could not be required to rent its hall for a same-sex wedding.

But critics say the language and the intent of House Bill 757 amount to discrimination against gay Georgians. Backlash against it is widespread, from posts by individuals on social media to comments from big businesses, such as Time Warner, urging Gov. Nathan Deal to veto it.

State Rep. Robert Dickey, R-Musella, voted for the bill and said it protects churches and pastors. He contends it does not discriminate.

"I feel maybe the press hasn't explained the new version," Dickey said.

Several bills dealing with faith-based organizations were filed in the roughly three-month legislative session this year, the first since the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of gay couples to wed. One earlier religious expression bill, which was championed by the Senate but not the House, would have allowed individuals or faith-based nonprofits to cite religious grounds to deny gay clients.

"I don't think the new version has problems earlier versions had," Dickey said.

But state Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, defied most of his party line and voted against the bill.

"I have a gay brother who asked me to," Peake said.

In the time that he had to evaluate the House-Senate compromise bill, Peake said, he wasn't convinced that it wouldn't move Georgia toward discrimination.

Another bill that's proven controversial would allow licensed gun carriers to take handguns onto parts of public college campuses, including classrooms and libraries, but not into school housing facilities.

Supporters said House Bill 859 is a campus safety measure that gives students a means of self defense.

State Rep. Heath Clark, R-Warner Robins, called it a piece of common sense legislation.

The measure would not apply to most typical undergraduates. Concealed carry licenses are for people 21 and older or those in the military.

But detractors, including leaders of the state's university system, say they do not want guns on campus. During debate on the bill this year, state Rep. Patty James Bentley, D-Butler, said students with guns might not use them for self defense, but rather against other students.

Some lobby groups, such as Moms Demand Action, are asking Deal to veto the bill.

Democrats have been fairly unimpressed with both of these bills passed by the GOP-dominated Legislature.

State Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon, said that between House Bill 757 and campus carry, "we're moving way, way right."

State Sen. David Lucas, who served decades in the House before moving across the hall to the Senate, saw a theme in a couple of the divides in the Legislature -- over the religious expression bill, an arcane but divisive move to cut the independence of a panel that investigates judges and on the GOP's skepticism on an expansion of Medicaid, which is health insurance for low-income people.

"I think in the General Assembly we've done a lot of things. Legislators have gotten mad with certain ways things happen, and if you're in a position you try to change things," he said.

On the one hand, some people are feeling defiant after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling made gay marriage legal. Lucas cited the case of Kim Davis, a county court clerk from Kentucky who went to jail rather than issue marriage licenses to any couples, once the law required her to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

"But it's also a reflection on the times, and really it's because you got a black president, I'm just going to be honest with you," Lucas said. "You can't sugarcoat this thing. I don't care if (President Barack Obama) was right, they'd be against him. It's just the times."

Lucas and other Democrats support expanding Medicaid, opting into part of the federal Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. But Georgia Republicans, including Deal, say it would be too expensive.

This year's legislative session started with two big documents about education. One was the report of a summer study committee, and the other was a state Department of Education survey of teachers.

Both suggested there are serious problems in Georgia when it comes to attracting and retaining teachers, and that standardized testing is too frequent and carries too much weight.

State Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry, said one of the highlights of the session is Senate Bill 364, which cuts the number of standardized tests and changes the weight of student performance in teacher evaluations.

"I think that's a really good bill," he said. "I'm really proud of that."

One big loser in the session was casino gambling. A legislative study committee spent months last year in hearings on the pros and cons of casinos. Supporters pointed to the casino cash Georgia could collect for lottery-funded pre-K classes and HOPE scholarships.

But a bill that would have licensed a handful of casinos didn't move far this year. The money for education sounded nice, but lawmakers weren't quite convinced more gambling is the right thing for Georgia.

"I'm proud we stopped expansion of gambling," Walker said.

He said that sometimes policy isn't a matter of passing bills.

A lot of it is playing defense," Walker said.

BILLIONS BUDGETED

Lawmakers also approved $23.7 billion in state spending for the year that starts July 1. Midstate lawmakers pointed to raises for state staff, including money they intend for school boards to spend on 3 percent teacher raises, as a high point of the budget. And as the state's economy recovers from the depths of the recession, there's a little more cash available for bonds and other appropriations statewide.

In the public higher education department, Middle Georgia State University was approved for a $4.2 million bond for equipment for its aviation program. Georgia Military College will get $2 million for student academic services, plus more in bonds for building works.

And renovations on a veteran's rehabilitation therapy center at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville will get started with a $3 million bond and federal matching funds.

LOCAL BILLS MAKE SPLASH

The House and Senate approved of asking voters in Crawford County and Roberta this November to approve a consolidation of the county and city.

The proposed Roberta-Crawford merger would dissolve the city police department and see the county sheriff take over policing the Roberta area. A new county commission would take over all local government functions, and the Roberta City Council would cease to exist. The merger agreement also directs the new county commission to cut property taxes.

And for Houston County, the Legislature approved a bill to make the clerk of State Court an appointed position, not an elected one. The bill was filed just after the sitting clerk, controversial for long absences, submitted her resignation to the governor.

The governor has until May 3 to sign or veto bills. Otherwise they become law without his signature.

To contact writer Maggie Lee, e-mail mlee@macon.com.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Ga. lawmakers head home, leaving behind some controversy ."