Weekly Wrap Up
This week has been quite a busy one under the Gold Dome as the pace of legislation picks up, and both chambers’ committee schedules have begun to fill with newly filed legislation.Each day this week, we had key meetings with legislators on crucial bills - many not yet dropped - to protect our values. Stay tuned for legislation expanding school choice, protecting children from harmful material online and in public, and protecting life in our state!One quick note as we send out updates: many pieces of legislation get filed which are never even heard in committee, let alone gain the momentum required to pass. Therefore, there will be many bills that touch on Frontline’s core issues that may have alternatively amazing or horrific results on our state, that you never hear from us about. We value your time and your attention, and that of our elected officials, so we will be very careful to relate info and calls to action only on legislation that is moving forward. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
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On Tuesday, Frontline Conservative Business Alliance Director Mark Gonsalves joined us at the Capitol for several business-related committee meetings, and we enjoyed a conversation with Senator Chuck Payne from Dalton, a man who cares deeply about families and children of our state, and how legislation that comes through sets them up for success or failure in the future. Mark also saw many friends from his area of Gwinnett, who attended for a meeting of the Asian American Pacific Islander caucus honoring the lunar new year.
Wednesday was a busy committee day, and I spoke in favor of two of Frontline’s supported legislation. The first, SB 36 by Senator Randy Robertson, attacks the heinous market of buying and selling human beings by increasing the mandatory minimum sentences for “pimping” and “pandering”. The other bill I provided testimony for, SB 1 by Senator Greg Dolezal, would effectively permanently ban government agencies from requiring the COVID vaccine, protecting the medical freedom of every Georgian to make their own decision on the vaccine in perpetuity.
Our team also had meetings with several legislators scheduled through our Church Ambassador Network (CAN). Pastors Todd Slade and Josh Saefkow joined our Frontline Policy Council team for meetings with Senator Marty Harbin of Fayetteville, Representative Miriam Paris from Macon, and Representative Josh Bonner from Coweta county.
On Thursday morning, a large group of homeschool families came to the capitol to see state government in action. Representative John Carson, who helped facilitate the meeting, invited me to speak to the group about influencing legislators for good public policy under the Gold Dome, and the mission of Frontline in the state. 
Later that day, Frontline Policy Director Scott McInnis and Sam Thomas held an excellent CAN meeting with Georgia’s Secretary of State. This is a very important position in our state, and one that we should lift up in prayer regularly. Special thanks to pastors Jeff Graham, Steve Bullard, and Darryl Womack for being with us at the capitol to offer direct spiritual support and encouragement to our elected leaders!
Also on Thursday, our CAN team held meetings with Senator Shelly Echols, a former educator, and Representative Derrick McCollum, both newly-elected from Hall county. It is always a blessing to minister to those who take on the challenge of political leadership for their constituents.
Finally, on Thursday State Senator Jason Anavitarte filed a bill whose aim we wholeheartedly support - banning the use by state employees of social media apps that are owned by governments deemed to be “foreign adversaries” on state-owned equipment. This would include most prominently TikTok, which functions as an avenue for the Chinese Communist party to track and influence Americans, with targeted propaganda efforts aimed at children.
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Stay tuned for action alerts on these and other pieces of key legislation, with ways to reach out to your state legislators and encourage them to do the right thing. Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back next week with more updates from the Frontline! Excited for what's next,Taylor Hawkins Director of Advocacytaylor@frontlinepolicy.com