LISTEN: Lawmakers keep eye on culture war bill ahead of Sine Die

By Natalie Mendenhall, AJC

There are less than 24 hours until the last day of the legislative session, and Georgia lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are looking out for a culture war bill.

House Bill 1104 was originally a suicide prevention bill proposed by freshman state Rep. Omari Crawford, a Democrat from Decatur.

Now four unrelated amendments have been tacked on to the bill, including a measure that would ban transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

The term for such a piece of legislation — which has had other unrelated measures attached to it, most likely because they failed to survive the Crossover Day cutoff — is “Frankenbill.”

Majority Leader Chuck Efstration says he knows firsthand how frustrating it is to have your legislation overridden, adding that Crawford is a hardworking member of the Legislature.

“I think there’s probably nothing more frustrating than your bill being changed from what you originally passed and your name being associated with legislation that you haven’t necessarily worked on,” the Auburn Republican says. HB 1104 now goes back to the House for its consideration.

Longtime state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, like Crawford a Democrat from Decatur, says she “will be surprised if the House allows the Senate ‘Franken-awful-bill’ to come to the floor,” adding that her chamber is the more “mature body” in the General Assembly.

Thursday on ”Politically Georgia”: We’ll watch the Legislature on the last day of the session, known as Sine Die.