ATLANTA — An amendment to the final bill passed by the Georgia General Assembly this year might invoke significant changes if Governor Brian Kemp gives it his approval.
Alternatively, the Senate’s modification to House Bill 1409 could simply serve as a deterrent against lawmakers engaging in inappropriate relationships with their staff.
On the last day of the legislative session, the Senate gave unanimous approval to the bill during their lunch break on April 2. The House followed suit with a broad bipartisan endorsement around 12:53 am the next day.
The primary objective of the bill is to revise existing Georgia law, mandating that adults in contact with children report any suspected child abuse.
Recent developments in Washington, D.C. have influenced this amendment, notably involving California Democrat Eric Swalwell and Texas Republican Tony Gonzales, both of whom resigned from the U.S. House on Tuesday.
Swalwell stepped down following accusations of sexually assaulting a former staffer, as reported in The New York Times. Meanwhile, Gonzales admitted in a radio interview to an affair with an aide who tragically took her own life.
Georgia state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, was motivated to propose what is being called “the Epstein amendment” after learning about this incident.
“I’m going to encourage our congressional delegation to look at what we did here and go up and take the same stand,” Robertson commented, following the resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales. “They represent us, so I think they have an obligation, the same as state senators and state representatives, to be transparent with the people who put them in office.”
The amendment, somewhat inaccurately nicknamed the Epstein amendment, carries connotations of sexual abuse, inspiring its name. It mandates that any resolved claim of “sexual harassment, discriminatory harassment, discrimination, or retaliation” be treated as an open record by House and Senate leaders. The only exception is the protection of the complainant’s identity. Failing to release such records when requested can lead to a misdemeanor charge, with fines up to $1,000, or $2,500 for repeated violations within a year.
Robertson, who also championed a bill making it illegal for clergy to engage in sexual contact with those they counsel, emphasized the importance of holding lawmakers accountable to similar standards.
Initially, Robertson attempted to introduce his transparency amendment by attaching it to a bill concerning public access to police videos and mugshots, but it did not pass. However, his efforts inspired other senators to take similar actions.
When Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, incorporated the amendment into another piece of legislation, Robertson acknowledged her with a smile.
Jackson expressed partial agreement, noting that while she used Robertson’s language to target a bill she opposed, she acknowledged the widespread issue of sexual harassment in Congress and state legislatures. Reflecting on her visit to the state Capitol before her election, she recounted being cautioned about her attire during a YWCA tour.
“Robertson is on the right side of history on this,” Jackson remarked, though she suggested that the measure could benefit from provisions against false claims of harassment. Still, she urged Governor Kemp to sign the bill into law, with the belief that the transparency measure would safeguard aides and women working in the Capitol.
The amendment, as it stands, was finalized and added to HB 1409 by Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, who is also a candidate for lieutenant governor. He credited Robertson with the original amendment’s language, motivated by Congress’s refusal to adopt similar transparency measures.
“The U.S. Congress voted to not do that,” Tillery commented during Senate discussions. “I think our body is better.”
