It’s SB 129 or nothing. Rep. Sam Teasley (R-Marietta) has dropped his House version of a so-called “religious freedom” bill, opting to focus on passage of Sen. Josh McKoon’s (R-Columbus) version reports the Marietta Daily Journal.
McKoon’s bill, SB 129, passed in the Senate on March 5 by a vote of 37 to 15, despite vocal opposition from Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Tucker), Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta), Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta), and Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).
“I’m very happy with the language that’s in Senate Bill 129 and wholeheartedly support it,” Teasley told the Marietta Daily Journal. “I’ll be working with Senator McKoon in the House, doing everything I can to see that Senate Bill 129 gets passed.”
Teasley’s bill was filed several weeks before McKoon’s but never got out of committee. It helped that McKoon’s bill was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he is the chair of. The Columbus Republican’s bill hit a bump in the road after being tabled at a Feb. 19 committee meeting, but then passed out of committee on March 2 with no Democrats present to vote on it.