Next Thursday, May 6th, Governor Kemp will sign a series of bills backed by our organization. We’d love for you to join us at Liberty Plaza at 3:30pm for an exciting celebration of enacting these critical pro-family bills into law.
As the state’s leading pro-life organization, we are thrilled to see the governor HB 128 which contains Gracie’s Law AND Simon’s Law.
Gracie’s Law ensures no one is denied the ability to be put on the organ transplant list based solely on physical or mental disabilities.
Simon’s Law prohibits healthcare providers from placing a DNR on a child without parental consent.
As you may recall, we were the only pro-life group to support Gracie’s Law by Rep. Rick Williams from the very beginning of session. When it stalled in the Senate, we even held a press conference in order to push legislators to give it a hearing in committee. Because of the attention from the press conference, we were given a hearing the next day and it passed out of committee unanimously. We were honored to have Gracie herself, along with her family, in attendance.
On Day 39, we worked with our Senate sponsor – and Governor Floor Leader – Clint Dixon to add in Simon’s Law onto Gracie’s Law. Simon’s Law is a bill we first brought to Senator Chuck Payne in 2018, and he and Rep. Kasey Carpenter have worked with us ever since. After several years of partnering with them to lead this fight, we were blessed to pass this bill jointly with Gracie’s Law and are grateful for Governor Kemp’s leadership in signing this bill on Thursday.
But there’s more…
The Governor will also sign SB 42 which contains “The Dexter Mosley,” previously known as the “Tebow Bill”, which is legislation that we have also been fighting for since 2018.
The Dexter Mosley Act allows homeschoolers to participate in extracurricular activities at their local public school – one of the biggest victories for educational freedom in many years!
While we introduced this bill first 2018, we have primarily partnered with Senator Bruce Thompson since 2019 – working to craft new language and ensure the passage of this critical bill. Representative John Carson and Representative Rick Jasperse were also instrumental in this bill becoming law.
When many had given up on this fight, we refused to back down, and we’re excited to see families take advantage of this new opportunity.
Governor Kemp will also sign SB 47, an expansion of the special needs scholarship, sponsored by Senator Steve Gooch and Representative Will Wade.
A huge amount of credit goes to our fellow school choice organizations at the Capitol, and we were honored to participate in this coalition to lobby for, endorse, and pass this bill that will help so many families.
In addition, Governor Kemp will sign two other bills, SB 246 and HB 606, that we believe are good bills for educational freedom.
Yes, that’s a total of five bills – two we’ve led on, one we’ve endorsed and labored for, and two more that are also good for Georgia. And, one of those two we led on is a 2-for-1 bill that represents the most significant pro-life win since the passage of the Heartbeat Bill!
We’re so grateful to our legislative allies, to Governor Kemp, and to you – for your prayers, support, and action – to make this day possible. We hope you’ll join us!
In Faith,
Brittany Ellison
Deputy Director
PS. YES! These bill signings are public – that’s why we’re inviting you. Join us at Liberty Plaza, across from the State Capitol on Capitol Ave, at 3:30 pm. And as always, feel free to reach out with any questions.