Highlights From Under the Gold Dome: Week Four

The pace picked up this week under the Gold Dome. The Senate convened for legislative days 9 through 12, meaning we are now 30% through the 2023 Legislative Session. Bills were filed this week on topics ranging from 2nd Amendment measures to casino gambling. All of these bills will now begin the vetting process in committee hearings before making their way to the Senate Floor. I’ll keep you apprised as these bills move.

I introduced two more bills this week, too. Every day, more than 300,000 telephone solicitors place calls to roughly 18 million Americans and Georgians. Many businesses actively engage in the telemarketing, and numerous Georgians find these marketing tactics to be intrusive. Telemarketers often show little regard for privacy or peacefulness. We’ve instituted a “Do Not Call” list in Georgia for this purpose, but some companies have shrewdly avoided this by contracting with companies outside the state or nation to make calls on their behalf. Essentially, these companies are saying “I may be the beneficiary of the telemarketing call, but you can’t punish me for violating the Do Not Call List because I didn’t make the call…I just got that company to do it for me!” It’s the 21st Century version of blaming Johnny for pushing Sally down in the play yard when you told Johnny to push her. I introduced Senate Bill 73 to hold the company causing the call to be made in the first place accountable for Do Not Call Registry violations. Let’s bring peace back to family’s dinner tables and stop the exploitation of senior citizens. SB 73 was assigned to the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee.

I also introduced a bill aimed at deceitfulness in attorney advertising. While a certain amount of salesmanship is expected in any advertising, I feel we’ve gone over a cliff as to the falsities in attorney advertising. Senate Bill 74 aims to rein this in. SB 74 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, where I once served.

On Budget matters, the House of Representatives passed the Amended FY 2023 budget Thursday morning. Our Senate hearings on this bill begin Tuesday and will dominate my time for the next two weeks. I anticipate providing you with more updates as the budget process advances.

We did have several groups from Toombs, Long, Jeff Davis and Tattnall Counties visit this week. It’s always good to see friendly faces, so I’m so glad they came by. If you’re in the area, please do the same. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office if you have any questions or concerns about pending matters of legislation. Thank you for letting me represent you in Atlanta.

Sen. Blake Tillery serves as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He represents Senate District 19, which includes Appling, Bacon, Jeff Davis, Long, Montgomery, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Wayne and Wheeler Counties and a portion of Coffee County. He can be reached at 404.656.5038 or by email at blake.tillery@senate.ga.gov.

By Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia)