In a ten minute press conference, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced that he will veto House Bill 757, the Free Exercise Protection Act. “I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith based community in Georgia of which I and my family have been a part of for all
Governor Nathan Deal visited the House and Senate Thursday evening to congratulate legislators and wish them luck in their upcoming re-election battles. He also took a few minutes to respond to reporters questions, which focused on the Free Exercise Protection Act, HB 757. The governor said he had listened to the concerns of both sides
Speaker Ralston said in an interview with WABE the House will not make any changes to the “Campus Carry” bill passed out of the General Assembly on March 11th. Governor Deal issued a statement soon after the bill’s passage signaling he wants lawmakers to exempt on-campus child care centers and to address his concerns about high
As anyone following the spinning wheel of protest known as the #GAPol hashtag knows, there is a “Religious Freedom” bill sitting on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature. …or veto. There has been a lot of hype and a lot of misdirection on this bill. Many still argue it wasn’t needed in the first place.
Political capital is an odd commodity. In some cases, you can spend it, and end up with more than what you started with. Governor Deal’s promotion of criminal justice reform earned him votes in 2014 that he would not otherwise have had. In other cases, spending it the wrong way can quickly deplete your account.
For the second time in less than a week, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has issued a strong statement opposing the religious liberty bill that includes both the Pastor Protection Act and the First Amendment Defense Act. Amended by the Senate and sent back to the House, HB 757 awaits movement in the lower chamber. As
Raising an unstated but obvious threat of a veto over certain versions of “Religious Liberty” bills on the table in the legislature, Governor Nathan Deal today said that Georgia will remain a state that protects the freedom of religion but that does not require allowing discrimination. As tweeted by Greg Bluestein of the AJC: “I
In the week since the Georgia Senate passed a version of the Pastor Protection Act that included significant portions of Senator Greg Kirk’s First Amendment Defense Act, opposition to the bill as it stands now has grown. While it might have been easy for legislators to brush off the complaints of a telephone service provider
Gov. Nathan Deal announced today that Georgia garnered a record increase in international trade for the sixth consecutive year in 2015. Georgia’s imports increased to $88.55 billion (+5.7%), while it had exports of $38 billion to 217 unique countries and territories. Georgia remains the 7th-largest importing state and the 11th-largest exporting state. In 2015, Georgia
Many of you will remember that back in April of 2011, Governor Deal and the General Assembly enacted legislation forming the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform to explore ways in which Georgia can potentially improve its state correctional system. The council released its latest report yesterday and had this to say: During the past
