Georgia Republican Lawmakers File Public Safety Bills

Georgia Republicans are moving forward with a series of bills they say will help protect residents and hold prosecutors in the state accountable.

“We’re seeing a pattern around the state of people who are committing violent crimes,” Lt. Governor Burt Jones, a Republican, told The Center Square. “They’re being processed through basically signature bonds, and a signature bond is nothing more than … a promissory note, and we believe that it’s happening on a lot larger scale than a lot of people realize.”

State Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, introduced Senate Bill 63 to expand the list of offenses that require bail or surety and will require many repeat offenders to post bail or surety.

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Georgia Senate Signs Off on Fiscal 2023 Budget

Georgia State Capitol

The Georgia Senate has signed off on a fiscal year 2023 state budget that increases spending by 10.8% over last year.

The Senate voted 56-0 in favor of an amended House Bill 911, a more than $30 billion spending plan that includes pay raises for many state employees and largely returns spending to pre-COVID-19-pandemic spending levels.

The budget proposal includes pay raises for certified teachers and other school workers, including nutrition workers, bus drivers and school nurses. It also increases funding for law enforcement, including for the Georgia Department of Public Safety to hire state troopers and expand crisis intervention training for officers across the Peach State.

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