Fabio
103 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
103 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: "Bill"
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title: "Sexual Offenses; clergy members to be charged with certain improper sexual contact offenses; permit"
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description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sexual offenses, so as to permit clergy members to be charged with certain improper sexual contact offenses; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
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jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
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legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
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session: "2025_26"
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identifier: "SB 542"
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citation: "Georgia SB 542 (2025_26)"
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classification: ["bill"]
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subjects: ["CRIMES AND OFFENSES (CRIMINAL CODE)", "MENTAL HEALTH"]
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status: "enacted"
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primary_sponsors: ["Ben Watson", "Billy Hickman", "Blake Tillery", "Bo Hatchett", "Brian Strickland", "Carden Summers", "Chuck Hufstetler", "Chuck Payne", "Clint Dixon", "Drew Echols", "Jason Anavitarte", "Jason T. Dickerson", "John Albers", "Kay Kirkpatrick", "Larry Walker, III", "Lee Anderson", "Marty Harbin", "Matt Brass", "Max Burns", "Mike Hodges", "Randy Robertson", "Russ Goodman", "Steve Gooch", "Timothy Bearden"]
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version_count: 6
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action_count: 16
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vote_count: 3
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first_action: "2026-02-20"
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last_action: "2026-07-01"
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source: "openstates"
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source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bf0d5f28-d692-416a-818e-5df7d8b1628f"
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source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
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source_hash: "13b56ce56412f54dc55187ffe05197f89ac4b577ed858395e7e346f98d2585af"
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vintage: "2026-07-01"
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source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
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retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
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confidence: "reported"
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tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
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---
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# Georgia SB 542 (2025_26) — Sexual Offenses; clergy members to be charged with certain improper sexual contact offenses; permit
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A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to sexual offenses, so as to permit clergy members to be charged with certain improper sexual contact offenses; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
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## Version chain
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The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
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1. **As Passed Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/245268.pdf)
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2. **As introduced LC 62 0406** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/243450.pdf)
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3. **Committee Sub LC 49 2755S** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/244343.pdf)
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4. **Floor Amend 1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/245063.pdf)
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5. **LC 49 2840S/hss** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/246791.pdf)
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6. **SB 542/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/248171.pdf)
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## Votes
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- Senate Vote #644 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **55–0** (pass) · upper
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- House Vote #750 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **168–0** (pass) · lower
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- Senate Vote #842 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **47–0** (pass) · upper
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## Sponsors
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- Ben Watson — primary (person)
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- Billy Hickman — primary (person)
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- Blake Tillery — primary (person)
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- Bo Hatchett — primary (person)
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- Brian Strickland — primary (person)
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- Carden Summers — primary (person)
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- Chuck Hufstetler — primary (person)
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- Chuck Payne — primary (person)
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- Clint Dixon — primary (person)
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- Drew Echols — primary (person)
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- Jason Anavitarte — primary (person)
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- Jason T. Dickerson — primary (person)
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- John Albers — primary (person)
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- Kay Kirkpatrick — primary (person)
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- Larry Walker, III — primary (person)
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- Lee Anderson — primary (person)
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- Marty Harbin — primary (person)
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- Matt Brass — primary (person)
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- Max Burns — primary (person)
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- Mike Hodges — primary (person)
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- Randy Robertson — primary (person)
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- Russ Goodman — primary (person)
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- Steve Gooch — primary (person)
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- Timothy Bearden — primary (person)
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## Timeline
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The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
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- **2026-02-20** Senate Hopper `introduction`
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- **2026-02-24** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
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- **2026-02-26** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
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- **2026-03-03** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
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- **2026-03-06** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
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- **2026-03-06** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
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- **2026-03-09** House First Readers `reading-1`
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- **2026-03-10** House Second Readers `reading-2`
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- **2026-03-20** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
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- **2026-03-23** House Third Readers `reading-3`
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- **2026-03-23** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
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- **2026-03-27** Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub
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- **2026-04-10** Senate Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
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- **2026-05-11** Senate Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
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- **2026-05-11** Act 496 `executive-signature`
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- **2026-07-01** Effective Date
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## Source
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OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bf0d5f28-d692-416a-818e-5df7d8b1628f`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).
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