'Lawmakers' Day 36: High school cellphone ban OK'd; Senate debates permanent daylight saving time

Caption

A table of high school students all holding multiple digital devices such as phones and tablets during a class lesson.

Credit: Adobe Stock Image

On Day 36, lawmakers gave final passage to a bill banning cellphone use in high schools and debated making daylight saving time permanent.

In the House, members OK'd Senate changes to the House substitute of a bill expanding Georgia's medical cannabis program, including adding lupus as an allowed condition.

Senate Bill 220 passed 144 to 21.

The House also unanimously approved SB 542, which adds clergy members to Georgia's improper sexual conduct laws to prevent sexual abuse by religious figures.

"This bill will allow in the law clear and necessary boundaries, which establishes that when a clergy member uses his or her undue influence, uses the position for the purposes of coercion, deception, intimidation within that pastoral relationship to ultimately engage in sexual contact that is not a consenting situation," said House Majority Leader Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry).

Members also took up SB 443, which increases the penalties for blocking a road to a high aggravated misdemeanor.

"This stops streets from being blocked and bridges and no public access when they're crisis," Rep. Noel Williams (R-Cordele) said. "This would cause a highly aggravated misdemeanor, which could be up to about 12 months in jail or up to a $5,000 penalty for anyone who purposefully or recklessly obstructs any highway or street in such a way to render it impassable."

Some Democrats opposed the bill and said it could discourage protests. They also took issue with a civil liabilities clause that could allow someone to sue protest organizers for damage.

"It is trying to solve perhaps one problem but is creating a deeper harm for the people we represent," Rep. Park Cannon (D-Atlanta) said. "In practice, this bill is not just about traffic enforcement, it's about protest and who pays the price for participating in it."

Republicans shot back that blocking roads threatens public safety by delaying ambulance response times.

"Another member said this is not a public safety issue," Rep. Ginny Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) said. "Well, if your grandmother were in an ambulance having a heart attack and on the way to the hospital I think she might disagree with you. If your friend or neighbor was in a health emergency and needed safe transport to the hospital but could not get there or was forced to divert because of the self-described free speech issues, you might consider it a public safety issue."

SB 443 passed 96 to 69 along party lines.

Also, in the House, Reps. Carl Gilliard (D-Savannah) and Emory Dunahoo (R-Gillsville) gave their retirement speeches to the chamber. Both representatives served for over a decade.

The Senate took up 14 pieces of legislation Monday.

The chamber went along with House Bill 1009, which would ban personal electronic devices from K through 12th grade classrooms for the entire day.

"This will impact every single student in each of your districts, grades nine through 12," Suwanee Republican Sen. Shawn Still said. "And as the father of three daughters, two of whom are still teenagers, I can tell y'all that the only constituents that have spoken to me negatively about this bill are my teenage daughters. Every single parent unanimously, every teacher, and everyone else out there has said, this is the best thing we can do for them and their future success."

It passed unanimously.

HB 79 would provide a tax credit for having an approved safe gun storage device and for taking gun safety class, but the Senate added a four-day exemption period every October for guns, ammunition, and other related items.

But at the last moment, the Senate majority leader requested that the bill be recommitted to the rules committee, avoiding a vote.

HB 154 was another bill that the Senate took liberties with. Originally, it was to designate ambulance services as essential personnel, but the Senate gutted that and added language that would switch the state from Eastern Daylight Saving Time to the Atlantic time zone.

"It's about the reality that every time we change the clock, we create confusion for families, for businesses, for schools, and for anyone trying to maintain a consistent routine," Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia) said. "And for what? The evidence that this system does what it was originally intended to do is weak at best. But the evidence that it disrupts people's lives, that is overwhelming."

But there wasn't consensus on the issue, with one senator citing the disruptions it could cause with other surrounding states.

"Some months of the year we would be consistent with South Carolina and our neighbors," Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) said. "Other months of year we would not be consistent with South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, and even folks in other time zones. It would just create chaos by us having to maintain not just what time zone we're in, but what months of a year we're in for scheduling meetings, flights, and schedules. And I think there's just some unintended consequences that aren't contemplated in HB 154."

Despite the concerns, the bill passed 45 to 5 and now has to go back to the House for its stamp of approval.

And finally, HB 717 would allow the regulation of ketamine medical facilities to distribute, under medical supervision, the use of the drug for psychiatric treatment and therapy.

The bill passed 50 to 1.

The 40-day legislative session continues on Wednesday with Day 37 as lawmakers speed toward Day 40, Sine Die. 

GPB's Lawmakers returns for Day 36 on Wednesday, Mar. 25 at 7 p.m. on GPB TV.