Latest news with #ScottHolcomb
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SINE DIE: What's going to the governor's desk and what still needs to be voted on
It's the final day of the Georgia legislative session and late Friday afternoon, the General Assembly finally approved a nearly $38 billion budget. That budget approval only came after the governor's office adjusted its tax revenue estimates up by more than $50 million. Coming up with a budget is the only thing the legislature is constitutionally obliged to do. Democrats voted for the budget though some worried that given what's happening with the economy, the increased tax revenue adjustment may come back to bite them. 'The macroeconomic picture has changed pretty dramatically in just over the last few days,' Atlanta Democrat Scott Holcomb said. The sweeping tariffs levied by President Donald Trump have caused havoc in global financial markets, dropping another 2,000 points Friday, fueling recession fears. Kemp signs religious freedom bill into law as lawmakers scramble to get bill passed Lawmakers pass state budget with just hours left in legislative season Bill to fund historic battlefield preservation in Georgia heads to governor's desk Georgia lawmakers agree on school safety bill after Apalachee High School shooting Hatchett acknowledged the turmoil but said lawmakers could always come back and make adjustments. 'This is our No. 1 job, and I don't think anybody in here, we could come back and correcting something that all of a sudden unforeseen by us we have to correct,' State Rep. Matt Hatchett said. Meanwhile, Gov. Brian Kemp signed the controversial religious liberty bill into law, insisting it was needed to protect people of faith from unwarranted government intrusion. 'I think it's a commonsense piece of legislation that mirrors what the vast majority of states in the United States have done,' Kemp said. But Duluth Democrat Ruwa Romman insists that without an underlying civil rights law, which Georgia doesn't have, the bill gives people a license to discriminate. 'Because at the end of the day, those who will bear the brunt of this are not those in the majority. It'll be us, people in the religious minority,' Romman said. Awaiting action Friday DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION: Georgia's public schools and colleges would be banned from having any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion under House Bill 127. REGULATION RESTRICTION: Senate Bill 28 would give lawmakers more oversight over regulations created by state agencies. LIBRARY CRIMES: Librarians in public libraries, K-12 schools and colleges could face prosecution if they provide sexually explicit materials to minors under House Bill 483. IMMIGRATION: Senate Bill 21 would remove legal protections and let people sue governments and government officials who don't follow Georgia laws requiring cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. GUN TAX BREAKS: House Bill 79 would offer a four-day sales tax holiday on guns, ammunition and safety devices, while offering income tax credits of up to $300 for paying for gun safety courses. CLARENCE THOMAS STATUE: The state would put up a privately financed statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Georgia native Clarence Thomas under House Bill 254. ELECTIONS: Georgia's secretary of state would be required to leave a bipartisan group that lets officials share data to keep voter rolls accurate under House Bill 397 and Senate Bill 175. PUBLIC RECORDS: Senate Bill 12 would exempt Georgia state legislators and police departments from some requirements to disclose public records. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GA lawmaker pushes for sexual assault kit testing reform, new oversight committee
Atlanta Rep. Scott Holcomb introduced a bill to create a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system and reform the process in Georgia for sexual assault and rape investigations. The Sexual Assault Reform Act of 2025 was filed to create the Forensic Medical Examination Advisory Committee and to make new rules and training protocols for forensic medical examinations and testing. The new rules include a more in-depth system for tracking and maintaining evidence from sexual assault kits and making the status available to check anonymously for victims of sexual assault who submit kits for testing. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] According to House Bill 518, 'The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council shall create and operate a state-wide sexual assault kit tracking system. The council may contract with state or out-of-state entities including, but not limited to, private software and technology providers, for the creation, operation, and maintenance of the system.' Holcomb's proposal would require that all evidence submitted from a sexual assault kit be submitted to law enforcement officers for investigation within 30 days of being collected and the evidence must be received in compliance with the proposed law, unless victims request in writing to not test the evidence. The committee would also be charged with creating training protocols and regulations for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners to be trained and certified, including forensic exam and clinical training protocols. The bill's proposal to create an examination committee would have 12 members appointed by the Georgia governor and must include four registered nurses with certification in forensic nursing. Additionally, one must be a representative from the Georgia Board of Nursing, one must be from the Georgia Nurses Association and two must be licensed providers who are advanced practitioners. Other members of the proposed committee would include a Peace Officer Standards and Training certified officer, a prosecuting attorney, an employee of the Division of Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and one victims' rights advocate, as well as four others. Appointments would last for various term lengths, depending on position, and vacancies would be filled by appointment of the governor. The committee would also have to report on the average time each law enforcement agency in Georgia takes to collect sexual assault kits from reported sexual assaults, the number of kits generated for reported cases and the number of kits that have been tested. TRENDING STORIES: Police say Atlanta rapper's 'cowardly' actions led to innocent teens' birthday party murders Georgia lawmakers file bill to require notifications when deeds filed by non-owners 57 sets of cremains found in fire-damaged Cobb County funeral home identified The jurisdictions where sexual assaults were reported but kits have not been submitted for testing to the Division of Forensic Sciences of the GBI would also have to be tracked and reported. The reports would be provided to the executive counsel of the Governor, the Georgia Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, members of the House and Senate's judiciary committees, the House Committee on Public and Community Health and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The reports would also have to be published on the GBI's public website and it must include the number of sexual assault kits tested in the same year as well as the number awaiting testing. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported in December that there were 2,298 assault kits tested from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The same data set from the GBI said there were 480 kits still awaiting testing as of June 30, 2024 and for kits submitted before 1999, there were evidence kits from '1,612 cases have been identified that need DNA analysis based on a review by the GBI Crime Laboratory and requests from law enforcement or prosecuting agencies. 837 cases were tested as of June 30, 2024.' The legislation would also ban selling over-the-counter sexual assault evidence kits, adding an up to $1,000 fine or violations. So far, HB 518 has no co-sponsors in the Georgia House, but was on the agenda for the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee in the House on Wednesday. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
