(The Center Square) — A bill aimed at the Georgia Senate’s tussle with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis that codifies the subpoena powers of legislative committees made it through Crossover Day in the Senate.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations has been at odds with Willis over its investigation into her actions in the prosecution of Donald J. Trump. Willis has refused to respond to the committee’s subpoenas.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura L. Ingram denied Willis’ latest request to quash a subpoena but asked for additional information about another one before ruling.
Senate Resolution 292, sponsored by Committee Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, also expands the scope of the committee’s investigation to include former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and two organizations with ties to her, the New Georgia Project and Power Forward Communities.
The organizations have said they are no longer affiliated with Abrams.
The bill was one of many that were considered as senators scrambled to get bills passed and over to the House.
Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, had his first bill passed on Thursday. Senate Bill 163 would penalize cities, counties and municipalities that pass ordinances restricting gun rights.
The bill targets Savannah, which has an ordinance that fines firearms owners up to $1,000 if they leave the weapon in their vehicle. Moore’s bill opens the city to lawsuits from those charged with violating the ordinance with awards of up to $50,000.
“For too long, Georgia mayors have gotten away with breaking our preemption law and facing zero consequences,” Moore said. “If our Attorney General won’t prosecute these lawbreakers and end this, it’s time we gave law-abiding Georgians the tools to do it themselves.”
A bill that would have banned the banking industry from making decisions based on ideology or “social scores” failed after a lengthy debate. An amendment that would have limited the number of banks affected to nine of the largest banks passed but it wasn’t enough to save the bill and it failed by a vote of 43-13.
Sen. Marty Harbin’s bill that would prohibit K-12 schools and colleges from participating in activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion didn’t make it to the Senate floor.
The Senate also did not take up a bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, that would have barred power companies from upping customer rates because of an increased use by data centers.
